Is Africa more corrupt than other places in the world?

Africa & corruption: is the perception worse than the reality?

I have pondered on the question of Africa and corruption for years. As a business person (I run an air ambulance business covering West and Central Africa), I know that a big part of the reason that many African businesses do not receive the funding they require to grow is because investors perceive Africa as ‘fantastically corrupt’ in the words of former Prime Minister David Cameron.

As long as African businesses remained collectively blemished by this ‘fantastically corrupt’ label, few investors will invest in African companies and more Africans will remain unemployed and poor.

I will not deny, that my country Nigeria has a problem with corruption as many African countries do. We need to continue to look for ways to tackle corruption. But until then, are millions of young Africans simply condemned to poverty, aid dependence and unemployment? Is the perception of large foreign private equity funds and other investors worse than reality?

I explored these and other issues an article I wrote for the Huffington Post a few years ago: On Africa and Corruption