by Max Alexander
Hyperion
(e-book)
In 2008, when Max Alexander accompanied his brother Whit to Ghana to set up a company, both were adamant theirs would not be a charity. So many other Westerners, through NGOs and the like, had provided so many services gratis that expecting things for free from white people had become the norm. Channeling Dead Aid author Dambisa Moyo and buoyed by Bill Gates' "creative capitalism" idea, the brothers wanted to build a business, called Burro, from renting to rural, off-grid Ghanaians rechargeable batteries for flashlights (that would allow them to hunt at night, do homework and feel safe after dark) and radios. Bright Lights, No City mixes memoir with business how-to and interesting observations about Ghana and its people. Alexander, a former executive editor of the entertainment trade magazine Variety, describes how his younger brother toiled to make his rental model work in an economy that lacked infrastructure, where farmers had disposable income only after a good harvest, and when faced with Chinese batteries that were cheaper, albeit predisposed to leaking.