IL48: The Misunderstood Economics of Africa ft. Joe Studwell
Top Traders Unplugged
Colonialism: Centralising Asia vs Low-Budget Africa
Joe contrasts Asian colonial centralization enabling taxation with African low-budget rule that froze political development and chief-based control.
In this episode Kevin Coldiron is joined by bestselling author Joe Studwell who speaks about his new book How Africa Works: Success and Failure on the World’s Last Development Frontier. We discuss why many of our perceptions about Africa are wrong - why one big problem has been too few people, not too many and why the continent isn’t as resource-rich as we think. Joe talks us through some surprising success stories - like Rwanda’s emulation of Singapore and Botswana’s success in avoiding “the resource curse”. This is the time to begin researching and understanding the opportunities in a continent that has more land mass than the US, China and India combined and will eventually be home to the majority of the world’s young people.
-----
50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE
-----
Follow Niels on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or via the TTU website.
IT’s TRUE ? – most CIO’s read 50+ books each year – get your FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide to the Best Investment Books ever written here.
And you can get a free copy of my latest book “Ten Reasons to Add Trend Following to Your Portfolio” here.
Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.
Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.com
And please share this episode with a like-minded friend and leave an honest Rating & Review on iTunes or Spotify so more people can discover the podcast.
Follow Kevin on SubStack & read his Book.
Follow Joe on LinkedIn and read his book.
Episode TimeStamps:
00:01 - Introduction to the episode and guest
02:04 - Why the book was written and initial motivation
05:50 - Outsider perspective and reactions in Africa
07:22 - The core idea: population density and development
08:22 - Why Africa’s growth lagged historically
14:23 - Population growth and changing economic potential
15:39 - Colonialism in Africa vs Asia
20:14 - Land, agriculture, and development differences
23:55 - Rise of private sector and food production
25:57 - Resources and the limits of extractive growth
29:56 - Botswana and managing resource wealth
36:21 - Rwanda’s development model and governance
44:41 - Ethnic dynamics and future stability
50:24 - China’s role and manufacturing potential
56:04 - Investing in Africa and long term outlook
Copyright © 2025 – CMC AG – All Rights Reserved
----
PLUS: Whenever you're ready... here are 3 ways I can help you in your investment Journey:
1. eBooks that cover key topics that you need to know about
In my eBooks, I put together some key discoveries and things I have learnt during the more than 3 decades I have worked in the Trend Following industry, which I hope you will find useful. Click Here
2. Daily Trend Barometer and Market Score
One of the things I’m really proud of, is the fact that I have managed to published the Trend Barometer and Market Score each day for more than a decade...as these tools are really good at describing the environment for trend following managers as well as giving insights into the general positioning of a trend following strategy! Click Here
3. Other Resources that can help you
And if you are hungry for more useful resources from the trend following world...check out some precious resources that I have found over the years to be really valuable. Click Here
The AI-powered Podcast Player
