Anyone who's ever spent time in Africa (and many other places - feel free to chime in) has run into the "Nescafe" phenomenon. I also like to refer to it as the "who do I have to kill to get a decent cup of coffee" kunumdrum. Rather than real coffee, most establishments, office coffee areas (if you are lucky enough to have one), etc. have Nescafe - instant coffee. It's just not that great. And rather than just recognize it's inadequacies and replacing it, it's just modified and jazzed up to appear better than it is. This is a nice metaphor for governments and development in many third world countries…
That’s Sarah in the Jungle, in a very creative post. Read the whole thing. She also has thoughts about how a developing country version of Monopoly would play.
My only comment: I love Nescafé! Grew up with it and hate that I can’t find the right type in the US.
Update: In fairness to Nestlé, Filippo sent me their work on CSR in Latin America.
Join the Conversation