That title is blatant linkbait. It asks a pretty ridiculous question, then the article puts no effort whatsoever into answering it. The only parallels it draws between the two cities are that they each contain at least one programmer and Eric Schmidt is aware of both of their existences.<p>This kinda crap is why I agree with Marc Andreessen about the future of that industry. What is supposed to be America's flag-bearing newspaper is one step away from Digg-bait top 10 lists.
One of the better developers I've worked with was in Tunisia. He went to University in France, but was born, raised, and lived in Tunisia. He went on to start a company based around a web server he developed. It's seemingly still in business seven years later, so I guess he's doing OK. I think there's probably a lot of talent on the African continent going to waste due to the general mess many of the African nations are in--corruption, organized crime, and periodic revolution and genocide as core parts of a culture aren't particularly good for industry or education. International companies are slow to move into areas that are unstable. It seems like Kenya experienced a boom over the past few years, but then mostly lost it due to one crazy administration (GW has nothing on some of the African "presidents" of the past 30 years, when it comes to corruption and evil).
<i>But his location posed some daunting obstacles: the iPhone doesn’t work in Nairobi...</i><p>Oh, you mean like in <i>Vermont</i>, where the iPhone also doesn't work?<p><i>...and Mr. Mworia... wrote his program on an iPhone simulator.</i><p>What, you mean like <i>everyone else in the world</i> who wasn't an Apple employee?<p>Not that I don't feel for the guy -- he apparently didn't even have a <i>cracked</i> iPhone -- but this particular choice of example is amusingly ironic.
One major problem with East Africa is the lack of a fibre pipe linking it to the rest of the world, although that is due in 2010.<p>It's possible to make a good living offering training services, cybercafes etc - but not call centres or offshore development yet.<p>And they don't call it Nairobbery for nothing...
>In Nairobi’s highest-profile validation, Google opened a development office here last September. “Africa is a huge long-term market for us,” Eric E. Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, said by e-mail. “We have to start by helping people get online, and the creativity of the people will take care of the rest.”
The next Palo Alto? No. Maybe someday, in the very distant future, but probably not in the next 100 years. Seattle and Boston are trying to be the next Palo Alto (if by Palo Alto you really mean Silicon Valley), and those cities are much better prepared, in every sense save, perhaps, cost.
I think this image really says a lot about the challenges an entrepreneur there with an idea there faces:
<a href="http://www.chrisharrison.net/projects/InternetMap/medium/worlddotblack.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.chrisharrison.net/projects/InternetMap/medium/wor...</a>