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I think the contradiction is that what makes for a successful startup within Africa (scratch our own itches) doesn't necessarily translate well to the developed world. The examples you mentioned, such as monitoring elections and disaster response would do very well in developing countries, but they aren't necessary in countries like the US or UK. I think that's what PG was suggesting.

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As someone watching from outside, it seems to me there is a need for better solutions in the "monitoring elections" and "disaster response" spaces in the US, too..

Of course these services are needed, but in developed nations, they usually fall in the purview of the government, who is unlikely to hand it off to startups.

Especially startups in foreign countries.

>The examples you mentioned, such as monitoring elections and disaster response would do very well in developing countries, but they aren't necessary in countries like the US or UK.

Hurricane Katrina, hanging chads ...

Yes. If this is how the rich countries handle these things, imagine how badly the poor countries handle them.

I wonder how a startup would handle these any better than the government, especially since there's no money in it.

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