In 2002, a 14-year-old Malawi boy named William Kamkwamba built a windmill using items he collected from a scrap yard to power the electrical appliances in his family home. He did it through sheer ingenuity, without any formal training. His windmill made him famous, and he has since traveled all over the world speaking at leadership conferences. But one thing hasn’t happened for William Kamkwamba: investors have not given him money to build more windmills and extend that electricity to his neighbors, and the entire village. Had he been born in Texas, he might be a young CEO running an energy company by now, because the funds would inevitably flow. But, in Malawi, most investors would be concerned about the fact that there’s no legal system in place to protect William’s ideas from his friends, who might begin to copy them.
Would You Invest in This Kid?
In 2002, a 14-year-old Malawi boy named William Kamkwamba built a windmill using items he collected from a scrap yard to power the electrical appliances in his family home. He did it through sheer ingenuity, without any formal training. His windmill made him famous, and he has since traveled all over the world speaking at […]
March 12, 2012
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