Skip To Content

    11 Myths Busted By "The Bright Continent"

    Dayo Olopade, author of The Bright Continent, debunks all-too-common beliefs about Africa.

    1. Poverty Porn

    2. Government Matters

    3. Nigerian Spammers Are The Worst

    4. Informal Trade Is Bad

    5. Microfinance Is the Answer

    6. West Is Best

    7. Pity the Child

    8. Low-Tech Africa

    9. Send Your T-Shirts!

    10. Sunsets and Safaris

    11. Bad Leaders Last Forever

    ***

    Dayo Olopade is a Nigerian-American journalist covering global politics and development policy. She has reported from 20 countries for The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, the Daily Beast, and the New York Times, among other publications. Olopade is currently a Knight Law and Media Scholar at Yale. Keep up with her latest stories by following her on Twitter @madayo.