Niger Solutions

There are two ways to make money in Niger: sell a few expensive things high or lots of inexpensive things cheap. If you can get every person to shell out 200 francs/day for the necessities of life, you'll make money.The cell phone comments are way off base. I've lived in Niger for 5 years. Cell phones have revolutionized the world of most Nigeriens. Instead of spending half the day traveling across town to try to find some information, you make a phone call---or better send a text (for those who are literate) and 40 francs later, you have an answer and you haven't wasted the whole day. The old land-lines would cost $1-2 for a brief call. I met lots of fat Westerners who thought poor Nigeriens had no use for cell phones--the market has proved that wrong with over 500,000 users in the country. The government and clueless development folks thought that phone calls were only for the rich, but thank God for Western capitalists who understand people's real needs as cell phones are now necessary for all.Tom Johnson, Niamey