"South Africa, on the other hand, is not really all that much different to a middle of the road Western country."
How many western countries have 30% unemployment, roving gangs of looters, and an average literacy level of 2nd/3rd grade?
How many western countries have 30% unemployment, roving gangs of looters, and an average literacy level of 2nd/3rd grade?
I've live in South Africa my entire life, but have yet to encounter a "roving gang of looters". Citation?
My wife was born in South Africa and always wanted to go back (her family left when she was a baby), so when an opportunity came to make a sales trip there she jumped at the chance. This was perhaps 5 years ago. One evening in Johannesburg she and a Brit were driving back from dinner when, stopped at a traffic light, they saw gunmen step up to a car ahead of them, one on each side, and force the passengers out with their hands behind their heads. IIRC, it was a one-way street. Luckily for my wife and the Brit, they were the last car in the queue and were able to make a u-turn and zoom out of there.
Was that a "roving gang of looters"? I don't know, but they exemplify Alex's point.
SA is a country with reasonably developed cities surrounded by huge rural stretches, at the bottom of the wildest continent in the world. Hard to generalise. However, the biggest challenge for a software startup is more likely to be "raise our game" rather than "avoid the next roving gang of thugs". :)
Citation? The only thing I've heard about are "service delivery protests" that happen in townships, usually due to internal power struggles in the ruling party. The worst effect on the average middle class person, is that a road next to a squatter camp or township that they commute on may be blocked with rocks for a few hours, before police clear the scene.
South Africa does have a relatively high rate of violent crime (and a trend towards organised crime) and a corrupt ruling party.
But the people you are speaking to are exaggerating, and could be a bit disaffected, and are probably not the most reliable sources of information.
See that's where you lack perspective. In safe countries (like here in Australia) you can name any suburb in the country and I'll go for a stroll at 3am with no fear for my personal safety. Why? Maybe I was out drinking and I'm catching a bus home.