So why is almost everyone in Africa poor?
Let me guess, in Africa they really are held back by circumstances but here they aren't.
Culture has a big part to play.
http://www.econlife.com/the-tough-parts-of-african-development/
He starts his talk with a Zambian village. As a 21-year old aid worker, he introduced Italian seeds to a community in a fertile Zambian valley that had little agriculture. Teaching the locals how to grow tomatoes and zucchini, he was proud of the initial results. The tomatoes were as big as cantaloupes. But then, one night, 200 hippos came out of the river and ate everything. Hippos, the villagers explained, are why we have no agriculture. He inquired why they did not tell him. You never asked, they replied.