From the Other Side of the World: Extraordinary Entrepreneurs, Unlikely Places

In this absorbing debut, Bayrasli—cofounder of Foreign Policy Interrupted, which aims to amplify the voices of women working in foreign policy—profiles seven entrepreneurs from seven different countries who are breaking down barriers and overcoming obstacles. She identifies seven recurring obstacles to innovation in the developing world: scarce skilled labor and management, underdeveloped infrastructure, absent rule of law, a resistant status quo, monopolies, corruption, and lack of collaborative space. A full chapter is dedicated to each challenge and to how a specific entrepreneur is meeting it. To that end, Bayrasli introduces Bülent Celebi, CEO of AirTies, who launched a tech start-up in Turkey but struggles to find the talent necessary to grow his company; Tayo Oviosu, founder of the digital payment company Paga Tech in Lagos, Nigeria, who battles his country’s inadequate infrastructure; Shaffi Mather, founder of Dial 1298, an ambulance service in India, who must overcome corrupt bureaucracy; and Russia’s Yana Yakovleva, founder of a successful chemical company who is unjustly jailed and must fight against her country’s endemic corruption. Bayrasli does an admirable job of showcasing these pioneers and arguing that, despite their challenges, the next big breakthrough will come from them or someone like them, not from Silicon Valley. Agent: Gillian MacKenzie, Gillian MacKenzie Agency. (Sept.)