The idea
This blog is dedicated to offering a platform for people especially from the global south to present themselves, their society, and their economic environment to do business, exchange on how ideas can be realized within an unstable and often lawless environment and how find finance and overcome credit constraints. The topics range from economic analysis over entrepreneurship to financing (including cryptocurrencies and blockchain), to the cultural heritage of the people in developing and emerging countries. But also, from lower socioeconomic backgrounds in the industrialized world.
We provide a platform mainly for journalism, academic blogging, entrepreneurship, as well as local political and cultural leaders focusing on the global south to understand their lives better in a more wholesome approach, besides simple GDP figures, purchasing parity and abstract World Bank and OECD numbers, in terms of living conditions, development, and institutional settings. Here we want to provide a view of the entrepreneurial spirit on people from developing and emerging countries apart from moral judgement borne in well-off western ivory towers and paternalistic catastrophe journalism.
In addition, we also provide data journalism for newspapers and newspapers. With our expertise in economics and developing regions, we provide valuable information and data on development issues of the global south and further data journalism analysis services, mainly in emerging markets.
Simon studied Economics with special focal points on environmental and climate issues and development at the universities of Graz and Göttingen after an apprenticeship and work experience in international logistics. Parallel to that he worked as an economic journalist and travelled the world - where it is exciting, in the Balkans, Lebanon and Egypt. When he is not working in his free time on his journalistic texts, he is working at the Austrian Ministry of Economics. Contact: s.kiwek@cycling-economics.com
Narges attended an international school, studied law and worked in real estate as well as a language teacher. Now the Austrian-Iranian is passionate about combining her love for talking, writing and languages with her multicultural upbringing in this project
How this project was borne?
A few stories inspired this project: In 2017 I travelled to Ukraine for the first time. I was rather impressed by the enthusiasm of young people on the ground, utilizing the chances that opened up due to the liberalization of Ukraine. From health care to business, young people were eager to build up their country. However, when I wanted to hand out the story, nobody cared. Just in January 2022, I visited Ukraine again, giving an impression of the mood in Kharkiv, their lively startup ecosystem, but also the struggle of Kharkiv’s heavy industry struggling under western competition. My experience repeated – even though, this time the focus was on Ukraine, nobody wanted to know about the party mood on New Year’s-Eve or the struggle of Ukrainians under depressing inflation. It was only a few weeks later when Russia started bombing the city, that media and journalists, who obviously were not able to find Ukraine on the map a few days ago, were keen to romanticize Ukrainians’ fight against Russian aggressors. However, while friends of mine endured in basements, the news was flooded with transsexual Ukrainians, who were conscripted for the army (was it really a priority?), and African exchange students, who were discriminated against during their escape (I contacted one from India, but no complaints from her side).
I am not alone in this perception. A friend, who frequently travels to Africa and introduces Europeans to different locations on the continent and their vibrant startup ecosystems. At one point his LinkedIn timeline exploded when he posted how he encountered completely reversed perceptions of business-hungry Kenyans while European media was filled with stories about hunger and starvation. Kenyans appreciated his positive contribution with a lot of likes and comments. Without a doubt, hunger is rampant in Marsabit, a region which is largely desert, but also made huge progress in development thanks to a road built by Chinese contractors. While most people in academia and journalism are obsessed with catastrophes and their perceived unfairness of the world, investors are more curious about how emerging countries work and how to participate in their growth. Here they will find the whole story.
Why cycling economics?
Why cycling economics? While I discovered Canada, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Eastern Africa, I mostly did this by bicycle. Travelling like that, opened up the world in an authenticity no other means of transport could to that. Neither one could escape from stone throws of bored youngsters in Ethiopia nor tea invitations in Syria. But least of all the countless stories that local people had to tell and how they made their living.
