by Andrew Rugasira (Random House Struik)
This 254-page paperback is less about how to make a great cuppa and more about the economic and political environment one has to traverse to get a product from the rural backwaters of the so-called Dark Continent into more developed markets.
It is about overcoming Afro-pessimism and adds to the low level of business literature available to young entrepreneurs on a continent that badly needs such people to make progress from the horrors of colonialism and the ills that followed, according to learned author and social entrepreneur Rugasira.
He has penned a book about growing an individual business idea, in this case involving Ugandan coffee from near the fertile border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, and how it fits into the wider political and prejudicial climate that affects economic progress in Africa.
He argues for more trade and less aid.
Rugasira started his Good African Coffee business a decade ago and has helped thousands of farmers earn a decent living.
He makes the logical claim that African countries must do more with their raw materials.
The chapters are necessarily laborious to get through at times and, all things considered, it is virtually an intellectual exercise from a London University law and economics graduate that will likely only entertain serious readers or business types.