My introductory post. How to begin; the hardest part, right.
I am sometimes referred to as an “American African”; why? Well, I moved to Africa (initially Kenya) in the mid-1980s and never left. It has been a long, and interesting, journey that, I trust, will cover many, many more miles before it comes to an end!
In My Youth
I grew up in Tucson, Arizona with one dream; to play shortstop for the Boston Red Sox—me and, no doubt, several million other kids at the time! Needless to say, that didn’t happen; so, I had to think about alternatives.
BA; MA; MBA; five years in Central America working in business financing and development; then back to the US where I joined a small private financial advisory services group that only did business in Africa. With that group, I formed a private equity fund in Kenya and re-located to Nairobi. And thus began my (to date) 30+ year journey living and working in Africa.
African Odyssey
Over that 30+ year period, I have generally worked for myself; started, owned and managed a number diverse businesses. In Zambia, for example, a corporate finance and securities brokerage business that I ultimately sold and which continues to operate; in Botswana, a regional affordable housing development business; and now, a renewable integrated energy solutions business focusing on private offtakers—businesses and communities—with an initial Southern Africa focus. The common thread of all of them has been to provide an affordable service that is needed, but not necessarily available—in Africa.
On the personal side, my wife and I have 5 children between us (not quite the Brady Bunch), all of whom had the great experience of attending school in Africa at various stages throughout their lives. We don’t get to see them as often as we would like as they all reside in the US with spouses and our 3 absolutely fabulous grandchildren.
So Why STEEMIT?
It might seem odd that an investment banker would be interested in the crypto/blockchain world. But I've seen many interesting and promising things in my life - things that my peers would generally reject because they don't understand them. I was fortunate enough to meet a few enthusiastic Steemians (@kiligirl, @tim-beck, and @gavvet) who grabbed my attention and interest. I attended the Steem Saturday meetup in Johannesburg last year (where I met Ned) and I think that's where the enthusiasm rolled over me.
Admittedly, I'm still getting to grips with blockchain technology. It was STEEMIT, however, that demonstrated a real-life use-case, and I soon started seeing other practical use cases that I foresee using in my business.
I puzzled over the relevance of crypto currencies in the "real" world, but I am now convinced that they (STEEM in particular) can be accessed and utilized to solve real world problems, problems that, if resolved, will have a direct, positive, and lasting impact on people’s lives; many of them here in Africa.
So here I am - putting my writing where my mouth is: my first STEEMIT post. I look forward to meeting you.
Welcome to Steemit @beantownboy!
Thanks janusface!
Welcome to Steemit!!! Good to hear you finally joined ☺️ Yip, @kiligirl and @tim-beck will make you join hey 😎
Heh heh heh, rubs hands evilly 😉😉
Good work there @kiligirl 😉
Where does he live now?
Mainly on airplanes!
Whahaha 😂
Evilly?? Hmm...
😎😎
Thanks! And, yes, @kiligirl and @tim-beck have both been very helpful and encouraging!
Ah, they're amazing folks!! Looking forward to your posts 😎
Excellent post! And no, it's not too odd . . investment bankers probably are more aware of blockchain tech in regards to finance than most would think ;)
I look forward to seeing future posts. You have a unique voice and background here. And uniqueness is very good for the platform.
Thanks for the encouraging comments; it's going to be a very steep learning curve!
Great to see you on Steemit, @beantownboy. What a great start!
Thanks for your help!
Welcome @beantownboy you are sure to find plenty to learn, enjoy and share (yours and others ideas).
Those elephant rides sure are total magic, we had the pleasure of Coco taking us out in Zimbabwe, hidden deep in the country to protect and preserve them. An absolute honour to say the least that such a giant is a gentle beast.
Fully agree; and, we can learn a lot from those gentle giants!
If you're looking into other real world use cases for blockchain, check out what Factom and OmiseGo are trying to do. Welcome to Steem :D
Thanks; and I did have a quick look at both Factom and OmiseGo; seems to be quite a revolution taking place in the applications of blockchain technology; and at "breakneck" speed!
Hello @beantownboy
Welcome to Steemit, this a hub for great minds and you will enjoy it here.
Looking forward to the amazing stories of your travels .
Followed you.
@ogochukwu
Many thanks; much to learn!
Welcome to the Steemit platform, you will not regret your decision. I have been on for 3 months and it's been an eye-opening journey. Nice to meet you. Upvoted and followed.
Likewise; nice to meet you. And very much looking forward to the journey!
thx for sharing
Welcome to Steem @beantownboy I have upvoted and sent you a tip
Hey! Welcome to Steemit. Loved the post. Looking forward to more content! Hope you have a good time.
Thanks for the welcome! I'm sure it's going to be a very, very interesting ride!
Great to see your first post, @beantownboy! 😊😊
Well, thanks for all your help, encouragement, and most importantly, patience!
You are most welcome, @beantownboy! It was a pleasure helping you get started. Happy to keep helping if you'd like.😊😊
Nice to meet you, @beantownboy! Welcome to the Steemit Community, wish you good luck and a good start, ive send you a small tip and followed you, hope you have an amazing day! :)
Thanks very much!
Welcome to Steemit. It's a great place for writers to get rewarded for their work.
Good luck
Thanks!
Hi again @beantownboy!!!
I really hope you will be joining our community here on Steemit - Team South Africa...
Please have a look at the posts at @teamsouthafrica, follow the @teamsouthafrica account and then I can add you as a member 👍🏻🇿🇦
I'll definitely have a look! Thanks!
I am the Great Cornholio! Would you like to see my portfolio? I have a portfolio in my bunghole, with my óleo!
Welcome aboard!!! enjoy the ride.
Thanks; always looking for a new adventure; let's see where the ride goes!
Wow! A fellow Tucsonan (now in Seattle). You’ll discover Steemit to be a welcoming community. I look forward to UPVOTING & FOLLOWING your posts, insights and perspectives. I would welcome your following, votes & comments on my MULTIRACIAL & MULTICULTURAL American perspectives @escapingculture.
Small world, huh! When did you leave Tucson? And, I look forward to your post, insights and perspectives as well! Many thanks.
Small world, indeed. Well traveled, look forward to your posts and updates. Go Cats!
welcome @beantownboy! seems like you are having an interesting life)) and i love the pictures! :D
Well thanks so much. And, you have just given me an idea for a post--based on your "interesting" comment! So, thanks for that as well.
really?! im happy to hear it! im following you, it will help me not to miss it, but just in case... could you send me a link on this article when it's done? :)
How are you? Beantownboy, I'm just here to leave a nice Hello ^^. Unfortunately i don't have much voting power, but i will be back and vote my followers. Need to grow a little ^^. Have a great time @rightuppercorner
Resteem your post to 1500+ followers for only 0.5 SBD or Steem)
Just send 0.5 SBD or steem to @steemvote (URL as memo)
New Followers get 0.001 SBD$ and an upvote for free!!
Just follow @steemvote and...
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STOPYou Are An Excellent Steemian. This post has received a 5.26 % upvote from @steemthat Return the favor and SteemThat Person Back: @binkley.
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Please Upvote This Comment To Help Me Grow! And The Price Of Steem Will Appear! @steemprice steem
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@beantownboy Great submit. Hardwork pays a lot more so preserve Functioning tough!.
@beantownboy This is supercool! Thanks!
Do you have an American accent?