The prime minister of the island-nation of Sao Tome and Principe has been reported to have said, “Don’t send us any more aid, send us five more Claudio Corallos’. The prime minister’s country, lying off the west coast of Africa, was used to receiving financial aid from generous countries in a position to do so. His country, like many African communities, is quite poor.
Who, you ask, is Claudio Corallo? Claudio produces some of the world’s finest chocolate on the island of Principe. He is a conscious capitalist. Claudio emulates what I wrote about in The Power of Professionalism. Said another way, he’s a professional. Never mind that he wears open-toed sandals and a Panama hat 99% of the time while traipsing up-and-down the steep jungle terrain of his plantation.
Claudio has aspired to bring to the world the purest form of cocoa production. Having recently tasted his chocolate at a retail outlet in Berkeley, California, I’d say he has come pretty close.
His story is inspiring. He pays his workers significantly more than the going (and dismal) wage-rate on Principe. To say he is an employer of choice is an understatement.
The prime minister came to see how capitalism (when done the right way) would lift people out of poverty better than aid ever could. Aid was fine, but really only proved to be a stop-gap measure. The notion that capitalism should be considered a serious solution to poverty has gained a lot of steam—especially with the inspiring successes associated with micro-lending. Interestingly, U2’s front man Bono (see National Review article, Capitalisms Triumph, Michael Tanner, 2014 ) came to the same conclusion as the prime minister.
Wanna lift people out of poverty? It’s hard to beat conscious capitalism. Thanks Claudio for such a sweet example.