I am reading Wide Awake right now. Just finished the first chapter. Erwin talked about satellite radio. I googled the person he talked about.

True or False Ethiopian Born Noah Samara Invented Satellite Radio?

The answer is true. The same country that has brought the world the likes of the world’s richest person of African descent Mr. Mohammed Al Amoudi has also brought the world Noah Samara.

Mr. Samara is indeed the founder and CEO of WorldSpace, which pioneered the satellite radio technology, thereby being the first to introduce the technology to the market.

Noah Samara was born in Ethiopia and comes from a very diverse background. He was born to an Ethiopian mother and a Sudanese father. At the age of 17, Noah left Ethiopia and the familiar East African coast for America, in search of a better education. He found the education that he was looking for, while in America and his educational sojourn ended with him receiving his law degree from Georgetown University.

The area that he chose to specialise in was satellite communications law. Prior to the launch of World Space, Noah embarked on career that was heavily weighted towards satellite technology. In 1990 he resigned from his job and began working towards the launch of WorldSpace. And $USD 2.5B later World Space was up and running with it’s first satellite-AfriStar. The company has been lauded for it’s ability to reach remote area’s of the world with vital information, via satellite transmission.

Major partners of World Space are NPR Radio, BBC, CNN, and Bloomberg. In addition to starting WorldSpace, Mr. Samara also did other things with his his experience in the satellite industry-one of which was to help bring XM Satellite radio to fruition.

One of the most interesting thing facts about Mr. Samara’s launching of World Space, were the altruistic motives that inspired him to start the company. He cites the need to provide adequate access to radio for populations in rural Asia and Africa that were unable to receive radio signals prior to the arrival of WorldSpace.

In closing, I would like to say that I think Noah represents a very interesting aspect of Ethiopia. That Ethiopia has reached a tipping point (when it comes to business) and that with the right ingredients the future may hold even greater business success in store for this very mature nation. (http://www.beninmwangi.com/2007/05/22/true-or-false-ethiopian-born-noah-samara-invented-satellite-radio/)

People changing the world...

Howden Matt Howden

"I may not know you personally, but this I know about you without question - there is a hero within you waiting to be awakened."

The alarm sounds. Your feet hit the floor and carry you into another day. But what does that day hold for you? Will you be punching your card at work, catching up on TV at home, and crashing into bed before you rinse and repeat the next day? Or will you dare to dig deep and discover the incredible potential lying dormant within you?
In Wide Awake, Erwin Raphael McManus challenges us to put an end to all the sleepwalking and settling, for each of us was created by God for a reason. He has called you to live as Jesus did - a heroic life, void of monotony, teeming with danger, adventure, and the unknown. Living wide awake is about realizing that the world desperately needs you to live up to your greatness.
There is a future that needs to be created, and it is waiting for us all to wake up and get out of bed. The alarm has sounded, and it is time to shake off the slumber.

It's time to live, to create, to imagine, to dream... Wide Awake.

This is from the back of a book I am starting to read by Erwin McManus.

More posts will be coming from it I am sure of that.

Howden Matt Howden