Why Kenyans Win Marathons and Estonians Build Unicorns

Excellence, Opportunity and Development in the 21st Century

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Why do people from certain countries excel at particular activities?

Why do so many of the world’s best long-distance runners come from Kenya? How does Estonia (pop: 1.3 million) produce so many tech unicorns—Skype, Bolt, Wise? Why do so many distinguished writers come from Nigeria and so many classical musicians from Venezuela?

More than a decade ago, Anirudh Krishna began tracking these flows of excellence—and found that the standard explanations of genetics or geography don’t hold up. Excellence is not tied to any given ethnicity, legacy or political system. Replicable ingredients drive it—specifically, an infrastructure of opportunity that promotes near-universal participation.

This book uncovers how societies identify talent, create opportunity, and combine them into systems that consistently deliver the best. Contrarian in approach and rigorous in research, it doesn’t just explain success—it builds a framework for replicating egalitarian structures that broaden opportunity and deliver excellence.