Is the idea that Wal-Mart is poised to start its foray into Africa cringe-inducing? I do not think it is as bad as all that. It may not be an unalloyed good, but there is ample room to hope for some significant positive effects.

Wal-Mart is in the process of possibly acquiring Massmart, a South African retail chain that operates 288 stores in 14 African countries selling low-cost goods. The $4.76 billion deal is in its intermediate stages with a non-binding expression of interest between the parties.

Wal-Mart in the US is considered, by some, to be unequivocally evil.  In some circles the retail giant is reputed to be an anti-labor, censorship-happy, minority-hating, small-business-slayer--not to mention the slow cancerous death that eats away at small town America before then feeding upon its hapless corpse. That is when the critics are not feeling too feisty. For the record I may often be among those critics.

Thinking about the ill-effects of Wal-Mart that way, one could quickly assume the South African market entry is bad news indeed.  One could assume the union that is currently opposing the deal, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), is about to receive some rough treatment if this goes through. Also, anyone who works to support micro-finance schemes to bolster African businesses and overall economy may perhaps rightfully worry that these efforts will crumble and wither away as the population in those 14 nations slowly  but surely becomes dependent on Wal-Mart for all of life's necessities.

Arguably this is a tragedy in the making, one of a long list for African nations whose involvement in the global economy has predominantly stripped them of resources again and again. The counterpoints, however, are many. I will highlight only a few of the simplest ones.

Wal-Mart appears to have triggered other companies buying big in South Africa. Bloomberg reported on September 30 that in a sudden flurry there were $15 billion worth of deals in the last quarter where foreign firms were buying up South African firms. In its coverage on the same day, the Economist declared that "The continent still has its problems, but it is no longer "hopeless."

If African economies, and African nations, are to work towards some form of global parity and economic acceptance, they need to be a place that multinational businesses value and invest. While not all of the developed world has Wal-Mart, they all play host to multinationals in their economy. Africa needs to be seen as a viable option, and serious investments by large firms boosts investor confidence.

Status quo has only seen investment in subsaharan Africa to the extent required to strip it of natural resources. While Wal-Mart cannot change that reality on its own, the nature of their retail empire has some benefits. The secret to Wal-Mart's success is the efficiency and effectiveness of their supply chain management.

This means two things. First, they implicitly demand and incentivize the development of infrastructure to support their model. If roads to greater infrastructure are paved by catering to Wal-Mart's whims and wishes, at least in end there is more infrastructure. Put simply, Rome built roads to moves armies, but the roads were also a boon to economic development.

Second, Wal-Mart has the international bargaining power to get things done. What their bargaining power could lead to is hard to predict. Still, I have one great hope for this entry into African markets, though it may be a long shot. Wal-Mart has proven itself to be one of few entities in the world who can stand up to Big Pharma, make demands, and then get low prices. Africa need pharmaceuticals, badly. While Wal-Mart has made no signal and stated no intentions, guaranteeing availability of certain prescription drugs would be groundbreaking for Africa and very possibly a huge money maker for Wal-Mart as a loss leader.

Now it is true that Wal-Mart's expansions elsewhere in the world have met with varying amounts of success.  When Wal-Mart dipped their toes into the highly developed economy of Germany, they were rebuffed and came home with little to show. They also pulled out of South Korea in 2007. But when Wal-Mart went to China, it may as well have been hand and glove. They have expanded to over 291 stores in the second largest economy in the world, and now they are expanding in Mexico and Brazil.

Wal-Mart, it seems, likes emerging markets. Are they a vulture or a catalyst? Maybe they are a little bit of both. One can hope.