I doubt many Africans have the same education and/or qualification as most Americans.

This is no judgement or suggestion for improvements, but it is the reality.

Those who do have same qualifications are still payed much much less. Anecdotally, when Intel still had offices in Russia our salaries including stock awards were 3x or lower than those of the US personnel. Not because of difference in qualifications but because of the labor market (the salaries were very good considering other opportunities in my home city).

Well that's no fair; nor would they have had they have the same opportunities. Do your/our good opportunities entitle us to earn 50x what someone else does? Only in a colonialist "we got here first so now you work for us" sense.

I can’t change the past. I fully support changing the course of Africa towards more education, but that doesn’t make Africans suddenly super proficient software engineers, and doesn’t teach them "how to work productively with western companies" (if you get what I mean - there’s more to work than pure manpower).

Does that make me a colonialist?

It's the opinion (that their reduced opportunities / economic bargaining position mean they _should_ be paid orders of magnitude less) that's colonialist, rather than you as a person. By 'colonialist' I of course mean to imply "regressive and repugnant". It is not an immutable economic fact that wages should be where they are relative to each other.

How about starting by making software cheaper for people in Africa?

Thats bs. 10-50 times higher is for unskilled labor. You should try comparing a someone with an academic background in Lagos versus someone in Cairo .

Or the chance to educate themselves with for example photoshop to become a professional.

Because it is too expensive.