From my spoiled western perspective it seems surprisingly difficult to either just send him the money or have a laptop delivered to him. I wouldnt have guessed that upfront...

He doesn’t want one sent to him because he believes customs will hold it until bribed.

We shipped 10,000 packages of free hardware and other prizes to teenagers this summer as part of https://hackclub.com/arcade/. In total we shipped to 119 countries.

India and Bangladesh caused by far the most issues with customs. Packages got held up, and they often tried to charge duties of up to 70%. His concern is definitely real.

The best option is to buy an item within the country using a US card, or to buy an item using a local card and get reimbursed via PayPal from a US bank account.

Customs theft is basically the norm there, it’s very frustrating.

Seems like an easy problem to solve the criminals are at a fixed address and are in documented possession of the items.

Assuming already poignantly corrupt authorities have any reasons to police themselves, they also have a billion ways to stall, cover and act innocent "Oh noes, we've been so overwhelmed, I swear I was just about to approve this, woe is me", and it will probably be true (The first part at least), they just take advantage of it

Also there's no clear chain of custody for stuff or incentive to have it, "Lost somewhere in customs" is about as precise as you usually get at the best of times

In terms of 3rd world corruption, this one is easy to solve. But the fact that it isn't solved is what makes it a 3rd world country. You put pressure on the low level corruption so it moves higher up the chain. In well functioning capitalized countries, the corruption happens at the corporate banking level. You can't have a well functioning economy without the smooth movement of goods and services.

i think we are supposed to call them developing nations these days.

Which isn't uncommon in places with high corruption, I remember the horror stories trying to order a high value item accross the border (Different country similar situation)

Welcome to dealing with a 3rd world country, this is expected.

Source: Am from 3rd world country.

If it would be less trouble (because of customs and other external factors), and assuming it can help, maybe a phone keyboard can also be considered? An OTG cable plus a normal USB keyboard might also be a solution if portability is not a requirement.

Why a MacBook, out of curiosity?

I had a talk with him and it seemed like the best fit. In the end, MacBooks are the best use of money when in comes to laptop. Battery life is crucial due to frequent blackouts.

I'd have preferred something from new Intel ones but I couldn't find anything available there.

Not sure I agree. They are built to last, yes, but would be a pain to get fixed if they break down. If it were me, I'd have preferred something like a Thinkpad.

That's 50/50, having lived in a poor and non tech heavy part of the world, at least Apple models are relatively few and high value, so shops pay special attention on keeping stock of what's reasonable and first party may be an option if you go to an affluent part of the country

On the contrary, usual recommendations, like business grade retired fleets were a lot more uncommon, because "business" work laptops on the area were just consumer grade whatever was cheap at the moment

The weird ocasions you saw stuff like Thinkpads or similar, they commanded a premium because the techies WANTED them

you're the best Zach