NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

The informal economy is Africa’s new frontier for growth. Previously forgotten and disregarded the informal economy on the continent is alive and growing into a significant contributor to the bottom line for many businesses. This is where the next surge of expansion is and if you are not playing in this space then you’re missing out.

Africa has a massive emerging middle class which provides an expanding consumer base for business. In a recent Africa Pulse Report, the World Bank said consumer spending accounted for more than 60 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s buoyant economic growth with a forecast that this would accelerate to more than 5 percent over the next three years, far outpacing the global average.

A local approach to marketing
Understanding the African consumer is key to the success of brands doing business on the continent. Multinational brands cannot adopt a cut and paste approach to marketing locally. Although Africa is a huge continent it is made up of small cluster communities whose buying trends and behavior are unique. There has been a complete shift in the go to market strategies of companies.