Corporate America Is Interested in Africa.

This study by Baird’s Communications Management Consultants (Baird’s CMC) in partnership with the Africa Business Initiative of the US Chamber of Commerce is brought to my attention recently. It is a pretty detailed research on how big corporations in the USA see Africa. You can get the report from www.usafricainvestment.com 

 

It is interesting to see that Senior Officers in the corporations are clearly interested in Africa as a potential market but they are not convinced yet about a big investment in the continent. Africa clearly is the biggest opportunity for "Bottom of The Pyramid" business model and Corporate America sees that but still concerned about "chaos and unrest", "lack of rule of law", "business infrastructure" and issues like that.

 

It is great to see that the corporations are watching Africa closely and it is understandable that they are hesitant about the risks; however this tells me that when they think about an investment in Africa, they still think in the boundaries of business as usual. I think there is a need for a big mentality change at that point. Corporate America has to understand that their next 1 billion consumers (including other emerging markets) will not look like their first 1 billion consumers. They need to adapt a fresh look, a different business strategy, an innovative approach to the marketplace that could be relevant under those extraordinary circumstance if they are willing to harness the Bottom of The Pyramid markets. It is not easy but the companies who can innovate in this marketplace will have a huge opportunity in the future.

Thanks to Baird’s Communications Management Consultants for brining this into my attention.

 Aykan Gulten