AFRICAPITALISM

Africa offers a ray of hope in an
uncertain global economy. Many
parts of the continent are
experiencing rapid and
sustained economic growth,
with political, social and
infrastructural conditions
continually improving. Market
attractiveness has begun to
outweigh the risks of doing
business and foreign investment
is flooding in. Most exciting is the
emerging growth in intra-African
investment: Africans doing
business for Africa.
Now is the time of the African
challengers. These local
businesses with global ambitions
are expanding rapidly and
fending off larger global
competitors. This movement can
be observed in the workings of
big business, SMEs and
entrepreneurs alike. Increasingly,
local B-brands are investing in
marketing to grow brand equity,
using local know-how and quick
decision-making to compete
against (and beat) multinationals.
Our latest white paper, 'Doing
Business on Purpose',
demonstrates how businesses
can make a positive societal
impact in a way that is also
commercially advantageous. We
show that by uncovering the
why behind your business and
brand, you can give your
employees a reason to wake up
in the morning, engage
meaningfully with consumers, be
a part of something that is
bigger than yourself and enjoy
sustainable growth.
Purpose is especially relevant on
the African continent, where
businesses cannot separate
themselves from the social
contexts in which they operate.
The successful African brands of
the future will be those that view
societal challenges as
opportunities rather than
barriers and that become
financially and emotionally
invested in Africa. This is not
philanthropy - this is for-profit
business done with long-term,
holistic goals in mind.
Can purpose be used as a
competitive advantage by local
businesses as they take on global
players? Key private sector
figures are advocating new
models of 'philanthropic
investment', 'venture
philanthropy' and 'philanthro-
capitalism'. Africapitalism, the
term coined by Nigerian mogul
Tony Elumelu, is a for-profit
model aimed at stimulating
economic development. Elumelu
believes that the African private
sector has "the power to
transform the continent through
long-term investments, creating
both economic prosperity and
social wealth", and by doing so,
we can teach non-Africans how
to approach investing in the
continent. And he's not alone in
his thinking: the likes of Aliko
Dangote, Lucien Ebata,
Theophilus Danjuma - other key
figures with enormous economic
power - have realised the value
they can create by investing in
development.
Africa