Thebe Ikalafeng’s view
It’s not difficult to understand why the proud people of the Kingdom of Lesotho took offense when US President Donald Trump, in his address to Congress this month, referred to the southern African nation as a country “nobody has heard of.” It’s just like when Namibia took exception after he mispronounced the country as “Nambia” in 2017, or how he caused upset when he reportedly referred to nations in Africa collectively as “shithole countries” in 2018.
But this isn’t only about Trump. Whether it’s The Economist calling Africa “the hopeless continent” in 2000 or changing its mind in 2011, with its “Africa Rising” cover, much of the image, narrative, and brand perception of Africa and African countries is shaped by non-Africans. Africa No Filter, a media advocacy group, found that over 60% of the people who write about Africa do not have a base on the continent. The narrative has tended to be of a continent that is poor, hungry, and war-torn — except when it’s time to go on safari in Kenya or buy a holiday home in Cape Town.
All this suggests that Africa has a continental and nation-branding challenge.
In the 15 years since my company started our Brand Africa study of the 100 most-admired brands in Africa, on average, 80% of the top brands have been non-African. If one accepts that brands are a vector of a country’s image and identity, then it would seem Africans have an aversion to African brands. You could also conclude that perhaps we are incapable of building desirable global African brands. But the pan-African success stories of South African telecom group MTN, Nigeria’s industrial giant Dangote, Ethiopian Airlines, and Kenya’s Safaricom M-Pesa belie that. They’ve all had a transformative impact on the home nations’ brands, as well as the wider perception of Africa.
It’s time for African countries to come together, under the auspices of the African Union, and enact a “Buy African Act” to drive a brand-led “Made in Africa” agenda. It is in Africa’s interests to build resilient, competitive, and independent continental and country brands.
There is plenty of precedent for this. Most notably, in 1933 the US Buy American Act legislated that at least 50% of all procurement by the US government and its agencies must be “made in America.” Over time, driving the national interest of America has made it a dominant economic power with globally desired brands, the resources to build its military might, and the soft power to influence world affairs and culture, expressed in music, movies, and media.
If the ambitious African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, which was ratified in 2018 and is hoped to increase intra-Africa trade from 15% of total trade to 50% by 2030 is to succeed, then the AU and member countries must champion a Buy African agenda to catalyze and inspire African entrepreneurship and the growth of African brand-led solutions. Otherwise the goods and services that will be advantaged will not be made in Africa — and the dreams of a prosperous Africa will remain just a pipe dream.
Thebe Ikalafeng is the founder and chairman of Brand Africa, an initiative to boost the visibility of African brands.