Challenging times for Africa, but resilience and optimism give hope

For brands and their marketing teams – frequently struggling amidst high inflation, supply chain issues, exchange-rate concerns and other challenges – the steadfast determination of ordinary Africans to make tomorrow a better day is a ray of sunshine in the economic gloom; a rallying point for brand plans and business strategies that can look beyond the short term. 

The latest Kantar ‘Africa Life 2023-2024’ study – released in the latter part of 2023 and covering the nations of Nigeria, Senegal, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – emphasises the African spirit as one of the reasons that consumer-facing businesses, particularly multinationals headquartered far beyond the continent, can continue to invest here and plan for the longer term. 

“We see institutions, multinationals, and investors question whether African nations can sustain and maintain the gains they’ve seen in recent years. My argument is: ‘yes, we can’,” said Dan Oseman, a 10-year Africa veteran and Chief Growth Officer for Kantar’s Insights Division in West, East and Central Africa during the presentation that launched the latest study. 

It’s not a marketing slogan 

He added that ‘Africa is on the rise’ is not a marketing slogan. “It is a reality. While we do expect the next few years to be tough, the underlying fundamentals of Africa’s youthful, aspirational and innovative societies, empowered by technology, haven’t changed. What is changing is how people are evolving in their ambitions and lifestyles.” 

To compile Africa Life 2023-2024’, the consultancy had 5,000 conversations with consumers, including in Ethiopia, a sometimes lesser-understood market. The latter threw up insights which senior Kantar executive, Ndeye Diagne, intriguingly referred to as “the Ethiopian Exception” in her presentation. 

That exception comes quickly to the fore in the study’s comparison of ‘Optimism vs Pessimism’ in Africa – where, it must be said, optimism has taken a hit due to economic circumstances and has declined for the past four years. Yet it still remains higher than in other regions of the world. 

Ethiopians have the lowest level of pessimism of all the countries surveyed. They are also the most patriotic.  

Apart from Uganda (49%), all the countries scored 50% or above for optimism, with Ethiopia and Senegal being the most optimistic. 

To find out more about the Kantar ‘Africa Life 2023-2024’ consumer trends study, read the latest issue (Issue 4 2023) of ‘Strategic Marketing for Africa’. You can browse or download a free copy of the digital magazine here. A print copy is also available.