Trends in Africa

by Hannah Law
Vice President, Ogilvy & Mather
T R E N D S I N
S U B - S A H A R A N
A F R I C A

“You’re going to Africa?! What’s the capital there?”
“Make sure you go on safari!”
“Will you have a security guard?”
“Why?”
- Most people after I told them I was going to Africa

I N T R O
It’s fair to say a lot of people did not understand why I wanted to go to Kenya to establish Ogilvy
& Mather’s Sub-Saharan Africa social media teams.
And rightly so. There’s a lot of confusion, misinformation and stereotypes about the continent. The
best way to dispel them? Take a look at and keep reading.
Africa is a continent of 54 countries with many more tribes, languages (42 in Kenya alone) and
cultures which makes it difficult to generalize trends and behaviors. Nevertheless, here is an outline
of the macro behavioral/business and digital marketing trends that are affecting the sub-Saharan
African markets I have worked with recently (most learnings come from Kenya, Ghana and South
Africa).
I can’t claim to be an expert on Africa. I spent several months in Sub-Saharan Africa last year to
establish Ogilvy & Mather’s social media capabilities in the region. My observations have been
reinforced with research, discussions, examples and data to ensure these are trends worth noting.
I’m a Regional Strategy Director at Ogilvy & Mather, and have worked in more than a dozen
countries around the world on global brands such as Coca-Cola, IBM, Yum!, Intel, Barclays,
Huawei and Canon. I believe we should look to emerging markets to find innovation and growth.

That’s a lot of trends to digest. So as it all sinks in, I’ll leave you with this:
On my first trip to Kenya, I was in a taxi late at night when the driver got lost. It was dark.
We were on a quiet, eerie back street. He pulled over onto the curbside and got out of the
car. My mobile phone battery was flat. The driver’s English wasn’t great. My Swahili was
worse. I had no way of calling for help. My mind was spinning with worst case scenarios.
But how wrong I was. The poor taxi driver was legitimately lost. He soon found someone to
ask for directions, quickly navigated us back to a main road, and I made it to the hotel safe
and sound. This taught me to drop the stereotypes and instead keep an open mind,
regardless of the situation. I encourage you to learn what Africa is for yourself.
If you remember nothing else, remember this:
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
Nelson Mandela

#TheAfricaTheMediaNeverShowsYou

MACRO
CONSUMER &
BUSINESS TRENDS
c
• Africa is not one market
• Scarcity is a secret weapon
• Everyone is a (serial) entrepreneur
• Mass migration you don’t hear
about
• Seagull management is not welcome

M A C R O C O N S U M E R
A N D B U S I N E S S T R E N D S
#1 AFRICA IS NOT ONE MARKET
(NOR A COUNTRY)
When I worked in Asia, we used to
tell clients that it’s very difficult to
create one strategy for an entire
region as local cultures, languages,
behaviours and best practices need
to be considered in order for it to be
effective. The same applies in Africa.
,
Africa is the most culturally diverse
continent in the world with Chad,
Cameroon, Nigeria, Togo and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
taking top spots for countries with
most cultural diversity. We have a
double whammy of diversity:
in-country and across continent.
To illustrate the complexity of
working across a massive region,
let’s use an advertising example: a
campaign for Barclays might work in
Johannesburg but will often not work
effectively in Nairobi, let alone
Lagos. Why? The people in adverts
are not relatable: language, even if
English, has a different expression and pronunciation
(local slang in Nairobi is Sheng: a mix between
Kiswahili and English); conservative cultural and
religious norms need to be adhered to in Nairobi more
than in Jo.berg; and user behaviors around saving
money are vastly different (in Kenya they save in peer
groups called Chamas and often don.t have bank
accounts). Not to mention the different media channels
available, currencies used, industry regulations and
competitive environment.

Africa is the most culturally diverse continent

Localize marketing to be effective in sub-Saharan Africa

WHAT THIS MEANS
• Don’t let the complexity diversity scare you off. Sub-Saharan
Africa is rife with opportunity. But do your research before
diving in: be aware of the stereotypes ( ); spend
time on the ground; avoid making assumptions and falling into
the trap that, as : “People go to Africa
and confirm what they already have in their heads and so they
fail to see what is there in front of them.”
• When doing your research you will undoubtedly come across
the lack of reliable data for Africa, especially
. Look to well-known institutions like The World
Bank, non-government organizations (e.g. Code for Africa),
and industry conferences (e.g. Design Indaba) to find what
data does exist.
• When it comes to marketing, create guidelines, policies,
processes and strategic direction at a Pan-Africa or global level.
Then create, or at least adapt, strategies in-market to maximize
efficacy. For example, at Ogilvy we run a Pan-Africa content
studio for a global FMCG brand using local teams to listen for
insights and create content according to regional strategic
guidelines that is then approved through regional processes and
measured according to standardized metrics so we have ‘apples
for apples’ comparisons across all countries.
* Image source: https://info.internet.org/en/story/innovation-challenge/
-

“People go to
Africa and
conﬁrm what they
already have in
their heads and
so they fail to see
what is there in
front of them.”
Chinua Achebe,
Nigerian novelist
Image: http://nationalmirroronline.net/

#2 SCARCITY IS SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA’S
SECRET WEAPON.
Research shows scarcity drives creativity.
Why? According to a recent Oxford Journal
paper and FastCo author Charlie Sorrell:
“People are more creative when they are
forced to make the best of a situation, or to
come up with alternative uses for objects with
specific uses (this last is called functional
fixedness, and is "defined as a cognitive bias
that limits a person to using an object only in
the way it is traditionally used.").”
To illustrate making the best of a situation, we
can be inspired by the
. Ian Brennan, a music
producer, discovered that inmates "would do
these amazing tribal songs to lift their spirits
for the hours they were allowed outside."
Brennan gave them an opportunity to record
some tracks and the has been
nominated for the “Best World Music Album”
category in the 2016 Grammy Awards, a first
for a record out of Malawi.
In terms of functional fixedness, if consumers are
unable to purchase a new product to meet every
need, then they resort to creating solutions from
existing products or materials. Think
made famous through a
campaign by Ogilvy Asia in 2014 or check out this
and
Necessity has led to invention and creativity across
Sub-Saharan Africa.
that
everyday life in Africa requires innovative responses
to unexpected challenges: “You have to be able to
think on your feet and develop creative workarounds
to get things done.” A huge percentage of Africa’s
population is young – 43% of the Kenyan population
is under age 15 – so many,
, see youth as key to the continent’s future.
From what I saw, young Africans are poised to
reinvent the region’s culture and traditions; they
want to be fast and first – at home and abroad.

Images: Royal TV Nigeria YouTube (top left); afrigadget.com (others)

Image: Bloomberg, MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
“The opportunities are extraordinary.”
President Barack Obama
during Africa visit 2015

WHAT THIS MEANS
• Look beyond the heavy traffic, political instability and unreliable power because Africa
is well poised to become the next hotbed of creativity (not there yet according to the 2015
Martin Prosperity Global Creative Index). Watch continental trends and creative
outputs carefully to see talent and opportunities you could be inspired by, utilize for
in-market growth or export to the world stage. Train yourself to see opportunities instead of
challenges.
• If you have business in Africa, nurture and motivate talent to tap int creativity. People are
excited to learn, adapt for their local market and push the boundaries further. Take
inspiration from the IBM Africa Skills Initiative that supports technologically-savvy graduates.
Could you move African talent around the world to hasten growth and creative outputs?
• If you 're in the advertising world endeavor to include Africa teams in major briefs. Their
think outside the box style of problem solving will be a refreshing addition to traditional
teams and processes.

#3 EVERYONE IS A (SERIAL) ENTREPRENEUR.
Young people in urban cities across Africa are
part of a prosperity movement to achieve more
and earn more.
As a result of this status seeking, almost
everyone is an entrepreneur. For example, a
young woman in Nairobi, Kenya will work as
a Marketing Manager by day and sell
handbags or sunglasses on the side. In Accra,
Ghana, you will easily find a banker who then
goes on to drive a taxi after work, or even
becomes a taxi driver on the commute to
multi-task. Uganda, on the East Coast of
Africa, came in as the most entrepreneurial
country in the world (not just within Africa!)
with
“A massive 28.1% of the [Ugandan]
population are entrepreneurs, capitalizing on
the freedom that comes with shirking off
decades-long rule by dictatorship. Many of the
self-employed are seeing their businesses expand
because of the country's recently laid fiber optic
cables that connect even remote villages to the
Internet.”
Cameroon (13.7%), Angola (12.4%) and
Botswana (11.1%) also make the top ten most
entrepreneurial countries in the world, with the
index calculated by the percentage of adult
population that owns or co-owns a new business
and has paid salaries or wages for three or more
months. Across the region’s urban centers, traffic
jams help street sellers – called ‘zungeiros’ and
‘zungeiras’ in Angola – push their products which
could be anything from children’s books to
mirrors to car seat protectors to snacks to second
hand clothes.
While the serial entrepreneur trend applies across
Africa, the work ethic in different markets varies
drastically. Abuja, Nigeria and Nairobi, Kenya
reflect the chaotic pace and long hours of New
York or Shanghai, whereas Zambia, Ghana and
Tanzania enjoy a slower pace of working life.

Countries with the most entrepreneurship:
1. Uganda 28.1%
2. Thailand 16.7%
3. Brazil 13.8%
4. Cameroon 13.7%
5. Vietnam 13.3%
6. Angola 12.4%
7. Jamaica 11.9%
8. Botswana 11.1% (pictured)
9. Chile 11%
Source: Approved Index 2015 UK Image: BusinessInsider.com and Flickr/IICD

WHAT THIS MEANS
• Consider how your brand could: empower this
entrepreneurial spirit; develop new products and
initiatives that support their multi-faceted lives; make
their life easier, faster, or more efficient. Maybe they
will be a new target segment for your company.
• Know your audience, the challenges they’re facing
and the gaps you can fill. Ultimately, if you find the
balance between quality and price you’ll have
success amongst this discerning urban group.
• Understand the true drivers of the entrepreneurial
spirit in your market or segment: whether its
individualistic pursuits of wealth and materialistic
goods, or community-centered and nationalistic pride
or something different altogether. While the sense of
entrepreneurialism is a trend, the motivating factors
behind it seem to vary significantly.
* Image source: Thandiwe Muriu. http://www.prokraft.co.ke/talent/thandiwe-muriu/

#4 MASS MIGRATION YOU DON’T HEAR ABOUT.
International media is buzzing with stories of Middle East migration to Europe. The migration story you don’t
read about is the one happening in Sub-Saharan Africa. Here the movement is two-fold, taking place from
regional towns to cities, as well as from western countries back ‘home’.
The first type of migration sees regional villages and towns being deserted for the promise of employment,
medical care or protection against human rights abuse in major cities like Lagos, Accra and Nairobi. This
migration, or urbanization, is growing faster in Sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else on earth, as UN
World Urbanization Prospects data reveals. estimates millions of youths
and young people in Africa “risk everything, including their lives, to take on the perilous trips across borders.”
The other migration is Africans living abroad (often the USA and UK) returning to their home countries to
establish businesses and contribute to the growing local economies. The combined forces of these migrations
are triggers for many people joining social networks because it is a cheaper and easier way to stay in touch
with family and friends than phone calls or visits across countries.

WHAT THIS MEANS
• Globalization is in full effect with
Africa’s labor force rapidly
expanding; join in and keep an open
mind. Companies with initiatives to
hire local talent and reduce
unemployment will build brand
affinity.
• In marketing, understand the
context you’re operating in and be
sensitive to local experiences and
history when determining messaging.
Make your media dollars work harder
for you by focusing on media in
urban areas with dense populations.
East Asia
& Pacific
World
Urban Population* Growth (Annual %)
Europe
& Central Asia
LATAM &
Caribbean
Middle East
& NAM
South Asia Sub-Saharan
Africa
ource:

#5 SEAGULL MANAGEMENT IS NOT WELCOME.
Urban Dictionary has an apt (if a bit crude!)
definition of this: “the seagull manager flies in,
makes a lot of noise, craps on everything then
flies off again leaving a big mess behind.”
Africans don’t warm to companies or
management that operates remotely without a
real understanding of life in Africa. Nadja
Bellan-White, CEO of Ogilvy Africa, is always
reminding clients:
“You have to be here, on the ground, to truly
understand what’s happening in Africa. It’s
obvious if a brand or technology platform is
managing their Africa presence remotely; and
locals don’t appreciate it.”
Major technology and marketing corporations
are setting up offices on the ground: Google
has teams; Facebook has recently appointed a
new senior leader in Nunu ; and
Twitter realizes they need to roll out an
on-the-ground presence via their ad network
partners. Outside of our industry,
is also largely attributed to
their significant on-the-ground presence at a
time when Western countries decided to
withdraw their support.
In a similar but separate
response to seagull
management, there is a
push across the continent to
cultivate a new breed of
leaders who are critical
thinkers, socially
responsible and ethical.
Patrick Awuah, the founder
and president of an
innovative liberal arts
college Ashesi University,
embodies this initiative. A
Ghanaian by birth, Awuah
spent years away from the
continent establishing a
successful career at
Microsoft. Still, he traded
his comfortable middle class
American life to establish a
University in Ghana that is
teaching the next
generation of African
leaders.
on
educating the next
generation of African
leaders.
* Nadja Bellan-White, CEO Ogilvy Africa

* Image source:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/64607715@N05/25212903155
WHAT THIS MEANS
• If you’re serious about developing a presence in Africa, put
a team on the ground, and spend time there personally. It will
be tough and ineffective to properly manage it from NYC,
London or any other global hub. Good ‘gateway cities’ to
start an African presence are: Johannesburg or Cape Town in
SA; Nairobi in Kenya for the East Coast; and Accra, Ghana
or Lagos, Nigeria on the West Coast. Andrew Geoghegan,
“You can’t
adopt a Western mindset to doing the research and finding
the insights. You have to immerse yourself in the consumers’
culture and in the environment.”
• Avoid comparing Sub-Saharan African countries with other
markets because it’s a trap that will result in missed
opportunities. Start your planning with a clean slate. Listen
carefully to consumers and local research.
• emphasizes the importance of
organizational agility: “There will be surprises. Your
organization’s ability to adapt and respond is a source of
competitive advantage.”

B E I N S P I R E D B Y T H I S W O R K
A N D T H E S E P E O P L E
• Lucky, a 13 year old
from the Kibera slum in
Nairobi, who has
learned journalism skills
and
(DIY magazine) so
her community’s voice
can be heard.
• Ogilvy and Squad Digital’s recent
work, featuring
local karaoke experts(!) and filmed in
an Accra shopping centre.
• , Ghanaian actor
who
for his role as a child soldier
in Beasts of No Nation.
* Image source: http://www.zinester.org

• Yodit Eklund, the brains
behind the surf lifestyle
brand that
crafts each piece of
clothing in Africa by local
artisans with sustainable
materials.
• , the
self-taught Kenyan beauty
photographer known for bold
colors and striking images.
• , the South
African comedian who now
hosts America’s The Daily
Show.
• Paul-Miki Akpablie, an
international student and
founder of , a
micro-business startup aiming
to reduce the pain of African
power outages through their
long-lasting, portable energy
storage battery that can be
solar-powered.
* Image source: http://bantuwax.com

• who
sees design as a crucial part
of the solution for urban
planning in the Ivory Coast.
• Nigeria’s who has
stormed onto the
international music scene.
• Chimamanda Achie,
Nigerian novelist who’s
was so
impactful Beyonce sampled it
in “Flawless”.
• in Nairobi is the
gathering place for the
emerging tech community
with many startups being
launched each year.
* Image source: Coca-Cola Ghana. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9aAYmvPvkc

DIGITAL
MARKETING
TRENDS
• Mobile as the ﬁrst screen
• Social media is for the wealthy
and young (for now)
• A beacon of hope for Facebook
and Twitter
• “What’s in it for me?” Utility wins
• The Elusive Transparency
• Social Commerce Surprise

#1 MOBILE AS THE FIRST SCREEN (NOT SECOND).
With Africa’s , the
mobile has become the primary device for a
majority of people. According to the
, cell phones are as common in
South Africa and Nigeria as they are in the United
States, mobile phones are most frequently being
used for: communication via text messages, taking
pictures or video, consuming information (e.g.
political news, health info) and making or
receiving payments.
Somewhat surprisingly, the majority of mobile
internet activity in Africa is spent on web pages,
not apps, according to . This is
due to the popularity of low-end, cheap feature
phones, combined with the high cost of data, and
consumer aversion to downloading apps even if
they own a smartphone.
Practicality of what can be done on a mobile
device (feature phone or smartphone) dictates the
success of social media platforms and advertising
or PR campaigns. Low data bandwidth has resulted
in the popularity of Twitter and WhatsApp
compared to Facebook, YouTube and Vine in
many locations. Facebook has just hit back with a
that focuses on text and link-
posts instead of photos and videos. In other
markets, like Kenya and Ghana, the
telecommunications companies (e.g. Airtel,
Safaricom) and social networks (e.g. Facebook,
Twitter) partner to offer free mobile data usage of
the social networks which increases our
opportunities for social media marketing. Mobile
data consumption is growing rapidly across
Africa, especially when compared to the growth of
voice calls, so we’ll see rapid advancements in
how we can use this technology. For now though,
keep it simple.
No matter how they are using it, one thing is clear:
mobile is the first screen that Africans use and rely
upon. Sure, mobile is used in conjunction with
other mediums – most frequently radio and TV –
but it helps everyone from
via a virtual marketplace to
D I G I T A L
M A R K E T I N G
T R E N D S

• Cell phone growth is growing quickly.
• Feature phones are most common.
• The majority of mobile internet activity in Africa is
spent on web pages, not apps.
Adults who own a phone
Source: Quartz, 2015

WHAT THIS MEANS
• Mobile and Internet infrastructure investment
will be crucial to Africa’s development. If
investment continues, the impact upon GDP will
be exponential. A slightly dated (2013)
estimates the Internet could
add a potential $300 billion a year to Africa’s
GDP.
• Africa is opening up a new market for
m-commerce and mobile/social marketing.
Every campaign should be a ‘mobile first’
communications approach with consideration
of the user experience on a mobile device –
feature phone and smartphone. A key aspect
of the user experience is to recognize the high
cost of data in Africa that limits people’s desire
to engage with data-heavy content and
campaigns. Optimize your mobile website
because that pretty app won’t be so widely
used on the continent.
• Those videos and gifs you just created in a
global campaign aren’t useless, but only a few
people in Africa will actually be exposed to them
- let alone engage with them. Reset your
expectations about what online media success
looks like on the continent and be sure to include
low-fi ways to view or interact with your content.
For example: creating memes by taking stills from
your video or micro-targeting text only versions of
your posts to people with a feature phone.
Free Basics by Facebook provides people with access to basic mobile-optimized
websites (news, job postings, health etc) for free.
Image source: https://info.internet.org/en/approach/

#2 SOCIAL MEDIA IS FOR THE WEALTHY
AND YOUNG (FOR NOW).
Social penetration is not as high as the hype
suggests (with the exception of South Africa and
Kenya). But ignore it at your peril because the
trend is growing exponentially. The charts to the
right reveal the low social network penetration in
several African countries. Facebook and YouTube
are the most popular platforms.
What the charts don’t reveal is that internet
connectivity and (see chart) have
resulted in the social networks being enjoyed
primarily by Africans living in major cities, people
of a , technology
savvy people or young people. There is an
emerging middle class in Africa who will be the
drivers of social media adoption.
545.5M 42%
TOTAL POPULATION
ACROSS LEADING MARKETS
INTERNET
PENETRATION
POPULATION & INTERNET PENETRATION
BY COUNTRY
Pop. Penetration
Kenya 45.9M 64%
Mauritius 1.3M 60%
Egypt 88.5M 55%
Nigeria 181.5M 51%
South Africa 54.8M 49%
Zimbabwe 14.2M 47%
Uganda 37.1M 23%
Ghana 26.3M 20%
Botswana 2.2M 19%
Zambia 15.1M 18%
Tanzania 51.1M 15%
Namibia 2.2M 15%
Mozambique 25.3M 5%
PLATFORM USAGE of the
above countries
FACEBOOK
71.7M
USERS
TWITTER
6.8M
USERS
INSTAGRAM
7.3M
USERS
LINKEDIN
11.2M
USERS
YOUTUBE
2.9B
VIEWS/Month
Broadband prices as percentage
of gross national income per capita
•Europe
•Americas
•Arab States
•Asia Pacific
•Africa
Source: ATLAS. Data: International Telecommunication Union.
Average %
1.3
7.4
9.2
16
178.3
Source: internetworld.org and platform insights, Oct 2015

WHAT THIS MEANS
• Social media and online campaigns are likely to
only reach higher socio-economic groups directly
so adapt messaging accordingly. This group has a
higher disposable income ($4-$20 per day). The
expects the emerging
middle class will grow to 42% by 2060 with
consumption on the continent currently growing at
. This target market is appealing
for large international companies so you’ll need a
marketing strategy to deliver cut-through.
• states that
“people in Africa love US and UK brands” so
leverage any international heritage or international
spokespeople.
• Review how this trend evolves on an annual
basis as it’s likely to change in the next year or
two as smartphones become more affordable and
ubiquitous.
19

#3 AFRICA’S POPULATION IS A BEACON OF HOPE
FOR TWITTER AND FACEBOOK.
Social networks are scrambling to grow in Africa to
rescue their declining user growth. During my time
in Africa, I went to events where senior
representatives from ,
, and presented their
plans for growth and development. There is about to
be a lot more investment and focus on Africa as the
behemoth platforms, with stagnating user numbers,
seek to reverse the trend by converting Africa’s
giant population. Why do you think Facebook and
Google are so keen to get blimps and drones into
the sky to issue internet in remote parts of Africa?
Let’s not be naïve: the platforms see the business
benefit of converting the population into active
users – it’s a giant advertising pot of gold.
Facebook’s focus on developing markets is evident
in their recent rollout of a special
combined with
a initiative that gives Facebook
employees very slow internet speeds every Tuesday
so they better understand the way consumers in
countries like Madagascar might be experiencing
their platform.
The
“Netflix of Africa”, iROKO, and the similar service
ShowMax, are not anticipating that expensive and
slow internet access will stop the growing consumer
class from consuming video content.
The Connectivity Lab at Facebook is developing ways to make affordable internet access possible in
communities around the world. The team is exploring a variety of technologies, including high-altitude
long-endurance planes, satellites and lasers.
Image source: https://info.internet.org/en/approach/

WHAT THIS MEANS
• Expect social media to continue to grow
exponentially across the continent. The user growth
will bring a more advanced usage of social
networking including social media marketing for
brands.
• Africans are with
Nielsen explaining that nearly half (48%) of
consumers interviewed said advertising has
significant influence on their purchase decisions,
while 38% say promotional activities motivate them
to buy more of a particular product. The best media
approach is to incorporate online and social
advertising into your traditional advertising
marketing mix because Africa’s consumers are still
most aware of advertising on broadcast (83%)
outdoor (78%), and print (65%).
• Advertisers, you should brainstorm how you can
partner with the social networks to bring innovative
advertising formats and techniques to Africa. Maybe
you could co-create a new style of 2G advertising
for sub-Saharan Africa?
* Image source: Thandiwe Muriu. http://www.prokraft.co.ke/talent/thandiwe-muriu/

#4 “WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? UTILITY WINS.
This might sound like a cliché but life can be hard in Africa. Someone living in a remote village in Nigeria may
travel for two days to visit their closest hospital; while someone living in Lagos might travel four hours to get to
their bank due to trafﬁc. Simple tasks we take for granted in the West can be time consuming and exhausting
in parts of Africa.
“People are surviving within a context of constant change, few guarantees, limited or non-existent social
protection, informal infrastructure and a history of power struggles between military and civilian
governments.”
The Futures Company, Africa’s New Consumers, 2014
Brands that have provided useful technology solutions are winning. Safaricom, Kenya’s main
telecommunications company (an Ogilvy PR client), introduced mobile money solution mPESA. It transformed
money, the role of banks, and transactions: Kenyans don’t need a bank account; they simply need a phone
and mPESA account to pay for goods or transfer money.
Uber Kenya is another example: it was met with resistance and protests from local drivers, curiosity from
potential passengers, and enthusiasm from expats. Uber is likely to (continue to) position as transport for the
people but is this appropriate in a culture where people most commonly walk or take small-scale private
transport like Matatus (pictured)?

WHAT THIS MEANS
• Consumers see options where we, as brands, see
fragmentation. Let’s learn from them and look for
opportunities instead of challenges.
• Put the focus back on consumers - consider what
you are offering them. Make campaigns be about
them, not you as a brand. Acknowledge the state
of eternal change consumers are operating in and
don’t be afraid to push emotional messaging in
your campaign.
• Global tech brands such as Uber will need to
re-evaluate their positioning as being ‘for the
people’ when they actually will be a very elite
service. Local versions of these services are likely
to spring up and these could potentially better
serve consumer needs, as is the case with iROKO,
the “Netflix of Africa” (see Social Commerce
Surprise for more information).

#5 THE ELUSIVE TRANSPARENCY.
(Online) influence is bought in
Africa. It is difficult to find
influencers who are transparent
and genuine brand advocates so
we must change expectations,
value exchange and cultivate
more meaningful relationships
over time. During my time in
Africa we spent countless hours
brainstorming how to engage
bloggers and Twitter stars to
become genuine brand advocates
through unique experiences,
instead of sums money. I had to
laugh when a scandal erupted
between a Kenyan businessman
and his New Zealand business
rival who was allegedly paying
online influencers to trash talk.
The Kenyan bloggers were
caught on tape admitting to
being paid to defame, they asked
company representatives for 50
million Ksh (approx. $500k USD)
to delete the tweets and ‘walk
away!’ The
could have been straight
out of a Telenovela script.
In a similar push for
transparency, Twitter is under
pressure to uncover terrorist
activity despite their focus on
freedom of speech. While
twitter cooperates, it is easy to
imagine how trying to destroy
all terrorist-supported social
media accounts could be
compared to a game of
whack-a-mole.
* Image source: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/131699-the-internet-space-race-is-on-google-loon
-vs-facebook-drones-vs-spacex-satellites
And as mainstream media
frequently reminds us,
transparency is an issue offline
too. That is such a big topic I
won’t cover it here aside from
sharing this outrageous story
about Kenyan government
officials paying

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
• Brands that value transparency
and live by their values will win
in Pan-Africa. Stay consistent
and deliver on your brand
promise to grow a loyal
customer base. Warning: it
won’t be as easy to live by these
values in Africa.
• Prevent a crisis by planning
for what happens if/when your
brand values or transparency is
compromised. Consider how you
will respond, how you’d deal
with corruption and maintain
authenticity and build trust.
• Don’t believe everything you
read. Social media and
mainstream media outlets can
create a frenzy about factually
incorrect stories, like this recent
example about forced
. Brands should resist
the urge to feed into stereotypes
and hype unless they have done
the necessary fact checking.
• Brands may want to step up
and support Sub-Saharan
economies, progressive
initiatives, or anti-corruption
movements if local governments
do not improve. Trendwatching
suggests brands should initiate
to
“encourage or even enforce
good behavior or better living.”
Sir Andrew Whitty, CEO of
Glaxo SmithKline says:
“The transformation of Africa into
a successful growth region is one
such area that we need to focus
on. There is a great opportunity
for business to play a role,
alongside governments and other
agencies, to help deliver
improved infrastructure in Africa
and create prosperity to lift
people out of poverty for good.”

#6 SOCIAL COMMERCE SURPRISE.
The entrepreneurial Africans who are on
social media are often using it for
business purposes; however social
commerce is not happening as we’d
expect it to with the flashy new ‘Buy’
buttons the social networks have recently
rolled out. Nope. It happens plain and
simple with pics of the merchandise
uploaded to Facebook/Twitter/WhatsApp
groups with details like price, size (if
relevant), and a phone number to call to
purchase. Can’t drop by to pick it up or
maybe the business doesn’t even have a
shopfront? No problem, the businesses
often offer delivery to your door.
One of my favourite examples of
Sub-Saharan commerce was in the
“In May 2015, South Africa-based mobile
app GoBeauty launched on WeChat. Via
the move, customers can automatically
book services for free in real-time using
the mobile chat app. Once users have
added GoBeautySA to their WeChat
contacts, they can book services such as
hairdressing, manicures and spa
treatments.”
Sub- Saharan Africa’s eCommerce sector
is struggling to manage the advent of
social commerce combined with tough
economic conditions and pressure from
investors. were recent
shake-ups and layoffs at Nigeria’s
Konga.com, the country’s top online
retailer, and Jumia. E-commerce
companies are tackling the lack of trust in
online shopping and old behavioural
habits preferring face-to-face transactions.
Social commerce could offer a more
personal solution for the challenge of
face-to-face transactions.
B O N U S M I N I - T R E N D

WHAT THIS MEANS
• Experiment with social commerce, even if eCommerce isn’t effective. Social
commerce can be more human and personable. Furthermore, it doesn’t have to be
the ‘official’ platform method of social commerce, instead be creative with how
people in Africa might like to use the technology and complete a transaction.
• Learnings from America and Europe probably won’t apply here. Look to APAC
and their use of WeChat for more relevant examples you could learn from and
adapt for Africa. Whatever you do, make it easy for people to purchase given the
hurdles around financial infrastructure.
• Keep an eye out for new, innovative forms of payments as Africans look to
continue to revolutionize the finance industry.

Powered by
Global Social Media Specialists.
For more information contact
Hannah Law at hannah.law@ogilvy.com
or tweet us @socialogilvy

SOCIAL MEDIA
I N A F R I C A
DEMOGRAPHICS
545.5M 42%
TOTAL POPULATION
ACROSS LEADING MARKETS
INTERNET
PENETRATION
POPULATION & INTERNET PENETRATION
BY COUNTRY
Pop. Penetration
Kenya 45.9M 64%
Mauritius 1.3M 60%
Egypt 88.5M 55%
Nigeria 181.5M 51%
South Africa 54.8M 49%
Zimbabwe 14.2M 47%
Uganda 37.1M 23%
Ghana 26.3M 20%
Botswana 2.2M 19%
Zambia 15.1M 18%
Tanzania 51.1M 15%
Namibia 2.2M 15%
Mozambique 25.3M 5%
PLATFORM USAGE
Powered by Social@Ogilvy, Global Social Media Specialists.
For more information contact Hannah Law at
hannah.law@ogilvy.com or tweet us @socialogilvy
PLATFORM PENETRATION
BY COUNTRY
FACEBOOK
71.7M
USERS
TWITTER
6.8M
USERS
INSTAGRAM
7.3M
USERS
LINKEDIN
11.2M
USERS
YOUTUBE
2.9B
VIEWS/Month
youtube
Views/User
2
4
4
5
9
11
17
21
37
41
47
55
124
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Kenya
Ghana
Tanzania
South Africa
Mozambique
Botswana
Egypt
Nigeria
Namibia
Mauritius
0 124
instagram USERS
44K
83K
33K
1.3M
510K
49K
2.7M
1.5M
300K
26K
110K
610K
59K
Zimbabwe
Uganda
Zambia
Nigeria
Kenya
Mauritius
Egypt
South Africa
Ghana
Botswana
Mozambique
Tanzania
Namibia
0 100
0 100
twitter USERS
293K
1.2M
128K
90K
693K
168K
55K
39K
2.1M
41K
1.9M
40K
55K
Ghana
Nigeria
Uganda
Zimbabwe
Kenya
Tanzania
Zambia
Mozambique
Egypt
Mauritius
South Africa
Namibia
Botswana
LINKEDIN USERS
2.5M
1.9M
1.2M
337K
411K
427K
222K
178K
783K
4.8M
164K
131K
164K
Nigeria
Egypt
Kenya
Zimbabwe
Tanzania
Uganda
Zambia
Mozambique
Ghana
South Africa
Mauritius
Namibia
Botswana
0 100
facebook
Zimbabwe
Nigeria
Kenya
Uganda
Tanzania
South Africa
Zambia
Egypt
Ghana
Namibia
Mauritius
Botswana
Mozambique
USERS
870K
14.0M
5.1M
1.8M
2.8M
13.0M
1.3M
27.0M
3.0M
231K
580K
294K
1.2M
Platform Penetration Percentage
0 100
Average Number of Monthly Views per Internet User
Sources: Facebook Advertising Power Editor, Oct 2015 / Twitter Ad Dynamo, June 2015 / LinkedIn Ads, December 2015.

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