In Michael Porter’s article, The Competitive Advantage of the Inner City, I found striking parallels between the inner city in the United States and struggling economies in Africa. The article’s assertion that inner cities are located in what should be economically valuable areas rang true for Africa – a land of oil and precious metal deposits and climates ideal for growing almost anything. Also, just as the inner city market itself represents the most immediate opportunity for urban-based entrepreneurs and businesses, other African nations represent the most immediate opportunity for African entrepreneurs and businesses.
Instead of developing intra-African trade, many African nations depend on a significant amount of foreign imports for products that could be manufactured on the continent. The expansion of Nigeria’s music and film industries into other African countries may provide models adaptable for other businesses on the continent. Other notable qualities of the African market are its size. The proliferation of cell phones across the continent proves that despite low incomes, high population densities translate to an immense market with substantial purchasing power as noted in Professor Porter’s article on the inner city.
I once considered the continent I call home an enigma – a place with all the ingredients for an amazing pot of soup despite generations of chefs who have failed to put the winning recipe together. As I’ve matured, I have realized that the chefs don’t even want the ingredients in front of them because they’d rather cook someone else’s soup. This situation doesn’t seem unique to Nigerians. From government to education to business, we Africans have so remained in a posture of counterfeiting the West that we’ve failed to identify and capitalize on what we may be naturally suited to excel at.
Don’t you find it puzzling that before we left the continent, we held anything American or European in higher regard than products or ideas we made ourselves? Deny it if you will, but I know I’m not alone in admitting this. It seems we Africans still have a strong distrust of our own abilities, products or ideas, which undermines opportunities for uncovering African ingenuity.
Looking to the future, we need to identify the core competencies and competitive advantages of African nations and the role of private enterprise, government, and aid organizations in capitalizing on these strengths. Scaling Africa’s development hurdles will require the involvement of business, with the support of government and aid organizations. It’s time we discovered what the combination of Africa’s people, culture and resources position us to do better than anyone else on earth.
Here are some of to get the ball rolling: What are the most viable and least controversial resources in Africa? Can the vast differences in ethnic demographics be leveraged as a force for driving growth in the private sector? Can Nigeria-based businesses capitalize on the fact that the average Nigerian speaks at least 3 languages and can this strategy be replicated in other countries? What are some of the growth areas being overlooked by nations so dependent on mineral or oil exports as income generators?
How can multinational companies, aid organizations and NGOs capitalize on Africa’s competitive advantages to increase profits or desired results while ensuring the economic development of their host countries? Is it possible that as businesses are established to provide necessities such as electricity and potable water, leaders will emerge in the private sector, and government will inevitably change to reflect the ideals of its people?
It would have been more helpful if you’d provided a link to PRofessor Porter’s article. I’m now very keen to read it. But this piece is provocative and well written–and makes sense.
It’s good to see a lot of these ideas put down in text. You bring up a lot of good points. Here are my thoughts –
Regarding our holding foreign products in higher esteem than indigenous ones i think many of us did so simply because the foreign made products were by and large better. For example: Kelloggs cornflakes was probably better than Nasco cornflakes, Ovaltine was probably better than Bonvita.
While it’s true that everything foreign is (incorrectly) automatically viewed as better i don’t think it’s a coincidence- I think historically foreign products have been better and people won’t spend their hard earned money on indigenous products simply because of African pride.
You might want to hold local manufacturers accountable to higher standards but then they also find themselves in a tough situation. How do you make products cheap enough for the average African while also maintaining the standards found elsewhere?
I think that as people’s standard of living picks up along with their purchasing power they will demand better products. If those better products happen to be foreign then so be it – Indigenous industries would then have to compete globally.
We should change how we view one another but i think that when it comes to the economics – demand & supply – the consumer will always go for the products that gives him the most bang for the buck. African products ideally should be that product.
Supply and Demand Economics notwithstanding, the example of our preference for foreign products over local ones points to a bigger issue. If this was just a matter of cost benefits, then it would bear out your argument. However, how do you explain the fact that simply by changing my accent to sound either British or American, I’m almost automatically guaranteed better treatment in my own country? Of course people should get the most bang for their hard-earned buck, but let’s not be so naive to think that it’s merely a matter of supply and demand.
Also, don’t be so quick to cite history as evidence of foreign products always being better. Early sailors to the coast of Africa exchanged trifles like cloth, alcohol and kitchenware for our ivory, gold and iron. It’s not like we didn’t already have these things, the biggest problem then and arguably, even now, was that we did not see what we had as valuable enough and seem all too ready to exchange our gold for the fleeting equivalent of cloth or alcohol.
I also do not think it has anything to do with western products being better. throughout history anything african has always been made to be lesser and inferior be it a product, the people or resources. this way of thinking has filtered through the generations, always being led yo believe we are a step behind, not good enough that we have never been able to find value in what we have. for example, nollywood.we cannot even support this local industry because our eyes which are accustomed to hollywood, cannot stand the ‘bad’ quality. so as opposed to enjyoing wacthing our own stories told by us about us, we would rather watch white bodies on screen living lives not even remotely close to us. what does quality matter then? how does quality improve if we continue to be ashamed of what comes from within us?
the truth is people would rather pay more for a foreign product because they trst them more merely because its foreign and we dont trust ourselves. we find it hard to listen to our own music merely because its african, ready to criticise and find reasons not to like it because its african. we have a wealth of culture and art that has developed in the past twenty years and all we need to do is take time to see the value in it. it took the zimbabwean governemnt declaring 100% local music only on television and radio for some of us who had never been interested in local music to realise the wealth of talent we had,the creatvity that was possible and the beauty of our own music. this gave many young people the opporutinity to actually have music as a viable career option which was nto possible before, especially in this continent.
let us learn to find value in what we have, not to be continously live under this false impression that we were given over a hundred years ago that anything out there is better than what is african.
I agree in part with most of the comments. Here are some of my thoughts:
There is an issue of the mentality that Western products are better, but like Wendu said, there is often the issue of quality control. Really, if you improve the quality, people tend to buy local. An example is Nigerian music where the production and marketing – I don’t necessarily think the talent – has improved remarkably in the last decade. Now events play only Nigerian music all the time: from parties to clubs to TV shows, and really it isn’t because of any conscious effort to ‘listen Nigeria’ They simply got better. I listen easily to the music but hardly watch the movies, I would if they got better!
There is a lot to be said for good governance/ leadership and fostering the right environment. The decline – at least in Nigeria, which is where I have been – has been due to a sustained bad Government with bad policies literally sucking the life out of entrepreneurs. The few instances where a sort of enabling emviroment has been created (even if minimal e.g deregulation only) like the telecoms industry shows that there is a lot of willingness and ability to do good business.
On the other hand I do think we have a ‘It’s the Govt’s job’ mentality. One of the things I admire about the US is the ‘we can do’ attitude, the belief in the ability of the individual to make a difference.
What do I think we need. Really, a lot. But perhaps more than anything else, an attitude change. It’s time to start acting and living smarter. To stop being short-sighted as individuals, communities and nations. I would like to help cultivate a service attitude among young people. Because, they will eventually become the leaders, and hopefully if that is the prevalent attitude, then they will serve when they have the chance.
I can’t stop us from being selfish or ambitious, but maybe we can channel these to more positive ends e.g a leader seeking posterity, not prosperity. And it’s not just the leaders, it’s about everyone; From the businessman who strives for excellence and a reputable brand rather than quick profits, to the student who aims to understand and become prestigious rather than to pass by any means.
It’s simple really. However a couple of years ago, I realised that simple solutions though often the best, are also paradoxically often the hardest to implement.