By 2040 most African Countries will be middle class: Five things you can do from today to successfully establish your business by 2040 on the continent

By Patrick Mayoh

Carlos Lopez, current UN under-secretary-general and executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), believes most African nations will be middle-class by 2040. Assuming this is true, and I don't have any reason to believe it is not. I think there are 5 things you can start doing today as a multinational or local comapny or as an entrepreneur to make sure you succeed in Africa.

Target the youth

Half of the youth population by 2040 will be from Africa. So think about the different ways you can learn about the youth population, namely their tastes, aspirations and needs. Think about products or services that will tap into their wishes and connect with them. Sponsor youth-related events and causes and make yourself visible, get to be known among them. Many of them today might not actually have the money to buy what you sell but by being visible, I am sure they will remember you when they have some money to spend.

Build Brand Loyalty

This sounds a bit similar to the first point. But what I mean here is, as a company still appealing to customers and consumers from other geographies, think about how you can appeal to African customers. Tailor your products, services and offerings to their context. Be customer-centric rather than product centric, if you don't understand the difference, read this article. Some brands are thinking along this line. This article on Heinekenn's strategy for Africa is a good example of what I am talking about here (sorry it is in french).

Plan your market-entry

 Africa is not a country. It is a collection of diverse nations and consumers, so although culturally you might find many similarities you will also be faced with a lot of differences. People in Lagos in Nigeria and Douala in Cameroon have different needs. So in planning to enter the African market be careful not to focus on the whole continent but think in terms of cities or neighborhoods in cities. Income levels vary from one country to another. You have many entry strategies. You can either commit by investing in R&D or reconfigure the value chain for your products, or do some judo economics or niche strategy, depending on the size of your firm.

Get to know the African Consumer

 Reinaldo Fiorini and Safroadu Yeboah-Amankwah from Mc Kinsey and Company believe Africans are hopeful and aspirational.  Armed with this kind of information, there is a lot you can do to capitalize on the optimism of Africa. For example think about products and services that reflect that state of mind and do some more research to deepen your understanding of the customer segment you aim to serve in Africa.

Buy a stake or work for a company with operations in Africa

If you are truly serious about building a successful business in Africa, then work in a company with operations in Africa. This will increase your understanding of how to succeed there and will provide you with some idea about the African consumer. If you have some money buy a stake in an African Company that you can plan to buy later depending on your plans.

Do you know other ways to plan for the African market?

Patrick Mayoh is a chief strategy officer at Aura Cameroon.