Login

Register




Building capacity to help Africa trade better

Consumers and competition: America’s business edge in Africa

News

Consumers and competition: America’s business edge in Africa

Consumers and competition: America’s business edge in Africa
Photo credit: AfDB | Aurélien Gillier

A decade of robust economic growth, rising consumption, and improved business climates in Africa has caught the attention of investors around the world. But what are the keys to US business success on the continent?

On September 7, 2017, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center launched two new issue briefs: Escaping China’s Shadow: Finding America’s Competitive Edge in Africa, by Senior Fellow Aubrey Hruby, and Capturing the African Consumer Market: Truths, Trends, and Strategies for the Road Ahead, by Aleksandra Gadzala.

Escaping China’s Shadow: Finding America’s Competitive Edge in Africa

Over the past decade, Africa has been cast as a new battleground for influence between the United States and China. China’s economy has experienced meteoric growth since the 1980s, and China has looked to Africa’s natural resources to help fuel this rise. In the process, China has rapidly increased its trade and commercial relationships with African nations.

The Donald Trump administration is hearing concerns from American companies that they face a competitive disadvantage against China in African markets. China’s major financial commitments to Africa, coupled with its double digit returns, have discouraged American companies from breaking into African markets. Amid growing concerns regarding China’s expanding economic influence on the continent, a reassessment of America’s business edge and overall competitiveness is past due.

But, while it is true that China’s presence on the continent has dramatically grown since 2001 – the trade relationship went from $10 billion to $220 billion in fourteen years – it is not true that the presence of Chinese companies precludes American business success. American companies simply need to be more artful in leveraging the United States’ competitive advantages.

Improvements in macroeconomic policy and business environments in countries throughout Africa are creating a rapidly expanding opportunity set, and there is plenty of room for American companies heretofore focused on domestic US growth to look to the continent for fresh opportunities.

Download this issue brief.


Capturing the African Consumer Market: Truths, Trends, and Strategies for the Road Ahead

Headlines about Africa’s emerging middle class are grabbing the attention of analysts and investors. A decade of strong economic growth, rising consumption, an African shopping mall boom, and a growing number of gated residential communities in some urban centers seem to suggest that a significant societal shift, and an accompanying surge in spending, is afoot.

For America’s consumer goods companies, the latest shifts in African consumer trends hold much promise. Spending by consumers and businesses on the continent is forecast to grow significantly over the next decade.

There are real economic opportunities associated with the burgeoning African consumer market, but they are often exaggerated and poorly understood. As it exists today, the African consumer market is highly segmented and fluid – and absent a discernible “middle.”

Africa’s consumer market is continually reshaped, most significantly by technological advances and urbanization. These trends do not unfold linearly, and they have varying implications for different consumer groups. The picture is messy.

This brief will help potential investors unpack some of these details, better understand African consumers, and appreciate the complexities of the continent’s development. Finally, it will reflect on effective strategies for capturing the opportunities offered by Africa’s growth.

Download this issue brief.


These issue briefs are part of a partnership between the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center and the OCP Policy Center and are made possible by generous support from the OCP Foundation.

Contact

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel +27 21 880 2010