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We have posted on the emergence of Africa before, but this story “A Continent of New Consumers Beckons” (Wall Street Journal, January 13, 2011 – non-subscribers may have to click here) provides more examples and some data you might enjoy sharing in class.  The article is part of a series at the WSJ called Africa Rising and includes articles on doing business in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia (Ethiopia article – link for non-subscribers).  For example:

• McKinsey & Co. predicts consumer spending will grow to $1.4 trillion by 2020.
• The number of middle class consumers (defined as those who are able to spend on more than just the necessities) in Africa now exceeds those in India.

The article includes some great photos that show a side of Africa many students don’t expect — a side that looks a lot like the U.S.  Also click on the Interactive Graphics tab to get an interactive time line and refresher on African history.

Another example of a company spotting opportunity in Africa (see recent post “The Africa Opportunity“).  This time it is KFC and its parent Yum Brands that are looking to expand in this growing market.  This article, “KFC Savors Potential in Africa” (Wall Street Journal, December 7, 2010 – non-subscribers may have to find article here)  includes some demographic and competitive information that might be useful in class discussions or examples when covering international, demographics, or channels of distribution/retail.

More companies are looking at Africa as their next growth opportunity.  The new edition of Basic Marketing describes the continent’s income and population growth — as well as the increased access to the internet and cellular phones.  Here are a couple of articles that highlight the opportunities that big companies like Coca Cola and Walmart see in Africa:  “Africa:  Coke’s Last Frontier” (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, October 29, 2010) and “Can Walmart and Coca-Cola make profits in Africa” (GlobalPost, November 8, 2010).  The GlobalPost story notes that “…59 million African households earn at least $5000 per year and that number is forecast to reach 106 million by 2014.”  Both stories provide some goodexamples of these two companies efforts.

This could help you bring an international dimension when discussing opportunity analysis, retailing, channels of distribution, and logistics.

Seth Godin is great and I always enjoy following his blog.  In this blog post, “The brand, the package, the story, and the worldview,” Godin offers advice to African chocolate maker Madecasse on how putting a story on its package might help its sales.  Could be a good example, or turned into a mini case for discussion.

I am becoming more and more a believer in the power of stories.  I think they help in marketing and for teaching marketing.  If you are interested in learning more about stories, you might read Daniel Pink’s book “A Whole New Mind:  Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future” (this morning I listened to the “Story” chapter on my way in to work) or the Heath brothers “Made to Stick.“  I know we all use stories (extended examples) to supplement our teaching, but what I am reading has me thinking about how I can develop better stories.