PRWeek Global Thinktank

Emerging market communications is an exciting place to be, and none more so than in Africa. Africa is a hugely energising continent, diverse in its people and languages and rich in its culture and history.

As one of the fastest growing developing market regions in the world, it is going through massive transformation, which in turn is attracting greater interest from the wider world. However, it is perceived by many as high risk.

This is compounded by a wide negative perception of Africa that is fuelled by unbalanced reports, particularly of business. It is not to say that there are no significant challenges in Africa – clearly there are, but in order to help create an environment for enterprise (and that includes Diageo!) to grow in a sustainable way, greater and clearer communication of a more realistic Africa is needed.

Within the Africa communications team at Diageo, we aim to achieve three principal objectives: to increase the profile of Diageo and its businesses in Africa and, in doing so, build and protect our reputation as a leading consumer goods company operating on the continent; to provide visibility as to the opportunities in doing business in Africa, and in turn promote an environment that encourages greater investment in the region from a broad range of stakeholders, and; to build and develop a network of talented communications professionals in Diageo’s markets that support our commercial and non-commercial interests throughout Africa.

While there is a lot to do, we are starting from a great place. Diageo has a long history in Africa dating back to when Guinness was first shipped to Sierra Leone in 1827. Since then, we have built local businesses throughout Africa selling our iconic international and strong local brands in 40 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This has meant we have built strong relationships at a grass-roots level throughout our markets, leading to businesses that are well integrated into their societies.

Yet with greater interest come greater expectations. Often infrastructure, processes and capability cannot keep up with the pace of change. From a communications perspective, this means we have to look as much as how we communicate as to what we communicate. While newspapers remain a point of record and comment for many African markets, broadcast, broadband , and more importantly, the increased proliferation of mobile phones (it is estimated that there are 650 million mobile phone subscriptions in Africa) are changing the way and the amount people consume media. We are quickly having to seek new ways to engage with our broad range of stakeholders, whether it is the rollout of social media-type platforms for our employee base to intercommunicate or utilising PDA communications for our sales forces, we need to move with rapidly changing times. Yet we still need to satisfy a thirst for information across more basic channels where infrastructural issues remain and the affordability of media remains relatively high.

We still need to satisfy a thirst for information across more basic channels where infrastructural issues remain and the affordability of media remains relatively high.

Greater expectations also mean a requirement for better standards. It means a greater emphasis on the compliance agenda and ethical practices. It also means a focus on getting the right people and developing the right capabilities. The biggest challenge that faces many companies operating in Africa is access to great talent. Political regimes, lack of investment and a dependence on agricultural incomes has meant there has been a generation that has been denied access to good education. Economic growth and career aspirations are changing this, and we now see the emergence of bright and enthusiastic young generation in Africa keen on gaining long-term employment. At Diageo we invest a great deal on attracting brilliant people and developing them into leaders of their fields. Reputation management is a business imperative and we continue to invest substantially in order to meet the communications needs of our business and Africa as a whole.

I have been fortunate to work around Africa and Africans in a number of roles, and the energy I get from the continent and the people is truly inspiring. It is a great place in every respect, and while there are inevitably frustrations around some of the practicalities, Africa is an exciting story to tell. We just want more PR people telling it.

In the middle of a global financial crisis and in the face of political upheaval in the Middle-East, Africa finds itself in demand, whether for its natural resources, for access to its fast growing and increasingly discerning consumer market, its fertile agricultural land, or for its political votes in international institutions.

Africa has always been naturally rich, but now finds itself consistently amongst the fastest growing regions in the world when it comes to GDP growth. The IMF expects Africa (a continent of 55 nations) to grow by 6% this year and nearly the same again next year – about the same as Asia.

Africa has experienced many false dawns, but this might just be the time when it emerges as a force finally beginning to deliver on its long held potential.

The world's largest consumer goods companies are not trying to work out how to grow in Africa, growth is assumed; they are focusing on how to ensure that they grow faster than the competition and secure the most market share. At the same time some African companies are beginning to emerge as global players, from the Dangote Group in Nigeria to MTN in South Africa and Angola's Sonangol.

Portugal, for so long Angola's colonial master, has gone begging bowl in hand to be bailed out by its former colony. Traditional roles are being reversed and relationships fundamentally altered as the global balance of power shifts.

Conventional analysis labelled African nations as risky. But the last three years have proven that all countries are risky, even the most developed ones.

The opportunity in Africa; or the ultimate scale of her potential has long been obscured by a lack of access to information and reliable data, as well as a perception of risk that has discouraged market entry. Conventional analysis labelled all African nations as risky. The last three years have proven that all countries are risky, even the most developed ones. Marry this realisation with the size of Africa’s population (1 billion today and forecast to double by the middle of the Century), the proliferation of mobile internet services, peace and improved leadership, and it’s easy to see why perceptions among investors are changing.

As the clamour to do business in Africa grows (the number of investor conferences is a good indicator of the appeal Africa holds today), African governments are recognising that the balance of power is shifting. Resource nationalism is rising as leaders seek to ensure the best deals possible.

Competition is proliferating and African governments are reaching out beyond traditional partners to market themselves. Investors themselves are also recognising that taking advantage of the opportunities in Africa requires access to a level of market knowledge not previously envisaged.

Increased competition has made stakeholder engagement and communications fundamental to success as European, North and South American, Russian, Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern and Asian investors jockey for position.

Today, investors are not questioning whether Africa will ever be on the agenda. They are asking ‘when we do enter, how are we going to do it and how can we minimise our risk profile?’ Those who can provide the answers to these questions will also be in demand.