learning from a connected africa

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Photo credit, Rahel Anne Bailie

Learning from a Connected AfricaLessons in digital marketing for the continent

Starting with the first Digital Marketing Summit

in Sudan…

Digital Marketing Summit organisers and volunteers, Khartoum, Sudan

Where is the UX?

Design?Content strategy?

People doing business

in various African countries

explained a few realities…

Mariam ElfadilDigital Marketing

Sudan

Resourcefulness to overcome barriers

Working around sanctions

• Barred from using US marketing tools, no credit cards in Sudan

• No access to paid services from US companies (Google, FB, etc)

Adapting to cultural contexts

• Conservative society – images, clothing, messages

• Struggle to reach middle-aged and older markets

Access to resources

• No curriculum at university level, bringing professors from Singapore

• Use workarounds to get access to resources (e.g. Khan Academy)

Resourcefulness to overcome barriers

Country of extremes

• Access to technology – only minority can afford smart phone

• Affordability of bandwidth – under 5MB, no video

• 4G = 40USD = 400SD = living expenses for a month

• High academic standards vs low literacy rates

Country of work-arounds

• VPN is used for access to sanctioned services

• Contacts living abroad become the de facto ecommerce partner

Real Sufi dancing on Friday evenings

Banan AlKilaniTelecomm

UAE

Focus on market-specific needs

Investing in infrastructure: mobile networks for enterprise apps

• LPWAN (low-power, wide-area networks) using LPLR (Low Power,

Long Range), GSM, 2G

• GSM for large-scale IoT operations (smart meters, light grids)

Continent is very price and bandwidth sensitive

• Looking at a new frequency (SIGFOX out of France) because

hardware is cheaper

• Lots of the country still on 2G; must be inexpensive with lots of

functionality

Focus on market-specific needs

Listen to what the market wants

• Keep the principles but overhaul the tactics

• Lots of great talent in Africa not being utilised

Joint collaboration is the way forward

• Bring expertise and work locals to do the development

• Need sense of ownership to make it work

• They will identify and develop the products that are viable

• Products that work in other markets won't work in the African markets

The ubiquitous signs for local telecommunications companies

Kago KagichiriEducation

Kenya

Culture, then technology

Know your cultures across Africa

• In Ghana, appeal to patriotism, but not in Kenya

• In Kenya, new telcos all offer bundles but not other countries

• Ghana has more smart phone usage because of ads: YouTube, FB,

Instagram, all social media

Cultural approach to use of technology also matters

• Top up mobiles via scratch cards or subscriptions?

• Prepare for banked minutes or top up “just in time”?

• Can vary by country, by demographic, by generation

Culture, then technology

Product configuration matters• Software variants to handle multiple device types

• Start basic with “graceful augmentation”

Currency fluctuations

• Reaction to inflation affects income and internet use

• Political atmospheres have noticeable effects on markets

Monitor the technology maturity curve by country

• Some countries are still in sceptical phase of mobile money

• In some countries, can sell exclusively on social media (WhatsApp or Instragram)

Youth involved in traditional dance at the Digital Marketing Summit

Content CurationKaveer BehareeSocial intelligence

South Africa

Big continent, many consumer groups

A market for every solution

• A market for every solution, from basic needs to products for the well-

heeled, tech-savvy millennials to tech-adverse with purchasing power

• Internet growth rates are double that of other global growth rates

Lots of untapped sophistication

• Develop unique solutions for unique African problems, resulting in first-

in-world solutions

• South Africa has the most advanced banking sector, in terms of robust

legislation, operational, regulatory, and technology innovation

Similarities across nations

Similarities in technology advances

• Africa has adopted technology as a key to economic growth

• Bypassed landline phase, moved direct to cellular

• Lack of retail banking infrastructure drove incredible tech advances

• Turned telecom providers into banks, with high security features

Connectivity and energy

• Africans are increasingly connected and easier to reach

• Need for cheap energy led to producing cheapest kilowatt in the world

Typical café, shaded by the bridge

Antonio SeparovicFintech

SA>UK>Croatia

User-centric with cultural specificity

Truly understand the business problems

• Really understand what leapfrogging means

• Don’t parachute in solutions that solve Western problems

• Break problems into market-specific elements

Go small or go home

• Can bring best practices to third-division markets

• Adapting products to infrastructure is a basic principle

• Design for most fuel-efficient devices (tablets, mobiles, not desktops)

Huge opportunities for the right investors

Green field opportunities

• Thinking in new ways brings new apps

• Lots of local talent – African-specific development

• Elevated entry level, e.g. use the cloud as a starting point

Developing a parallel universe

• Approaches are unconstrained by conventions of US tech

• Can stay outside of US constraints and monitoring

• Free of the paradigm of monopolies driving growth

Sali OsmanSecurity and Risk

Management

USA

This speaker? She’s the American.

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