Obama & WEF Urge Investment In Africa

The World Economic Forum And You

First, I must refer you to a short update that I posted on my Google+ social profile a few days ago, titled "Revisiting The World Economic Forum on Africa". 

The WEF on Africa was a true game changing event that took place in Abuja, Nigeria in May 2014.

In my update, I argued that you should lessen the amount of attention you pay to those who constantly bicker about  "drooling foreigners who want a piece of Africa....to steal our natural resources with the help of our corrupt and greedy politicians."

I asked that you change this overly simplistic and suspicious viewpoint because, when you really think about it, it doesn't make much sense to keep going on and on about something that we all know is more-or-less part of human nature!

All business transactions are driven by selfish interests. And this will not exclude the selfish interests of a foreign investor, the selfish interests of our governments, or YOUR OWN selfish interests.

If one of the parties claimed not to have any selfish interests whatsoever, that is when I would almost certainly become suspicious! 

So it's time to grow up and learn how to negotiate the terms of these deals in a way that favours our people. 
This is what I believe the WEF event did for some of us....It made us give our attention to the technicalities of the economic realities of our future.

I, for one, am now less interested in  which political party Akinwunmi Adesina belongs to, or in the colour of the skin of the US President. I am more concerned about who will talk the talk and walk the walk that will lead Africa into greater economic diversification.

So right now I need you to become "selfish" as well. 


Or have you not heard? 
Some of the great social scientists of old (including Adam Smith) found that selfishness was indeed a social virtue that leads to social progress. 

So to rekindle this virtue, I would strongly recommend that you start paying close attention to, and following the WEF events. Try to stop seeing such things as boring.  

We can no longer just sit down and complain to deaf ears. We (as many of us that do care about the future of our kids on the continent) need to find a way to be part of the developing story. 
We must try our best to be co-scripters of it! 

We must embrace competition, evoke innovation, enshrine capacity building, and also, engender the rapid return of our brothers and sisters who migrated, schooled and acquired diversified skills abroad (i.e. the brain drain). 

Barack Obama & The US-Africa Business Forum

But the WEF on Africa is not the only big conference that I would need you to pay attention to. About three months after it, Barack Obama hosted 45 leaders from Africa (Presidents and leading business men) in the US-Africa Business Forum, moderated by former US President, Bill Clinton. 

Referencing the story of Indian born African billionaire, Ashish Thakkar  as a glowing example, Mr Clinton spoke of the US mission as being driven to help develop the African home as a place of opportunity for Africans and for those who want to work with us.

So right now, I need you to NOT be pessimistic, but really pay attention: 

Most of the panelists agreed that they are committing to green field investments in Africa. This means that they intend to build or construct facilities from the ground up, as opposed to merely purchasing already existing operations in Africa.
President Obama feels that this is the right way to go to ensure that both the US and Africa gets the best out of this tightening relationship. Green field investing inclines towards hiring and developing a younger local workforce, and this means a great deal to me and to Digital Africa. And it should mean a lot to you as well.


So why does President Obama care so much about Africa and our dreams to arise? 

Well, it is easy to assume that because his father was an African, it boils down to him trying to give back to his roots. I know that is the story many Africans would want to tell.

Errrr.........Not so fast!!!

I am a digital marketing consultant, therefore I tend to look at things algorithmically and strategically. I have no sentimental bone in my body. Hahaa!

So let me briefly recap some things that preceded the US-Business Forum. Hopefully that would give us a hint about what is really happening here....

First of all, Obama was absent at the WEF on Africa held in Nigeria; that we all know.....And it did not surprize me, by the way.

But then, the whole world was shocked to see the Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, stop by to show China's support for the event. (This definitely sends a clear message to the West, as China already has huge investments in Africa, and plans to increase it's stakes in our continent)

Meanwhile, President Obama tells African rulers that he believes (in terms of foreign direct investment in Africa) "the more the merrier". 
However, he was also quoted as telling them to ensure that the roads don't "just lead from the mine, to the port, to Shanghai."

Note that US trade with Africa is $85 billion, while China does a staggering $200 Billion. So you can guess what is really going on here!

My thinking here is that neither of these countries is short on selfish interests. But please try remember not to take that as a negative thing because it is really not. We can gain from "their competition". In case you haven't been paying attention, the US is endowed with really "developed" businesses that will (apart from the obvious - create jobs and invest cash) bring lots of innovation, and impart diversified skills into our young people. I really cannot emphasize this point enough.

To illustrate, I will use the growing solar industry.
Africa can gain a lot by making itself very attractive to US and European solar energy companies that would find it much easier to sell solar energy to a continent that has very poor electricity distributing infrastructure.
We would give them a very lucrative market, while we get from them the training and skillsets that our people would need to develop our own solar systems in the future.
It is win-win, because the maturity of energy distribution in these countries (especially the US) makes solar relatively difficult to sell over there. 

In Conlusion

Bill Clinton says, "Intelligence, dreams, and the will to work are evenly distributed throughout the world! 

Investments, opportunities, and systems that reward smart behavior are not"


The writing is on the wall. The data speaks for itself:

Most African countries are enjoying their longest spells of democratic civilian rule in our history. 

Africa has 50% of it's population aged under 20. Which means that Africa will have 25% of the global workforce by 2050 and the lowest pensions burdens.

It has 60% of the world's agricultural land.
With less than 20% power supply (electricity) Africa still manages to grow it's economy at 5.5% annually.
What will happen when we have steady electricity? And when other basic infrastructure become things we can take for granted?

I would love to discuss much more. And about the NEPAD (The New Partnership for Africa's Development) driven Grand Inga Dam project in The DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) just to show you examples of what is possible and what we can do now to take our future firmly into our own hands. 
But that would come in another article, soon. 

For now, let me leave you by insisting again, that you pay close attention to the things that are gradually unfolding.
This is to empower yourself and your future generations in this new spirit of "Inclusive Growth". 
You and I must forge ahead through our personal "selfish interests", through informing ourselves properly in these matters, through the acquisition of skills that we clearly do not have an abundance of, in Africa, and through greater participation in intra-Africa trade partnerships.

It is time to Arise Africa!

So if you have anything to add to this discussion, or if you have anything you disagree with, or if you have a question about anything,

Please feel free to do so here, otherwise you can ask your question on the Digital Africa Community On Google+.

Thanks.

So I leave you with this very interesting and even slightly entertaining discussion panel hosted by CNBC-Africa editor in chief, Bronwyn Nielsen.

What Is Google+? (An African Perspective)

What Is Google+? (An African Perspective)

The simple answer is that Google+ is a social network that helps you find and share your interests with others who share those same interests. Here in Africa we generally show a lot of affinity toward a communal way of life. That African characteristic is very observable in the way we use Facebook in Nigeria. But I think there is a lot more we are missing.

I believe it is important that we try to take advantage of every opportunity presented by each different social network. Google+ presents a different opportunity than Facebook and other networks like Twitter and LinkedIn. It is an opportunity to truly develop your understanding of your area of interest.  Sometimes you hear people say “I have already joined Facebook, and all my friends are there. Why do I need to join another network?”

But this is a very narrow way of looking at this issue.
I always say that people should try to consider the name first:
"Google  +  Plus".
This suggests that you consider the qualities of GOOGLE, and then much more.

So for me, Google+ is the network where I learned to become an advanced searcher of the Web. A place where I met people who helped me to broaden my knowledge and expertise in many many areas of interest. It is the place where I became an Internet Power User.

Broadening Your Horizon

I am not saying that Google+ is the only network where you can find experts and other enthusiasts of your field of interest. All I am saying is that it is the place where they congregate to not just showcase their interests alone, but to also engage in some of the most thoroughly enriching, globally interactive discussions you would find anywhere on the internet.   

So, unlike Facebook which basically connects you with your family, your friends, and perhaps their circle of friends, Google+ is not really the best place for you to go and look for your existing friends.
Instead, you should be thinking more about making new connections that share your passion for the same things you are truly passionate about, from all over the world.  So your Google+ connections (or circles) do not have to be your friends from the start. It mostly begins as people who display their keen interest s publicly, and will welcome your thoughts on those interests in such a way that it would lead you to discover new and amazing things and facts about that very topic.

An example of a Google+ connection could be a Japanese woman who likes Italian cooking the way you like Italian cooking. It is like you connecting with lawyers on g+ from top American, UK , and Nigerian law firms, to whet your appetite for your dream profession, while you are still in Law School here in Nigeria.

The important thing is that when you add someone with shared interests, you get to see what they are sharing in your home stream. This is really a great way to find important information and knowledge when you get used to it. (And by the way, whenever you choose to add somebody, it is good to add them to a circle that identifies their interest, for example you can add me to a circle called Marketing – If the circle name is not available you simply create a new circle)

Google+ For Business

We should also distinguish Google+ from LinkedIn, which is a network that is purely about professional networking.

The difference here is that while LinkedIn does a good job of connecting you with professionals in your field of profession, as you will find that Google+ will also do, LinkedIn does not encourage you to show off your other interests apart from that profession.  Google+ does this extremely well through its circles structure,  and that is why I call it "a network that helps users share and sharpen all of their interests with relevant people from all over the world."

So you can share your political rants without it bothering your network of electrical engineers with them. Some have even described Google+ as a place for sharing your passions. All of them (from job to hobbies).

But whether you call it interests or passions, one thing is certain that you can have as many of them as you like. And manage those interests and the relationships that come with those interests very effectively through your Google+ circles.

The Authorship SPARK

I believe that the major reason that Google+ became the social network for interesting people (you may or may not quote me) was because of the Google Authorship project that was eventually abandoned by Google in 2014.

So what is Google Authorship?
You may remember when you used to see people’s photographs beside their articles on Google search.

You can find a lot of information about this Authorship all over Google+ or the larger internet, but my brief explanation will just be to say it was a way that Google related people to the content that they wrote across the web. Many also saw it as a way to improve the ranking of their content on Google search.

Additionally, digital marketers taught their clients that Authorship was a way of displaying their expertise to their readers, while constantly reminding Google’s robots of their relevance in the subject, in order to gain TRUST and authority for whatever topic they constantly wrote on.

This meant that many professionals from all works of life joined and immediately started to link their written content and online publications to their Google+ profiles with the Authorship tag. And this consequently led to the fact that a lot of high quality professionally written content became easily discoverable by their relevant audiences on the Google+ platform, through sharing, commenting, and +1s (or likes).

Needless to say, Google+ attracted the top experts in many fields early on. It also helped their followers & fans to find them much more easily. Hence the social network for interesting people!

The Spirit Of Google+ Is its SEARCH Engine

Remember that Google are the masters of search? Well, for sure here in Africa, they have no rival.

Now imagine a social network where you can search for anything you are interested in and it will dig up what you are looking for with the littlest of efforts on your part. You can then jump into the conversation with those who are engaging on that topic of interest; politely ofcourse. 

You will not find anything close to this on any other social network, trust me. On Facebook for example, you probably won’t even find your own posts that you posted a week before in most cases. Unless you scroll down your timeline manually.

The EARLY SETTLERS

Some of the earliest users on G+ were Yifat Cohen and Mark Traphagen to name a few. They and many other awesome G+ early birds have worked hard to help shape the culture within Google+; so it’s a place where there are now tons of very helpful people from all over the world who connect and share useful information with each other in such a way that you won’t see the likes of on LinkedIn or on Facebook or anywhere else really. Adding such people cannot be a bad thing. Trust me.

The REALLY Good Stuff

But at the end of the day, for me, the strongest appeal for using Google+ is the fact that it integrates with so many other services like Youtube, Gmail, Google search, Google Maps, and so many other services from the same company. This integration is really helpful as it “brings the things you usually use closer to you”.

Apart from all that, the major reason why I think Google+ is very important RIGHT NOW from an African perspective is that the fact that it has not yet become so widely used by Africans would certainly put those of us who get very active on it early enough to be able to take advantage of all of the benefits I have mentioned here in the long run. I did not join Facebook very early (compared to other Nigerians) and it took me about 4 years to build 950 friends (eventhough I already knew most of them). Whereas in less than 2 years (using as much effort to engage and interact as I did on FB) I have built up more than 2000 followers on Google+

So that’s it!
If you have anything to add to my article about Google+, or if you have anything you disagree with, or if you have a question about Google+ or social networks in general,

Please feel free to share with me here (you will need to create a Disqus account in order to comment) or you can ask you question on Google+…..simply search for this post on Google+ by copying and pasting this, “Rotimi Orimoloye  Google+ An African Perspective” in the Google+ Search bar. Thanks.

Yemi Osinbajo And APC’s Failure At The ZMOT.

APC Announces Prof Osinbajo As VP Candidate!

A few days ago (DEC 15th 2014), the APC (All Progressives Congress) finally announced their Vice Presidential Candidate for the 2015 Presidential Elections.

This delay should have been the perfect opportunity for the Branding or Marketing agencies that handle the APC’s marketing campaigns.


Why do I say so?

Anyone who understands the insightful marketing concept developed by Google, called the Zero Moment Of Truth will understand what I mean. But if you don’t have an idea, I will try to explain here. You can get further enlightened by investing a few minutes of your time reading the following articles: Click ►here and ►here. 

If I had been part of APC's marketing agency, I would have told them well ahead of time that if Prof. Osinbajo was going to be one of their potential candidates to be possibly selected as Buhari's running mate, then they must have to let me create several web pages ahead of time, that fully introduced the man, his history, his beliefs, and hopefully add some data about the man.

Politicians Have Their Own "Customers" Too

ZMOT strategy is not only powerful for diverting wondering online shoppers to my clients' websites; it can also be a very commanding tactic for political strategy and propaganda as well.

People use their smartphones, their tablets, their laptops, and soon even wristwatches and glasses, to browse the internet or social media in order to find quick info on anything (product, service, brand, person or fact) that captures their curiosity at anytime of the day, and wherever they are.

It doesn't matter what the thing of interest is, people know they can immediately do their homework online, and get instant information on it.

The world has never been as incredible as this. Information was never so accessible. And this new reality changes so many things about human behavior now and more so in the future.

However, most organizations in Africa seem to be taking these changes too lightly for their own good. 

Yet it is crucial that you, who are smart, actually start to pay close attention to such developments. 

APC clearly did not. 

They had a perfect opportunity to set the agenda on what kind of information searchers would find on Osinbajo. 
Because the man was almost completely unknown at the time, they could have controlled, at least the first wave of information that the public got about him.

And not just that alone, they could have also used the opportunity to inform the public about things they (APC) would like people to know about Buhari (their front-runner), and any additional details about their party they would like to address.  

That is a powerful position to be in, for a political party, wouldn't you agree?

If I had been part of APC's marketing agency, I would have told them well ahead of time that if Prof. Osinbajo was going to be one of their potential candidates to be possibly selected as Buhari's running mate, then they must have to let me create several blog articles and several semantically marked-up, static web pages that fully introduced the man, his history, his beliefs, and hopefully add some data about the man.

Then I would wisely insert other information that APC would like to get to the electorate along with this information. Just as I always advise my clients that they should always let me know whatever big things they are planning to do, ahead of time. They often don't know how they can use such occasions to greatly magnify their brand message on the Web.

APC lost a great opportunity because the world would not go rushing all that much to search about Rotimi Amaechi or Babatunde Fashola, since they already know those two very well. 
But no one had ever heard of Yemi Osinbajo. 

So why not ensure that your party tells the VERY FIRST stories about him to the electorate? 

And why leave potential voters at the mercy of online news mongers or gossip bloggers?

I mean really think about this....

ZMOT Is A Bridge Between Stimulus And Shelf

APC failed to capitalize on a perfect opportunity to dominate where it mattered. They should have taken advantage of the powerful STIMULUS that was sure to ensue from their announcement of Prof Yemi Osinbajo as Buhari’s running mate. 

Someone in APC should have seen what was coming. Or, why should such a large organization not have a competent internet savvy marketer?

Within hours of the announcement, hundreds of thousands of potential voters would have immediately gone to search Google for the words, “Yemi Osinbajo”: A search string that would continue for a while, no doubt.

In traditional consumer behavior, the customer goes through certain steps:

Stimulus - is a message about a product that reaches the consumer. Like an advertisement, word of mouth, or an announcement heard on TV. 
Don’t forget that a political candidate is also a kind of product being "sold" to a “buyer” of some sort.

Shelf stage - is where the customer goes to the store to buy the product. Or to vote, in the case of a consumer of governance. 
This is known as the First Moment Of Truth, or the FMOT. It was coined first moment of truth by Procter & Gamble Inc. because their researches found that it took a less than a second browsing through a shelf at the store for a shopper to come to a decision on what to buy. 
In politics however, we must quickly realize that it is illegal to do any form of “marketing” at this FMOT stage though (i.e. on Election Day).

The Experience Stage - is known as SMOT, or Second Moment Of Truth. You've bought the product and are using it. Your experience with the product could go a long way in dictating whether you would buy that product again. 
In politics, this would translate to you voting for the candidate for a second term.

Now, the internet and the connectivity of mobile phones has forged a new model. It has added a new and larger stage in this customer algorithm:

The ZMOT or Zero Moment Of Truth now fills the crucial gap between the Stimulus stage and the FMOT stage.

Stimulus can no longer do any more than tickle the curiosity of consumers these days. It’s no longer enough to send them directly to FMOT to buy. Rather, stimulus more likely sends customers online to do more homework. 
And there is likewise a new mentality that marketers can use to engage them there. Even in such an industry where the “product” being marketed is governance, and were decision making takes longer than a moment.

Their branding or publicity department should have already had their ZMOT messages ready and waiting for the Party's leadership to make the announcement that sent Nigerians off to the ZMOT.

ZMOT Strategists Would Have Been Prepared!

So back to APC’s announcement:

A competent digital marketing strategist should have easily foreseen the fact that announcing the name of someone who is relatively unknown would immediately cause such a name to start "trending" in cyberspace.

Within hours of the announcement, hundreds of thousands of potential voters would have immediately gone to search Google for the words, “Yemi Osinbajo”.

Soon after that, thousands were sharing what they found through Google on their Facebook and Google+ social media profiles.

Funny enough, information about Yemi Osinbajo would have still been trendable, even if the party had ended up choosing Rotimi Amaechi. All they would have needed to do in such a scenario is, during that eagerly awaited announcement, to say, "the party seriously considered Prof Yemi Osinbajo before finally opting for Amaechi", and boom! Osinbajo would still trend a bit. 

That's another ZMOT trick. But you likely won't be lucky enough to convince the party to do that. ;-)

Please note that I am not stating any form of allegiance to APC or any other party with this post, I am simply just analyzing things and pointing out how organizations waste opportunities to fully capitalize on the new digital age. 

The handwriting is on the wall!
We are in  the age of Digital!



Thanks so much for reading.
Please share your thoughts, contrary-opinions, and questions on this matter with me here.
Also consider reading more about the ZMOT here.


By the way, I also write about non-marketing related stuff as well.

Blue Ocean Strategy For NDDC

THE Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has begun a series of workshops on blue ocean strategy formulation for its management staff in order to improve service delivery to people of the Niger Delta region.

I have to say this is a really impressive initiative, and I must commend the NDDC CEO, Mr Bassey Dan Abia for this strategic move. Read the the article in Guardian News.

Nevertheless, I can't immediately understand why the NDDC would need BOS for executing their projects, since Blue Ocean strategies are designed to help organizations that need to reconstruct their markets in order to escape competition. 

So I just wonder why NDDC leadership needs to learn reconstructive market strategies. I would expect this kind of move from companies like MTN and GTBank, who are constantly battling it out with rivals in their industry and turning their oceans (market spaces) red. 

Or could it be possible that Guardian Newpaper mistakenly printed Blue Ocean Strategy instead of Blue Ocean Leadership, which are related but significantly different?

Anyway... I guess the NDDC probably have their reasons why they opted for the BOS workshop. 

And in anycase, the truth is that Blue Ocean Strategy still offers a certain clear disciplined process of thinking, planning, research and analysis that is extremely useful in any kind of business planning process; not just in a reconstructionist instance.  

All in all, I believe this is great vision shown by the commission, but I sincerely hope that the training is carefully understood and imbibed by the attendants so that the entire region can benefit from the dividends of projects that have gone through the Value Innovation Process, ERRC, Strategy canvas (perhaps)...etc.

Being from Ondo State myself (a Niger Delta state), I hope my state's leadership would also tap into this progressive way of thinking in time to come.

The key ultimately is to have many Nigerian businesses and entrepreneurs thinking this way, not necessarily government parastatals. 

Tell me what you think?

5 Things Digital Printing Can Do For You

5 Things Digital Printing WITH A KODAK NEXPRESS Can Do For You:

This post was written mostly for the sake of printers in Nigeria (or other parts of Africa) who are yet to start taking digital printing seriously.

It is also written for the sake of those who may already own or are interested in purchasing a Kodak Nexpress Digital Color Press, but don't really know how to use it. 

Yes, the Nexpress machine is without a doubt, the best digital variable data press in the world today. But if you haven't properly understood the kind of business you want to do with it, or what it is really capable of, then you will be more or less using your Nexpress to kill mosquitoes...unfortunately.

So with more than 6 years of experience marketing and promoting the Kodak Nexpress in Nigeria, I can share a few things to help any of you who may have stumbled upon this article online:

5 THINGS A NEXPRESS CAN DO FOR YOUR PRINTING BUSINESS:

(I have many many more examples, but I will only share these 5 for now in order to whet your appetite)

1. Short-run Jobs - Nowadays, some of your customers  want to print 10 jobs of 250 copies each, instead of one job of 2500 copies. 
This can also make you the ultimate publisher for not well known authors.

2. Texture Effects - Printed documents can add texture. So you can print an advertisement of a suede bag with the simulated feeling to match.

Kodak Nexpress Dimensional Dry Ink - Feel The texture of the orange on any kind of paper

3. 5th Imaging Unit - Apart from the Texture effects already mentioned above, the 5th Imaging Unit also generates unique colours, and does Security Printing - using inline watermarking for added security, authentication and protection. MICR is also available. 

4. Using a digital Nexpress together with Offset Presses - Acquire new customers with your unique Nexpress solutions, while retaining old customers with your high volume offset printing. This differentiates you from your competition without you losing out in any area of the market.

5. Nexpress With Digital Marketing Techniques - A digital press can help your customer's online marketing campaigns. Nexpress' variable data personalization will make your website's traffic much more relevant and targeted.

These and much more benefits from the Kodak Nexpress digital press will help differentiate your printing business among all the other printers all over Africa. 

Wouldn't you like to have people bring large jobs to you from other African countries?

5 BONUS BUSINESS TIPS ON HOW TO USE A KODAK NEXPRESS

1. STOP thinking like a printer - stop thinking about the cost of ink and how many copies a toner can manage. Instead think about Value and Differentiation. Ask yourself "what can I do for my customer that nobody else can?"

2. START thinking more like a business developer - A Nexpress is a very sophisticated machine. It does many things that your offset presses can never do. This kind of flexibility actually gives you the audacity to present yourself to your customer as a multiple solutions provider, not a just mere printer.

3. LEARN how to help your customers sell more - Because the more they sell, the more they print from you. But make sure you do this in a way that benefits your printing services.

4. GATHER and use DATA - data helps you know more about the customer - knowing the customer better helps you to sell to him. Everyone needs information about their customers to help in selling more effectively to them (even Pastors and Car Dealers). It is what makes any kind of salesman successful.

5. EMBRACE the internet - think of web 2 print services, building databases and CRM. The Nexpress can send highly relevant traffic to your customer's website. (ask me how)

Thanks for reading.

If you are a printer and are interested in purchasing a Kodak Nexpress Digital Color Production Press, you can reach me directly via Google+ or Twitter.....check the upper column on the right side.  


If you liked this article please be kind enough to share it on Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Also drop a comment in the comment box below. And mind you, I am very open to criticism. 
Thank you.