It's a warm afternoon in New York and a 25-year-old is walking down the street wearing a pair of Bathu sneakers, drinking a Chivita fruit juice and carrying a pack of Azam biscuits, totally oblivious that they are wearing a South African brand, drinking a Nigerian one and snacking on a Tanzanian one.
In the next decade, this scenario could be more likely than it has ever been before as the days of Africa being a mere consumer of global brands could be fast ending. While the continent still has a long developmental road ahead, production momentum and the rise of African brands globally has been building for some time. In the 2000s, it was estimated that seven in ten of the world's fastest growing economies were on the continent - and with that came a surge of interest from multinationals.
Although a few waves of global recession have muted the Africa growth story, the potential is still very much alive. With Africa's population projected to reach 1.7 billion by 2030, and most of this growth happening in cities, the region is the fastest-urbanising in the world, presenting immense business potential. In 2020, PepsiCo made a major play in spending almost $2bn to acquire one of South Africa's premier FMCG businesses, Pioneer Foods, in one of the biggest deals made by PepsiCo outside of the US. In completing the deal, PepsiCo became one of the largest food companies in sub-Saharan Africa.
Africa is expected to be home to as much as 40% of the world's working-age population by 2100. Its consumer class is already growing. Africa is the world's second-fastest-growing region, with GDP growth averaging 3.8% in 2024 and projected at 4.2% in 2026, ahead of the global average. Eleven of the world's 20 fastest-growing economies in 2024 were African. That growth has fuelled a rising middle class and increased consumer spending, attracting both global players and new local brands.
Originally published by African Business.