Manufacturers must adapt to market needs in Africa

South African manufacturers would
have to learn to adjust and be more
flexible if they wanted to increase
exports into Africa, said Duncan
Bonnett of Whitehouse & Associates.
Speaking at a recent China in Africa
conference, Bonnett said China had
overtaken South African exports
into the continent due to a variety of
reasons, but also because they were
flexible and willing to adapt to satisfy
the market they were serving.
“In 2000, South African exports
into Africa were slightly larger than
China’s at about $3.9 billion to their
$3.6 billion. By 2006, however, China
was exporting roughly double what we
were and, by 2009, three-and-a-half
times more.”
Citing the sale of cooking oil in
Nairobi in Kenya as an example,
Bonnet said China had invested a lot of
time and effort into understanding its
African market.
“They have learned that people in
Nairobi want to buy their cooking
oil by the scoop and not by the bottle
and, therefore, have catered for that
very need. They understand the
fundamentals of doing business. But,
more than that, they know Africa.”
He said many South African
manufacturers, on the other hand,
failed to meet the market need due
to their inability to change. “It’s the
Henry Ford option – and, as long as
we refuse to change, we will miss out
on opportunities to grow our African
market.”
He said while some manufacturers
were starting to adapt, it was not
happening fast enough.