Assessing the marketing environment in sub‐Saharan Africa: opportunities and threats analysis

With a population of over 600 million people, Africa is, demographically, one of the fastest expanding markets in the world. However, very little is known about how its marketing environment is unfurling, partly because of the taken‐for‐granted assumptions and bland generalizations which have hitherto dominated strategic thinking and managerial actions, especially in the West, towards the continent. This has resulted in a limited knowledge about the changes that are taking place and their likely impact on the marketing process. Accordingly, a review of the evolving marketing environment is presented – largely an analysis of opportunities and threats. Argues that the pattern of economo‐political changes taking place in sub‐Saharan Africa indicates that the region is not only opening up but also quickly becoming the next “marketing frontier”.