How to truly understand African markets: lessons from Feyi Olubodun
Andile Masuku
There's a particular type of cognitive dissonance familiar to privileged Africans living solidly middle-class lives by global standards. We navigate international business circles confidently proclaiming a deep understanding of 'African markets', while simultaneously requiring constant reminders that Africa isn't a country.
This paradox hit home recently as I revisited my 2018 podcast conversation with Feyi Olubodun about his book 'The Villager: How Africans Consume Brands'. As the current CEO and managing partner of Open Squares Africa, and former Nigerian CEO of Publicis Groupe (the world's second-largest communications group), Olubodun has guided multinational brands to achieve up to 210% year-on-year growth even during economic downturns.
His framework for understanding African consumer behaviour is hitting differently now that I split my time between living in Europe and Africa, forcing me to grapple with what it means to truly know markets.
Home, not quite home
Take Johannesburg, my home base of nearly two decades. As an immigrant, I've developed insights about Jozi that certain born-and-bred locals couldn't possibly grasp—perspectives uniquely available to those who must actively learn the city's ways rather than inherit them. Yet in subtle, humbling and occasionally hostile ways, Joburg never quite lets me forget I'm not 'from here'. These moments trigger waves of homesickness for Bulawayo, my city of birth, which - intensely immersive annual family reconnection rituals notwithstanding - requires increasingly deliberate effort to truly stay in touch with.
Modern ≠ western
Olubodun's presentation in Lagos, Nigeria, a few months ago at one of TechPoint Africa's Pitch Friday sessions offered an important reminder of how easily we misread African markets.
His core observation - that 'Africans are modernising, not Westernising' - cuts through the simplistic narratives about Africa's youth. He holds that while young Africans may tweet in perfect millennial and Gen Z vernacular and sport the latest streetwear, research shows they remain remarkably inflexible on core cultural values—a reality that many tech ventures, particularly those built on Western assumptions about generational change, fail to grasp. It's insights like these that have helped him consistently deliver gross profit margins 40% above industry averages for brands seeking to crack African markets.
Beyond the innovation bubble
Consider Olubodun's example of fintech distribution in Lagos, Nigeria. While over 200 fintechs cluster in Lagos's affluent neighbourhoods of Ikoyi, Lekki and Victoria Island, one of the most successful players, OPay - founded by Chinese billionaire Zhou Yahui - built its foundation by first establishing a network of over 38 000 agents outside these wealthy enclaves, demonstrating the value of looking beyond the city's innovation hubs. Real market understanding often requires looking beyond the comfortable, go-to bubbles where most innovation discourse happens.
This hits particularly close to home as I reflect on my own 'ritualised ecosystem engagement' habits - those regular rhythms of writing, podcasting and in-person exchanges that shape my understanding of African markets. How much of my understanding of African markets is based on genuine immersion versus comfortable assumptions built from my privileged vantage point? Even with a country as relatively small as Zimbabwe, it's humbling to realise how ill-positioned I might be to lead an entrepreneurial push into certain segments of my own home market. Yet, all too often, such blindspots shape how entrepreneurs (tech founders, especially) approach African markets.
As I outlined in my recent piece on Connectivity, building meaningful networks across Africa requires more than just digital bridges—it demands a nuanced understanding of local cultural contexts that can only come from sustained, intentional engagement. Olubodun's insight about Nigeria's ethno-linguistic density—housing 520 of Africa's estimated 1 500 to 2 000 languages—underscores just how deep this complexity runs.
Geography of success
His framework challenges us to think differently about market entry and scaling. Success in African markets often requires understanding subtle cultural nuances that no amount of market research can capture. As he points out, in Northern Nigeria, community hierarchy remains crucial for product adoption, while in the Southeast of the country, strong cultural identity drives consumer behaviour. These aren't mere anthropological curiosities—they're critical business insights that can determine whether a product thrives or fails.
Perhaps the most striking insight from Olubodun's work isn't about consumer behaviour at all, but rather about the humility required to truly understand African markets. Even those of us who call Africa home must continually challenge our assumptions and deepen our engagement with the diverse communities we aim to serve.
This doesn't mean abandoning data-driven decision-making or ignoring global best practices. Rather, it suggests that successful innovation in African markets requires a more nuanced approach—one that acknowledges the limitations of our own perspectives while actively seeking to broaden them through meaningful cultural immersion.
Know more better
For those of us in the continent’s technology, innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems, this means going beyond virtual face-time and LinkedIn networks to build genuine understanding through sustained, on-the-ground engagement. It means accepting that our privileged perspectives, while valuable, are inherently limited.
The question isn’t just whether we understand that Africa isn’t a country—it’s whether we’re prepared to confront the extent of what we don’t know and commit to the ongoing work of deepening our understanding.
Andile Masuku is Co-founder and Executive Producer at African Tech Roundup. Connect and engage with Andile on X (@MasukuAndile) and via LinkedIn.
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