Malawi and other African governments need to start incentivising and protecting local manufacturing industries now, African global marketing expert Thebe Ikalafeng has said.
Ikalafeng made the remarks at the weekend on the sidelines of Malawi’s Chartered Institute of Marketing’s 8th annual conference held in the southern lakeshore district of Mangochi.
Speaking in the resort town on the shores of Lake Malawi, the expert said African governments should help the continent’s manufacturing industries to build competitive brands on the global market.
“When you look at the results of the survey we do every year to determine the best 100 brands on the continent, only 17 percent of the mentioned brands are made in Africa, which means that there is an 83 percent rejection of African brands.
“This means that Africans prefer foreign brands to Africa-made brands,” Ikalafeng said, as he urged Africans to harness the African entrepreneurship spirit.
Commenting on the country’s Buy Malawian Strategy, Ikalafeng challenged local manufacturers to learn to invest in branding and marketing of their products.
Ikalafeng, however, applauded Malawi for championing the strategy which he said could work better if the government found ways of protecting local investors.
NM/as/APA