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CULTURAL AWARENESS
government that’s more a development
state model. They’re following what the
Chinese, Koreans and Singaporeans did
some 30-40 years back. Knowing what
the government strategy is, in terms of
where it wants to go, is key.
Our currency is an issue at the moment
in terms of getting your money out. You
will get it out, but it takes time because
we’re having some serious issues. But the
companies that know that and understand
it are putting money into the country.
I always say if the big boys are putting
in that kind of money, it should be okay
because they’ve done their homework.
What are some of the top-level pieces of
advice that you give brands coming in?
It’s interesting because you have a lot of
brands – especially multinational brands
from Europe, the US or elsewhere –
wanting to use a cut-and-paste model.
Africa is 54 countries. You don’t want
to split up your marketing budget into
54 different markets. So they tend to
generalise and use the same branding
or the same strategy.
We’ve been fighting for the past three
years to differentiate Ethiopia from that
[and] a lot more brands understand that
[now]. I think Coca-Cola is one of the first entrepreneurship in Ethiopia?
multinational brands to say this place is
really different. They look different. They
talk different. They’re in different time
zones. So we’ll put [in place] the extra
resources to talk to them in a language
that they understand. I think some of the
others are also following suit.
That’s our advice. Every market
says they’re different, but Ethiopia
is truly different.
Can you give an example of how
you’d brand something differently
for Ethiopia compared to another
African country – just to support
what you’re saying about the
uniqueness of Ethiopia?
One is physical features. In terms of
the features of Ethiopians, they are very
distinct and unique [in looks]. Second is
our script. We don’t speak English. We
don’t write English. We have our own
script. It’s called Amharic and that’s the
40 strategicmarketingafrica Issue 4 2016
A truly different place.
Camels carrying salt
across Ethiopia’s Danakil
Depression, which has
one of the most extreme
climates on earth
national language. So if you want to talk
to 95-million people, you need to speak to
them in a language they understand. It’s a
very exciting market. We have 44-million
people under the age of 15. The average
age is 17. Out of 95-million people, 75%
are under the age of 30.
We are very different
from other nations
What about the home-grown entre-
preneurs, the domestic companies? You
seem to be uniquely positioned to grow
things internally. What’s the pulse of
There was a saying in my dad’s
generation: being a son of a
businessperson is not something to be
proud of. People wanted you to become
an engineer, doctor or lawyer. Now things
have changed because we’ve come from
17 years of communism. Between 1974
and 1991 it was almost illegal to own a
business in Ethiopia.
[Now] we have a very young, robust,
unique and very aggressive private sector
that knows and understands that it’s only
a matter of time before the floodgates
open. It’s sort of like ‘let me grab a slice of station. That’s basically it.
the pie before everybody else comes in’.
It’s a very exciting time to be an Ethiopian
and to watch it [unfold].
You started the first English-language PHOTOS: GETTY/GALLO IMAGES, SUPPLIED
radio station in Ethiopia. How did
that happen?
It was very simple. It’s the same scenario
as the guy who made the first chair
because he got sick of sitting on the floor.
When I moved back to Ethiopia, I had
the first generation iPod. I put it in my
dad’s car and I’d drive around. I had no
clue as to what the entertainment industry
or what the media industry in Ethiopia
was like. I was happy in my own little
world until I lost that iPod and ended up
not having anything to listen to. So I spoke
to friends, looked around the market and
realised that if I needed a radio station
there were a lot more people who would
need it as well.
It took a while, but we went out and
launched the first station. I have a very
simple model in the sense that I grew
up in Kenya. [That country’s] business
environment is much further [advanced]
than ours, but not so far ahead that we
can’t reach out and grab something that
works for us. So I went to Kenya and
spent some time with the top radio station
and poached someone and I launched the
First published March 2016. Reproduced
with permission from Knowledge@
Wharton (http://knowledge.wharton.
upenn.edu). © 2016, The Trustees
of the University of Pennsylvania.
All rights reserved.