TRADITIONS ARE FADING
While geopolitical world news is dominated by wars, tariffs and a small group of self-triumphant leaders, the African continent is shaking off the dust. In a highly diversified and complicated map of different, individual cultures and exploited and abused by western powers, a new reality is rapidly taking its shape. This shall have an impact to the rest of the world. What is happening?
HISTORY
Africa traditionally consisted of a multitude of ethnically diverse communities, which are largely geographically separated. Each community has its own customs such as language, leadership styles, and family rules. A total of two thousand languages are spoken on the continent. This caused a somewhat awkward but friendly fragmentation and offered a relatively easy prey for European colonizers, who simply drew straight lines on the map to mark ‘their’ territories. New nation-states were established, including for instance British East Africa, now known as Kenya. The new rulers changed the structure of the society dramatically, for instance by the railway network built from 1895 onward. It stimulated an overall mobility and large cities emerged. Following their independence movements after the Second World War, African leaders largely adopted Western political models, along with the associated power struggles and rivalries. But this model is now cracking at the seams. In the past large-scale development or the exploitation of its own resources largely failed to materialize. No surprise Africa struggles today still under heavy debt burdens, reduced aid funding, wars, water scarcity, corruption, poverty and over population.
TODAY
With an average age of 19, Africa has the youngest population in the world, while simultaneously having some of the oldest and longest-serving leaders. This profound age gap has led to young people pushing back against the existing outdated structures. They are already gaining the upper hand, and are unstoppable with their sheer numbers, energetic engagement, optimism, and flexibility. Current leaders struggle to respond, as the connection to growing segments of the population gets lost. This power distance is viewed with concern, like a ticking time bomb. In Kenya, many casualties occurred during demonstrations last year, while on the other hand Senegal has undergone a prosperous transformation. In Senegal a rather unexpected change occurred since the election of a young president. Bassirou Diomaye Faye, nearly 46 years old, is voicing a different – and for many rather unusual – message for Africa: “Leadership is a privilege, not an opportunity for personal financial gain”. In Senegal, 83% of young people dream of starting their own business. In African cities today, younger members of all tribes increasingly live peacefully together and intermingle, although in the countryside many old patterns remain visible.
Walking in the city center of Nairobi and taking a coffee at Java House (an East African equivalent of Starbucks) a friendly 24-year-old Kenyan business analyst said:
“Each tribe had its specialization. I remember that my grandfather – like me a Luhya (14% of Kenyans) – would respectfully remain silent and listen when financial matters were discussed if a Kikuyu (17% and the largest group among Kenyans) spoke. That was simply their specialization, just as my tribe was strong in cattle farming and the Maasai (around one million people, partly living in Tanzania) were strong in nomadic pastoralism. And now look at me, as a Luhya business analyst, I have a Kikuyu girlfriend who owns a website design and development company”. With English as a working language and high numbers of internet users, young Kenyans are among the most skilled youth in the world in A.I. (Artificial Intelligence). They proudly say they have moved beyond the phase of ‘catching up’ and are now in a phase of ‘leapfrogging’ compared to the rest of the world. A.I. is used extensively by all younger generations, this makes Africa just as connected as the rest of the world. Even more striking is the awareness with many Africans, that it is not a solution to everything, and that its “weaknesses” – such as lack of emotion, culture, diversity, and broader perspective – still need to be compensated for. From a different order is the internal criticism of peers who rush to the USA or Europe in search of a better future. That the USA has increasingly become a “no-go area” is considered obvious by most Africans. Just like in the rest of the world. Selling off resources to China must also be firmly resisted. After all, the debt burden already lies with future generations. China has an agenda with regards to Africa, as do the USA and Europe, but what is Africa’s own agenda? This is a very relevant question only to be answered by Africans themselves.
BUY AFRICAN
Africa is not poor; it is poorly managed. Africa produces what it does not consume and consumes what it does not produce. In addition, Africans are not loyal to African brands, and there are still far too few successful African brands. Why should an African buy expensive European chocolate brands, knowing that its sources, the cocoa beans, are practically around the corner. The art of making tasteful chocolate still seems to be a European secret. All this has led to growing calls for a ‘Buy African Act’, mimicking a USA initiative from 1933. The Buy American Act required that 50% of government purchases originate from the USA. This act worked well for the domestic economy. Africa is waking up and realizes they have to act: The well-known African pattern of starting initiatives but not completing them, must also determinedly be broken. And the principle “from whose hand you eat, he controls you” leads directly to: Stop asking, stop begging and borrowing. Instead the following principles are widely echoed: ‘Reclaiming our Dignity’; ‘Reclaiming our Culture and Identity’; ‘Reclaiming our Narrative’; ‘Reclaiming our Ideas’; ‘Reclaiming our Economies’. In more practical terms: the landscape is changing. Also for this process A.I shall help to leapfrog ahead. Whether it concerns coffee beans, cocoa beans, precious metals, or rooibos tea, processing and value addition still takes place in Europe, and Africans pay top price when the finished product is returned for consumption. Africa has three times the population of Europe, and the dynamics of the younger generations lead to the prediction that youth culture shall soon be shaped in Lagos and Nairobi, whereas today leading tastemakers are based in London, Milan, and Paris.
Exactly how African countries will continue developing remains to be seen, but things will not stay as they have been for so long. Signs are emerging of a developing parallel, digital society in response to the rigidity of current political systems and institutions. A parallel society over which governments have little control. For its global development this can appear to function as a double-edged sword. Growing self-awareness and the conviction that African solutions must be found for African problems are shifting the foundations of African society. Opportunities are abundant, including for western companies, if they stay awake. For example, due to increasing commercialization and the erosion of family safety nets, there is strong interest in insurance products. On the other hand, the Chama (Swahili for ‘group’) is an example of an African solution. It operates largely outside traditional banks. Chama started decades ago as a way for women to collectively save for household expenses, but it has evolved into a massive informal economy. It is estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of chamas in Kenya, collectively managing billions of dollars. Most chamas operate on a simple and effective principle: a group of colleagues, friends or family members contribute periodically a pre-agreed amount of money. This total pot of money goes to one of the members. This continues until every member has had its cash-out and then the circle may start over. The system is built on mutual trust and is compared to traditional banks low in paperwork, minimum balances or required proof of income. Chamas started as physical gatherings and are now mostly powered by technology that bypasses traditional bank branches. The modern hybrid ‘M-Pesa’ and ‘M.Shwari’ allow users to save and get instant micro-loans, based on their mobile transaction history. The user experience is entirely mobile, a bank account is not needed.
We are talking about the fastest growing consumer market on the planet. Sixty percent of the population is younger than 25 years and rather committed to change. There is a multi-billion market emerging, because half of African women feel insecure because of skin problems and often still use toothpaste as a remedy. French beauty companies have jumped in and offer African developed skin care products for the Africans.
Whatever outward form all these developments may take, most Africans remain cheerful, exceptionally friendly, and welcoming. That remains an excellent foundation for future developments, both for the continent of Africa, and the potential cooperations between Africa and the rest of the world.
Frits Spangenberg
This article was written following the ESOMAR Conference “Focus on Africa” (3-5 February 2026, Nairobi, Kenya). ESOMAR is the global organization for professionals in market and opinion research, and the data and insights industry. Founded in 1947, this was its first conference in Central Africa.
