Africa’s Mosaic Approach

Afrobarometer is the gift that keeps on giving. Every few years the survey company tracks public opinion in African countries about external partners. The result is a growing and fascinating body of work that shows African public opinion about actors like China shifting in real-time.

This time, it shows that framing the popularity issue in terms of China versus the United States is missing the real story. The polls show that “there is a mosaic of actors, both African and non-African, that citizens consider having political and economic influence on their countries and their futures.” These include the US and China, but also regional African powers (for example South Africa is a popular development model in Malawi,) Russia, and UN agencies.

This mosaic approach could be a positive indicator for Africa’s future. Allow me to explain via a highly dubious metaphor about candy.

Last year I was on a layover in Atlanta and I was hunting for snacks. Primed by many years of TV, I had expected American candy shelves to be a cornucopia, a sugar hallucination with varieties stretching to the horizon. The reality was – fine. There were Reese’s and M&Ms and the rest of the big hitters, but nothing I hadn’t seen before. It was a little underwhelming.

I was puzzling over my reaction. A big factor was that the main American brands are already present in Africa because they’re present everywhere. But the real reason is that Africans are maybe more used to things being from everywhere, that is, not tailored to them.

The humble sweet shop on Wits University campus I used to slink to on pre-COVID afternoons was fun exactly because they ordered from everywhere – the same brands I saw in Atlanta were there, but also South African and European brands, as well as unfamiliar ones from Turkey, India and elsewhere. This isn’t due to Wits students’ worldliness, but rather shows an unexpected benefit of being a weak market: there is little market research or targeting of powerful demographics with strong brand expectations. Rather, the shop owners grabbed off-brand bargains from as many non-mainstream trading networks as they could, and if the students don’t like it, well beggars can’t be choosers.

This is where the metaphor falls apart because I already imagine American candy truthers complaining that I’m ignoring many eclectic Atlanta candy emporiums, and I’m sure that’s true. However, there is something in there about Africa’s willingness to make do with whatever it can get from a global market which never prioritizes its desires, that seems to resonate with the Afrobarometer findings of African populations pulling together development ideas from a mosaic of actors. It shows a kind of strength in weakness.

While there certainly is a beggars can’t be choosers aspect to this, the flip side is that Africa’s message to development partners – even powerful ones like China or the United States – is, we’re more than happy to work with you, but you’ll never be the only one. Anyone getting too hung up on the U.S.-China rivalry should probably keep this in mind.

• Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis.
• Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations.
• Connect with leading professionals on the China- Africa Experts Network.

You've reached your free monthly article limit.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

-17% Savings

The post Africa’s Mosaic Approach appeared first on The China Africa Project.

source https://chinaafricaproject.com/2020/11/23/africas-mosaic-approach/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=africas-mosaic-approach