The Africanization of social platforms, virtual connections & peer-to-peer services.

1. september 2014
Africa trend bulletin
AFRICONNECTION
The Africanization of social platforms,
virtual connections & peer-to-peer services.

2. INTRODUCTION
Connection...
Africans, like everyone else crave interaction with others. Yet,
as the West promotes individualism and the ‘unique identity’
as the mantra du jour, many Africans continue to perceive their
identities in the context of a tribe or community. This sense
of community – be it for profitable, practical, or even social
purposes has long been heralded as a pinnacle of African
culture.
Or maybe we can even call this quintessentially African,
thriving desire for togetherness and connection with others,
an analogue precursor to the now global and digitalized P2P/
sharing economy.
Could there be a more basic need?
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 2

3. INTRODUCTION
Cue the ‘Africanization’
of online social and
peer-to-peer platforms.
Mobile connectivity and the online world has expanded both the
scope and scale of Africans’ networks across the continent and
beyond, making it easier to connect with friends, strangers and
brands, in both the real and virtual realms. These connections
may be old news in the West in 2014, but the constant, timely,
relevant, social, practical and personal interactions are still
in their infancy in Africa, and their potential to solve African
problems is undeniable.
Collaborative consumption and the
digital manifestation of connected
Africans is in overdrive, and showing
no signs of slowing down.
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 3

4. 10,000,000,000
Yookos (You Own Your Kosmos) is a Nigerian social networking
site founded in 2011 by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of ‘Christ
Embassy’, a Christian ministry that pulls up to 1.2 million
attendees in a single event. The site now boasts over 10 million
‘believers’, who can share prayer points and fellowship with other
Christians in over 160 countries worldwide.
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 4

5. AFRICONNECTION is
sweeping across the
continent.
3 strands of AFRICONNECTION looked at here:
1. ME-2-WE
Connecting peers around shared interests and niche concerns.
2. TOGETHER WE STAND(ARDS)
Connecting people to serve community needs.
3. BY-PRODUCT PRACTICES
Leveraging existing connections, platforms and services for
alternative purposes.
These connections are niche,
community-focused and often leverage
existing networks.
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 5

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7. 1. ME-2-WE
Connecting peers around shared interests
and niche concerns.
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 7

8. Power in numbers In Africa, mainstream global social platforms are being adopted
A plethora of Africans can’t get enough
of platforms that segment, fragment
and highlight very specific concerns
and interests.
at a significant rate, proving that like everyone else, Africans enjoy
connecting with others.
Yet unlike in other parts of the world, where social networks are
frequently used to address niche issues*, niche topics within
Africa have often been forgotten.
1. ME-2-WE
* Note how the now viral ‘ice bucket challenge’ used Facebook as a podium to raise
awareness about the previously unknown ALS disease.
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 8

9. 1. ME-2-WE
Niche is the new black
Now, African consumers are demanding
more than a one-size-fits-all approach:
they’re looking for social platforms
that address their niche interests and
concerns.
Meanwhile, African brands are realizing
that facilitating ME-2-WE connections
between these often fragmented,
overlooked consumers can generate
rewarding and lasting benefits (both
within the group and beyond).
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 9

10. ME-2-WE: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
Sokkaa
Online community for East African English
Premier Football League fans
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 10

11. ME-2-WE: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
Samsung
Mobile app connects Tunisian Alzheimer’s
patients with family and friends
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 11

12. ME-2-WE: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
Asuqu
Online hub brings together creatives in Africa
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 12

13. NEXT
Serve the niche
Chances are, if you’re aiming to connect
an underserved niche market in Africa,
that they’re probably also under-served
in many other areas, too.
Take the above examples: Asuqu
provides industry-specific job listings,
while Samsung provides useful health
information to doctors based on
patients’ app usage patterns.
What additional services can you provide
for your following/fans/network?
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 13

14. 2. TOGETHER WE STAND(ARDS)
Connecting people to serve community needs.
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 14

15. 2. TOGETHER WE STAND(ARDS)
It takes a village to
raise a child...
The global ‘sharing economy’ taps
into this quintessential African ethos.
Connecting with others to share resources and responsibilities
is an idea embedded deep in African culture. What’s more, the
resilience of communities, whether in the form of tribes, regions
or demographics, demonstrates that Africans are not as easily
seduced by ‘individualism’ as their Western counterparts.
One way this is evolving in 2014? The intrinsically African zeal to
support and share with the community is synchronising with
emerging, tech-fueled collaborative consumption models and
platforms.
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 15

16. 2. TOGETHER WE STAND(ARDS)
Share and share alike
Community-focused platforms,
schemes and tools are seamlessly
updating the manner in which Africans
share resources.
With converging macro-economic,
political and technological forces at play
in 2014, there’s no stopping the deluge
of these TOGETHER WE STAND(ARDS)
innovations overtaking the continent.
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 16

17. After surveying 5,000 respondents across Nigeria, Ethiopia,
Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and the Democratic Republic
of Congo, ‘family-oriented’ is named a key characteristic in 5 out
of the 7 new consumer segments identified.
NIELSEN EMERGING MARKETS INSIGHT SURVEY, 2014
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 17

18. TOGETHER WE STAND(ARDS): FEATURED INNOVATIONS
National Health Insurance
Scheme
First ever Nigerian community-based
insurance scheme launched in Akwa Ibom
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 18

19. TOGETHER WE STAND(ARDS): FEATURED INNOVATIONS
OurHood
South African startup launches
neighbourhood social network
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 19

20. TOGETHER WE STAND(ARDS): FEATURED INNOVATIONS
MGCubed
Ghanaian community scheme provides
interactive distance learning for rural schools
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 20

21. NEXT
Consider the haves and
the have-nots
Africa’s wealth disparity is still
extremely disproportionate. Follow suit
with MGCubed’s project by thinking
about how you can connect two
completely different communities to
benefit them both.
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 21

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www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 22

23. 3. BY-PRODUCT PRACTICES
Leveraging existing connections for alternative purposes.
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 23

24. 3. BY-PRODUCT PRACTICES
2014’s Africa is
‘GLOCALIZED’
And its connections are equally as
paradoxical: global and local, universal
and niche at the same time.
There’s no doubt that many (mainly young) Africans today, are
enjoying a variety of options that allow them to directly connect
with brands and other people. And despite the growing number of
new, more local/niche innovations on offer, the ubiquity, reliability
and network effect of mainstream and global online platforms
(WhatsApp, Instagram, Airbnb, etc), means that rather than one
type replacing the other, most consumers will engage different
platforms for different purposes. This phenomenon has
implications for brands that want to tap into AFRICONNECTION
without necessarily reinventing the wheel.
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 24

25. 68% 50million
GLOBAL: South Africa had the highest proportion of active
Facebook users globally in Q2 2013: 68%.
LOCAL: While South Africa’s social network Mxit boasted 50
million users, growing at up to 50,000 users per day.
GLOBALWEBINDE X, Q2 2014 / AFRODIGIT.COM, AUGUST 2014
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 25

26. LOCAL: While South Africa’s social network Mxit boasted 50
million users, growing at up to 50,000 users per day.
AFRODIGIT.COM, AUGUST 2014
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 26

27. 3. BY-PRODUCT PRACTICES
Facilitating
connections is not the
only way...
Maximising, repurposing and
piggybacking off pre-established
connections works too!
Successful African BY-PRODUCT
PRACTICES will be those that leverage
existing platforms and services to serve
often completely different (but welcome)
purposes.
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 27

28. BY-PRODUCT PRACTICES: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
Uber
Transport app offers frozen yoghurt on-demand
delivery service in South Africa
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 28

29. BY-PRODUCT PRACTICES: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
AiiSSEEE!
Game show and interactive platform for
couples tackles health issues in East Africa
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 29

30. BY-PRODUCT PRACTICES: FEATURED INNOVATIONS
Kenya Tourist Board
#WhyILoveKenya social media campaign
aims to revitalize Kenyan tourism industry
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 30

31. NEXT
Which connection or
platform to leverage?
That’s up to you! When you think about
it, even the most mundane transactions
/ customer interactions are opportunities
for novel, unpredictable and surprising
connections.
So what are you waiting for? Get going
with new BY-PRODUCT PRACTICES!
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 31

32. Want to apply these
trends? Use our free
CONSUMER TREND
CANVAS!
This free tool will help you and your
team unpack a trend, adapt it for your
own context and apply it. But remember,
Africanizing the many social and peer-to-
peer platforms and services is what
AFRICONNECTION is all about!
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 32

33. GOOD LUCK!
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 33

34. Join us at Social Media
Week Johannesburg?
As part of SMW Joburg (September
22-26), we’ll be hosting a multi-format
trends event on September 25. Including
a keynote from our Africa Regional
Director Lola Pedro, an interactive trends
master class, a panel discussion with
some of South Africa’s most prominent
voices in the creative industries, and an
exclusive fireside chat with disruptor Uber
SA’s country manager.
Hope to see you there!
www.trendwatching.com/trends/africonnection ACFIROCEINNTON 34

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