Edinburgh Napier University

  Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Africa has been branded, and to propose strategies to re-brand Africa the as an attractive destination for both foreign and domestic investment.
Design/Methodology/Approach – A detailed review of literature on branding, nation branding, place branding, destination branding, foreign direct investment, and doing business in Africa in general, was conducted in order to establish how Africa has been branded and could be re-branded.
Findings – This research confirms that the overwhelming literature is full of publications that disproportionately associate the African continent with doom, political instability, poverty, underdevelopment, corruption, mismanagement, hunger and several other negative features. However, this research also reveals that there are several favourable conditions especially in the form of investment opportunities in several sectors that could be communicated better to give Africa an attractive identity. Some of these sectors are general retail, agriculture, tourism, real estate, sports and manufacturing. A number of foreign and domestic investors are already involved in these sectors and are experiencing tremendous growth. Therefore, the need for Africa to be re-branded as a viable business partner rather than aid receiver is strongly highlighted in this research.
Practical Implications – This paper offers practical strategies for stakeholders involved in nation/state branding to adopt in order to emphatically communicate the virtues and the success stories of the continent to both current and potential investors both within and outside the continent.
Originality/Value: This paper contributes to the debate on the brand equity of Africa as a continent and proposes strategies to effectively communicate the virtues of the content in order to compete more favourably with other continents for desirable investment