
"Black China: Africa's First Superpower Is Coming Sooner Than You Think"
– Newsweek, Sam Hill, 1/15/2020
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Do you do business in Africa? I am not talking about the Middle East, North Africa or South Afrrica, but rather southern Africa and in particular Nigeria.
I raise the question due to my having lately read several articles about the African economies and, in particular, a Newsweek article entitled: "Black China: Africa's First Superpower Is Coming Sooner Than You Think." It is a compelling piece that lays out both the opportunities and challenges that face, Nigeria, one of the world's fastest-growing economies and populations.
I find that we, as an industry, are highly educated about Asia, Europe, and the US, less so about South America and practically not at all about southern Africa. That is odd as the Nigerian consumer market place is very developed and dynamic, particularly in large urban centers like Lagos. The country's film and television industry, nicknamed Nollywood, the third-largest in the world.
Nigeria is not one of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China), but it does belong to a new group called the MINT countries: Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey. These are all fast-growing economies.
Nigeria is currently the 7th largest country, by population, in the world and is anticipated, by the end of the century, to be close to China in its number of inhabitants. It has the 30th largest GDP making it bigger than Israel, South Africa, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
What we are missing in the toy industry is information about the toy market in Nigeria, how big it is, how it operates, how to enter safely, and how to prosper.
If you have done business in Nigeria or have information, please share it with us.