Mahajan Studies African Marketplace
as Next Major Business Opportunity

Many people would be surprised to learn that, despite having some of the poorest nations in the world, Africa is wealthier on average than India.

Vijay Mahajan wouldn’t be one of them. The McCombs marketing professor has been traveling extensively throughout Africa in the past year conducting research for a new book on emerging consumer markets in Africa.

"Africa is booming," said Mahajan, who has been meeting face-to-face in Africa with companies and business leaders across a diverse spectrum of industries and countries. "Entrepreneurship is thriving and the opportunities in Africa are incredible."

The average gross national income (GNI) per capita across all 53 African nations in 2005 was about $954, more than $200 higher than India’s. And 12 African nations (out of 53) have a GNI per capita that is greater than China's.

Considering Africa’s booming population, that concentration of wealth is a huge potential market for companies.

“Africa, of course, has a lot of problems to overcome,” Mahajan said. "There are many economic, political, legal, medical and social challenges facing the continent. But entrepreneurs and businesses across the continent are succeeding and meeting the fast-growing demand for every type of consumer good and service, from cell phones to banking to televisions. Africa is defying its image as a charity case."

Mahajan's book on Africa is scheduled to be published by Wharton School Publishing in 2008.

In his previous book, "The 86 Percent Solution: How to Succeed in the Biggest Market Opportunity of the Next 50 Years," Mahajan studied the entrepreneurship flourishing in Asia that is helping meet the needs of the people in the developing world, where 86 percent of the world's population lives. It also served as a wake up call to companies not yet taking advantage of the vast business opportunities to be found in developing countries.

"Every day, innovative companies are coming up with new ways to address or overleap the limitations and respond to the distinctive needs of emerging markets," Mahajan wrote.

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