Africa's Burgeoning Middle Class Presents A Compelling Marketing Opportunity

Though 61 percent of Africa's population still lives on less than $2 a day, 34 percent are considered part, however, tenuously, of the continent's middle class - 313 million people - and they represent an attractive marketing opportunity for investing countries and companies that are willing to risk the often dangerous political atmosphere. That fact has not gone unnoticed by multinational appliance makers, telecommunications companies and retailers. For example, the U.S. ambassador to South Africa reported recently that Africa has more mobile-phone subscribers than the entire U.S. population. According to a report by the African Development Bank, 21 percent of Africans are well-established in the new middle class, spending between $4 and $20 a day, often on nonessential items.