East Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, is expected to have an economic growth rate of between 5 and 5.5% in 2022.
This is significantly higher than the 2 to 2.2% growth expected in Europe and the USA for the same period.
The prospects and opportunities in the retail industry in East Africa are great. However, these markets are difficult to penetrate because of the large size of the informal economic sector.
For many businesses wanting to introduce their products or expand their operations to this region the uncharted informal sector can be mystifying.
Frontline Research Group knows East Africa
Frontline Research Group has been working in this region for many years and has comprehensive data on the retail environment, particularly and uniquely in the informal economic sector.
This data may be acquired “off-the-shelf” from the Frontline Research Group. However, the benefits of this data are optimised when combined with the Frontline Research Groups business solutions.
Steve Johnson, Director of New Business Development at the Frontline Research Group says: “We offer business solutions through customized research methodologies that aim to give our clients greater insights into these complex markets to allow for optimised decision making.”
Steve adds, “The word ‘research’ may be misleading when it comes to how the Frontline Research Group offers solutions. Good research is just the first step. Understanding a client’s needs and the solutions they require are next. With this information we are able to create key strategic and tactical outputs for the client to grow their market share effectively and profitably.”
Having a list of retail outlets is all good and well but each market needs its own analysis and understanding.
“Jumping into an East African market with two feet and no understanding of the business, shopper and consumer landscape can be a big mistake. A new and uninformed market entrant may find themselves floundering about and ultimately drowning because they made too many uninformed decisions,” adds Steve.
For those in or entering East Africa, one of the key objectives is to grow one’s market share by using the best available Route To Market (RTM) practises.
Steve says, “The RTM design and solutions can be quite overwhelming and complex for a new entrant but, thanks to our data, knowledge, skills, experience and tools, we are able to create a fit for purpose solution quickly and efficiently for our clients .”
RTM is just one of the services offered by the Frontline Research Group. If you are entering East Africa as a whole, or even a new region, you may want to consider some of the other services offered by the Frontline Market Research including, Vehicle and Rep Routing, Competitor Tracking, Channel Research, Retail Execution and Tracking, Customer Profiles and Behaviour to name but a few.
For more information or for a quotation contact Steve Johnson, DIRECTOR OF NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, on +27 (0) 84 2000 111 or steve@frontlineafrica.com