'Lost in Translation'

I could write a zillion aspects on the African marketing set-up and its hiccups, but firstly I must say I am a firm believer that we are all born marketers and our success in selling ourselves to other parties is what defines our leadership success or mediocrity and even success and popularity closer to our homes, I'll let you think back if you may, what did you say or do to your loved one for them to become your partner? I am sure for your success, some 'shmuck' with poor marketing skills, 'undersold' themselves and you ended up the victor with the 'spoils'....... think now of a child wailing and rolling on the ground trying to make a parent buy them a particular toy, give them some food or let them watch their favourite cartoon, that again is an attempt to influence an action, a sale as it were, marketing at its most basic level which just goes to say we are born marketers, we prefer to get our own way and that's where it all comes in, the convincing, creation of conviction in the potential consumer in what you are offering to take the action that means a sale and after that the support and retention of the customers for as long as they can still 'buy'.

Last week I wrote a exam paper on marketing services (rather than tangible products) after years of hands on experience it was a feast, I enjoyed it immensely, and I am truly lucky and blessed that three corporate entities funded and entrusted me with experimenting with marketing insurance in a field that hitherto was not active in the territories I danced in, it was a beautiful challenge and with the companies sponsoring my experiment everything was great, I laugh at what I presented as my very first marketing strategy (ha ha ha! and again) very raw! raw indeed! anyways they say a child has to crawl before it walks and isn't it the old philosopher Aristotle who was convinced and did to others that a fly had four legs! and then went on to say the snort from your nose when you have a cold is brain matter! and everybody believed him, anyways the life long learner that I am now is truly adept, I think, at strategies as it were but theres always a lot more to learn.

Let me invite you to share with me the opportunities that lie with the African continent just with a few utterly basic wild shots, lets look at basic examples like plasters that we use on bites, grazes and cuts in sub Saharan Africa, why are we still predominantly using pink coloured plaster that is meant is for light skinned people? look around your pharmacy and try and get a dark colored plaster, I am sure it will be a challenge ......and if you have a flat nose like I do and wear prescription spectacles try and get a pair that fit on your nose as perfectly as they fit a sharper nosed person, you will not succeed, as I have not, when you consider this eye glasses scenario we do look a smite ridiculous with the bridge of the glasses hanging way above your nose....... but it fits perfectly in signifying where we stand in the global consumer market, products are rarely custom made for us as a market, we seem to be a by-market that simply accepts what it is given, surely at this day and age an entrepreneur that will look at the peculiarities of the African nation more seriously than I have will have a steady ready stable product market.

Then there's this Nobel Peace Prize laureate last week talking about intelligence and colour...........'naw'! its not worth a comment, not even a toss. Still though I'd encourage you to read this article, http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/30/172945/17 , the fact that african scientific records were ignored, mutilated by invaders and colonialists and most cases shamelessly plagiarised and claimed by imposters as their own don't mean Sub Saharans never developed themselves, lets shatter that notion once and for all, there was simply a common 'theft' of ideas, land, people (slavery), history (records, artefacts, gold) etceteras that conquerors, colianialists, settlers and warmongering invaders undertook that both rampantly and systematically robbed a continent of its pride.