Diageo invests in changing how the world sees Africa

Famine, poverty, disease and wars were the images of Africa that resonated in developed nations in past decades. These images and accompanying narratives of Africa as a dark, mysterious, harsh and dangerous place are fast changing. Even as corruption and infrastructure deficit challenges remain commonplace on the continent, words like “emerging” and “frontier markets” that allude to trade and investment opportunities now describe Africa to the world.

From Lagos to Nairobi, Cairo to Cape Town, amazing stories of resilience, innovation and success are being celebrated by local, regional and global media. The story of Africa is no longer told from the lens of catastrophes, famines and war – making inflow of aid into the continent a priority. Both African and non-African journalists now provide global businesses with countless evidence of progress, growth, as well as political and economic vibrancy that makes the continent an attractive destination for investments.

Inflow of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) into the African continent has risen from $15 billion in 2002 to $37 billion in 2006, and $84 billion in 2010. It is expected to accelerate and peak at $150 billion by 2015, according to an Ernst & Young forecast, with all growth seeking multinational corporations heading for Africa.

It is for this reason that ‘Africa Rising’ has become the new cliché for global media establishments with the highly influential TIME and Economist magazines featuring same title on their cover pages to kindle business interests in the continent. This is a radical departure from Afro-pessimism, which characterise international media coverage of the continent. It is a paradigm shift to Afro-positivism, which reports the continent as critical to the long-term growth ambitions of multinational corporations because of its upward trajectory – socially, economically and politically.

While Africa still is behind Asia in terms of perception, it is now on equal ranking with Latin America and Eastern Europe, according to the Ernst & Young 2011 Africa Attractiveness Survey. Interestingly, Diageo, parent company of Guinness Nigeria and one of the few multinational corporations with deep roots in Africa, has over the last 10 years invested in shaping a positive perception of the African continent to accelerate its growth through trade and investment, not aid handouts.

“In the recent past, Africa was more readily associated with catastrophes, diseases, famine, poverty and war, rather than profits, entrepreneurs, dividends and prosperity. At Guinness Nigeria, a Diageo company, we believe that better and more accurate reporting will stimulate investment inflow into Africa because of its huge potential,” Seni Adetu, managing director/chief executive, Guinness Nigeria, said.

In more ways than one – through international media visits and the annual Diageo Africa Business Reporting Awards (DABRA), the leading drinks company sought to create a situation in which the global media and institutional investors will have in-depth knowledge of the continent’s vast business potential. It believes telling the story about business in Africa will help shift perceptions and create a more balanced view of economic opportunity in Africa.

In October 2004, Diageo led their first trip to Nigeria for international journalists. Supported by Guinness Nigeria Plc, this trip was to enable the journalists to take an in-depth look at the business environment in Nigeria.