African IT Companies Need to Actively and Intelligently Promote Themselves to Gain Prominence

According to some African IT companies, East Africa is about to become a leader in IT support and IT outsourcing. Favorable conditions are being created for this: education is developing, including in universities, IT companies are under state control and receive support and funding. Valeria Mingova, founder and CEO of PR DOCTOR Agency, tells what PR tools you need to use to enter the international market.

Market development in Africa Experts from India have long been leaders in the field of technical support and IT outstaffing. They are inexpensive and the quality of their services is acceptable. Now they are becoming more expensive and refocused on more highly specialized services. In East Africa, there are many young specialists who want to prove to the whole world that they can do more, are better trained, can take on more complex processes, but at the same time they are not expensive.

In many countries on the continent in recent years, the central government has begun to develop information technology as part of national policy. For example, Nigeria was able to become one of the leaders in digital progress in the African region in 15 years. Ghana, Tanzania and Kenya are now considered among the most advanced in this area.

There are many key participants in the market: accelerators, corporations, startups, hubs, investors. Among the accelerators is the famous American Y Combinator, which has launched 49 African projects since 2015, including payment gateways Flutterwave and Paystack. In 2019, an African startup, the online clothing and electronics store Jumia, entered the New York Stock Exchange for the first time. There are also analogues of accelerators, which are called hubs or innovation centers. These are social structures for collaboration and project development. One well-known example is the Center for Co-Development in Nigeria, which not only helps entrepreneurs develop and launch their projects, but also has its own investment fund.

Development forecast of the IT outsourcing and outstaffing industries The development of IT outsourcing is influenced by several important factors:

Customer requests are becoming increasingly complex. IT outsourcing is now expected to play a big role in business, participate in strategic processes and expand competencies, including custom development and implementation of proprietary technologies.

The cost of services from leading companies is rising. IT specialists from India are becoming more and more expensive, which deprives them of their advantage - low cost.

The competitive field is evolving. During the existence of the established structure, international IT outsourcing with leaders and preferences, favorable environment, human and financial potential has developed in a number of countries (including Africa). This makes it possible to seriously fight for clients. And now industry leaders must fight to change their cheap labor status.

This suggests that conditions are generally good for IT outsourcing in Africa. But for these companies to succeed, it is not enough to show successful cases, products and solutions. African companies must lead by example to create a “fashion” for African IT outsourcing and become the face of this industry. For this to work, African companies need to actively and intelligently promote themselves.

What tools to use

1. Act in external communications from the position of a leader and a major player. Even if the company is not yet so well known in other countries, it is important to secure the status of a company that can solve any client’s problem.

When a company takes this stance, it attracts more attention from potential clients and partners. You must achieve certain successes and have expertise in your field in order to practically confirm theses about leadership.

2. Conduct surveys and research. This will help create a “fashion” on the market.

Conduct a recent study of the IT outsourcing market, which will show that the market share of Indian companies is declining, while the share of East African companies is growing. This should be shown as a percentage. Then publish these reviews on an exclusive basis on major platforms, for example, Bloomberg, and send information to 100+ media outlets in the USA, Europe, and the Middle East. These are regions with high demand for IT services, and there you need to create the right impression.

We need to make sure that the world notices that developers from Africa are competitive both in cost of services and in competencies. Show the largest universities, successful cases, top companies operating abroad, their share in the global IT market, percentage of GDP, etc.

3. Get published in the media. Use online resources as a platform to confirm your expertise and increase the trust of your target audience.

Build external communications in other countries from the position of a company that, among other companies from Africa, is at the forefront of the entire African IT outsourcing market and speaks on behalf of this entire market.

The main outline of the messages: “While the whole world lived according to the rules that had developed over several decades, many did not notice that Africa had become the flagship of IT outsourcing, displacing the leaders, and here are the reasons...”. And then demonstrate this with examples of your work: a high level of expertise, modern education, government support and funding, prepared infrastructure, etc.

It is important to maintain the constant presence of the company's top officials in the largest industry and socio-political media and news agencies. First of all, we are not talking about local media in each specific country, but about large international media: Benzinga, MarketWatch, Yahoo, Finance, Bloomberg.

4. Participate in thematic conferences. As a speaker at panel discussions or speaking among investors and large companies, as a participant with an exhibition stand or in events as a leading company in the East African IT cluster. Or you can create your own event.

As a speaker, we continue the basic communication course. Show with specific examples that Africa is the new world leader in IT outsourcing.

Find major international events that take place both in Africa and in other countries:

• Websummit

• Slush

• Techcrunch

• Disruption

• CES

• London Tech Week

• Tech in Asia

• Korea Expo

• GITEX

• GITEX Africa

  
  

5. Apply for ratings and nominations.

Analyze information in open sources - how is your company mentioned? Is it on big lists like G2?

On those sites where the company is represented, it is necessary to put the information in order in accordance with the promotion concept. If a company is not represented, it must be verified and receive badges in order for the company to be included and mentioned in the market research.

Receives good ratings quarterly on G2, Software Review, Capterra, etc. Top companies from these ratings are awarded the following nominations: “Spring Leader”, “Fastest Growing Company”, “Company with the best customer service”, etc.

To get into such ratings, you need to put all open information about the company in order, and prepare cases well and in detail. Collect at least 1-5 every quarter.

6. Target your publications. First, the article targets the people you need, then the second, then target checklists and other useful materials.

What can be done: Do a research for your target audience. Publish in the media on the topic of your research, where you will talk about the results and what to expect in the future. Make a case. Post information about winning a competition or receiving some kind of award. Make checklists, for example: “Find out how to save 30% of your budget on IT outsourcing” or “Checklist: how to check efficiency of IT outsourcing."

7. Network through LinkedIn, Expandi, etc. You can sell to cold audiences or do market research.

On LinkedIn you can set up message chains, scripts, attract people to calls, meetings and try to sell your product while the information base for targeting accumulates.

For a company that wants to become a market leader not only in its region or country, but also in the world, international PR is the most important tool. It is important to take into account many nuances, use different approaches, and convey the correct meanings and values.