Investment Promotion Efforts Should Be Underpinned by Strong Narratives
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Investment Promotion Efforts Should Be Underpinned by Strong Narratives
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By Bathsheba Asati, Research Associate, Botho Emerging Markets Group
April 14, 2021
Friendlier investment policies, easy-to-navigate business environments, and other incentives are of no use if potential investors know nothing of them. Many African governments score highly on the World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking, yet these achievements often receive little recognition. The court of global public opinion significantly impacts governments’ ability to realize their political agendas. This reality equally holds true in the African context: many governments across the continent rarely dedicate resources to promote specific narratives to celebrate their progress or discrediting misconceptions. By investing in storytelling, governments can reshape public opinion about opportunities on the ground to advance policy objectives, attract foreign direct investment, and tell their own narrative on their terms.
Global and regional organizations have become the primary mouthpiece of governments, but the prerogative to discuss economic progress and highlight opportunities should sit at the national level. If not, African governments risk being addressed as a monolithic collective, which makes it harder for national particularities and nuances to be evident and for top performers to stand out from the pack. A good example of this is the numerous reports published by the World Bank during COVID-19 indicating that sub-Saharan Africa would experience -3.3% growth in 2020, making it the continent’s first recession in 25 years. While the report was accurate, this kind of aggregated data can be misleading, because it doesn’t take into account variability in performance across countries, especially in the case of above-average performers, like Kenya, which was projected to only face 1.0%-1.5% economic contraction. This was also a wasted opportunity for the Kenyan government to position its economy as a more resilient one in the midst of the pandemic to engage external partners.
International fora, state visits, and cultural diplomacy are the cornerstones of a successful investment promotion strategy. These channels can be powerful tools to shape perceptions of political climate and economic development. For example, Turkey has used cultural diplomacy and state visits to position itself as an ally to many African governments. Between 2009 and 2020, Turkey more than tripled its embassies in Africa with Erdogan visiting more than 20 countries. In countries like Ethiopia, Turkish films have established local brand equity, creating more openness to Turkish businesses to operate within the country – there are currently over two hundred Turkish businesses in Ethiopia, up from three in 2005. Turkey’s strategy has enabled the country to form strong relationships with African government leaders which has contributed to enhanced business and trade activities between Turkey and Africa.
Government public relations must take a reactive and proactive approach to counter misinformation and promote key messages. Silence creates a vacuum that will inevitably be filled with publicly available information - even when it is false. In this case, policymakers can take a cue from the private sector and regional bodies, both of which channel resources towards maintaining their brand and reputation. The African Development Bank (AfDB) provides an example that governments could emulate. In 2020, the World Bank claimed that Africa's debt problems were a result of the AfDB’s lending practices. In a statement negating the claims, the AfDB demonstrated its strong track record of responsible lending, including the support it has given to African countries, such as providing local currency financing and advisory support. By using a similar approach, governments can ensure that they maintain an influential voice within regional and international circles.
Reshaping narratives is not only about influence; it can reap considerable economic returns. Currently, high information costs and data gaps across the continent hamper the ability of foreign investors and partners to assess opportunities on the ground. And while governments often collect rich data, dissemination remains a challenge—and a roadblock to marketing opportunities in business, tourism, and more. Ghana and the UAE are great examples of countries that led successful information campaigns to promote their tourism industry. Ghana’s Year of Return encouraged Africans in the diaspora to trace their roots and led to a 26% increase in international arrivals to Ghana in 2019. Tourism expenditure per tourist increased from USD 2,708 in 2018 to USD 2,931 in 2019 and the country was able to generate about USD 3.31 billion in revenue from the initiative. The UAE led a similar campaign — World’s Coolest Winter — to promote domestic tourism at the height of the pandemic when international borders were closed. The campaign attracted about 1 million tourists and generated over USD 272 million within one month.
African governments should be the primary shapers of their countries’ and the continent’s political and economic agendas. Governments can reshape global perceptions and lead the conversations on their respective economies by leveraging national assets under a harmonized strategy to create an overarching narrative that showcases the country’s strengths. Governments that adopt this strategy occupy a more prominent position globally and are able to advance their political interests, attract investment and market themselves as leading destinations for trade, business, and tourism.
Bathsheba Asati is a Research Associate at Botho Emerging Markets Group