Kampala, PR Over Coffee launch – Africans are sitting on vast amounts of wealth. This wealth can only be unearthed if they (Africans) grasped the concept of proper branding.
This was one of the key points emphasized during the maiden PR Over Coffee meeting in Uganda on April 22, 2016, at the Kampala Serena Hotel.
Renowned brand architect and founder of the influential Brand Leadership Group, ThebeIkalafeng noted that while other attributes such as passion and availability of funds play a vital role in growing businesses, the most important aspect is branding.
He however cautioned that Africans ought to stop imitating if they were to succeed in this regard. “Find what it is that you can do differently not better because better can always be bettered! Find your competitive advantage and then build on that.”
Ironically according to Ikalafeng, only 30% of the brands admired by Africans are from Africa.“What does that imply? It means that we have to brand appropriately if we are to be appreciated, only then shall we realize our true potential as Africa,” he said.
Adding, “USA, Europe, and Asia have an agenda for Africa, but Africa has no agenda for Africa. Our job as Africans is to, therefore, stop blaming everybody, begging, and borrowing. Why are we enslaved to Aid? Aid only succeeds in breeding corrupt leaders.”
He said that the time was nigh for Africa to harness its potential as the next economic tiger.“Europe has a history, Africa has a future, Africa is all we have, but it is everything we need. We are the future.
”Ikalafeng was the keynote speaker at the inaugural PR Over Coffee event in Kampala and based his address on the topic; “Africa Inside; building businesses, brands, and relationships in Africa.”
Major General Jim Muhwezi, the minister for Information and National Guidance who was the chief guest at the breakfast meeting lauded organizers of the event saying that it had amplified what the government has always advocated for.
“I am pleased that the guest speaker (Thebe)talked about branding. As a government, we are also rebranding the way we communicate. In the last general election, we realized a communication gap and as a result, people were incensed because they had been fed on lies,” he explained.
Adding, “Even my ministry is going to change very soon so as to communicate better. We shall work with the private sector in this regard.”
A brainchild of Publics Africa Communications, Public Relations Over Coffee is a pioneer information empowerment forum created to promote and stimulate the growth of Uganda’s communication industry and clients’ brands through networking, collaboration, matchmaking, and innovation in various professional fields.
Joseph Kanyamunyu, the Managing Director Publics Africa Communications and Project lead of PR Over Coffee Africa say that the purpose of these meetings is to share ideas, tips and tools that entrepreneurs need to shake up their industry, challenge ‘old hat’ practices, increase their bottom lines and have an undeniable impact on the business society in Uganda. The meetings will be held quarterly with each tackling issue in different sectors of the economy.