The African Millennial (July 2019)
Exp in partnership with REACH Technologies, a transaction informatics firm based out of Lagos, has completed the first indepth study on the African Millennial, representing the views of over 20 million urban Africans between the ages of 20 and 35.
Carol Abade, the CEO of EXP Group, explained that the focus on millennials is due to their enormous influence. “Millenials are going to be Africa’s demographic dividend. It is a population that is going to change the landscape within the continent. This is a society of people that are better educated, have access to better health, are less dependent and have more disposable income. They are more likely to shift the game than any other previous generation. They can also adapt quickly to technology and use it to leverage on the way they interact with business, the economy and information. Their ambitions outmatch their spending power but their influence is far bigger than what has been seen before. Communication Strategies must tap into the right channels to use them as their influential basefor the bigger middle class, by interacting with them in a way that is relevant,” she advised.
The research was presented to more than 150 marketers at 3 exclusive events in Accra, Lagos and Nairobi. The findings were categorised into 3 'currencies' of the African Millennial - Social Currency; Monetary Currency; Professional Currency - for each of the 3 Countries, with top line findings consisting of:
Social Currency
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General, but unfounded, consensus around millennials is their reliance on friends and social media and their bucking of tradition when seeking counsel. However, African millennials overwhelmingly rely on close family ties to help them navigate life.
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Given the meteoric rise in the importance of social media bloggers as carriers of our brand messages, it is alarming to see, from the research, the level of mistrust that African millennials have for social media personalities and music celebrities.
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Relinquishing control of your brand to social media is a big no-no. Lagos millennials still view websites as the most trusted and reliable source of quick and accurate information.
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Being a target group that wants to 'do good' the research showed that there is a huge opportunity for brands to capture the Millennial Mind Share.
Monetary Currency
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Airtime and peer-to-peer transfers are the millennial’s most frequent type of transaction.
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Once communication and money transfers are sorted, there are 5 transaction types that comprise the next big bulk of the millennial’s wallet - Transport, Groceries, Restaurants, Entertainment, and Online Shopping.
Professional Currency
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Most Millennials see Entrepreneurship as a career choice.
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Seeing the rise of technology as the smartest way to make money (as an entrepreneur).
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When choosing a career choice, personal development and growth are the most important attributes the African Millennial considers.
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