EMERGING NATIONAL CHAMPIONS TO REBUILD THE IMAGE OF OUR AFRICAN COUNTRIES IN THE EVENT OF CRISIS OR DISASTERS

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It is essential for our French-speaking sub-Saharan African states to bring out national champions.
Crises, particularly the health crisis, can occur at any time and impose their diktat. Faced with these unforeseen events, our states, to deal with them, mobilize funds from their operating budgets and / or call on external aid. 60 years after independence, it is clear that our states, the countries of French-speaking Saharan Africa, in particular, have not focused much on supporting local entrepreneurs, supporting hand-picked elites, in different activity sectors (primary-secondary and tertiary) to make them national champions.
National champions are defined as local companies that have become the main competitors in their global markets.
English-speaking countries and those of the Maghreb understood this very early on. Nigeria and Morocco are good examples. It is with pride that we follow Dangote’s international expansion in Africa and around the world.
“In emerging economies, National Champions have become strategic partners to achieve better transformation. Our countries must position them as the major actors of sustainable prosperity and finally to take ownership of our development process “, declared in 2014 Antonio Pedro, of the ECA (The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa).
COVID19 fundamentally reveals that national champions are powerful financial and economic arms that would allow our states to free themselves from external donors. Morocco is the example to follow ” In Morocco, in the space of a day, the special fund to fight against the coronavirus instituted by King Mohamed VI has achieved all of its objectives, due to the contribution of national champions ”
The other countries, with the progression of positive cases, have also set up funds and invited companies and the goodwill to contribute … The observation is obvious, it is difficult in a situation of crisis and uncertainty to exit the checkbook, had it not been for a patriotic spirit and the desire to heal its brand image vis-à-vis national and international opinions.
In terms of communication we can remember that:
– Morocco sends a strong message of sovereignty to the whole world.
– The other countries benefiting from the assistance of the World Bank evoke their fragility and their dependence on this assistance.
So, encouraging the emergence of national champions helps to demonstrate the economic power of the country of origin, to mobilize investments and to gain the confidence of third parties in diplomacy … all this being obviously, a tiny part of the benefits for the country.
“The typical approach of the national champion sticks to the country’s development needs and the expectations of the ruling power,” Selma Mhaoud would say. In short, everyone wins!

Source : Konan NGUESSAN