Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: The entire continent's consulting market makes up only 2% of the global consulting market.
The African consulting market makes up approximately 2% of the global consulting market, which totaled $2.9 billion in 2019. By the end of 2020, these revenues were expected to drop by 14% to reach a value of $2.5 billion. (The recent drop in market value is comparable to trends seen in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific markets in percentage terms.)
Opportunities for small and midsize consultancies exist, particularly in specialty fields such as health care, information technology, agriculture, infrastructure, construction and mining, as well as general strategic overviews. Wisconsin firms wishing to discuss possibilities in this market can get in touch with WEDC’s export development staff via the “contact us” page.
Large consultancies can be found in more than 30 markets in Africa. The top three locations with the greatest number of consulting firms are South Africa, Nigeria and Morocco. Southern Africa makes up around two-thirds of the continent’s entire consulting market. West Africa (particularly Nigeria) and East Africa are both currently experiencing economic growth due to the decline in competitive advantage of Asian markets. While the key “brand name” consultancies are present in African markets, room for smaller companies abounds.
Historically, consulting services in Africa have been requested by governments for the elaboration of sectoral policies. This need still exists, and more and more consulting firms are being asked to also accompany the execution of the strategy and its implementation. However, there has been a rise in a new private clientele, made up of regional champions and major pan-African groups, who want to be accompanied by consulting firms to secure their investments.
Major brands in strategy consulting typically give priority to large economies and populations with great development prospects. These consultancies are mainly located in Johannesburg and Lagos (the continent’s largest city), with Casablanca and Luanda as the next most popular locations. The Ghanaian market is also growing steadily and attracting the attention of international firms.
What follows is a list of international brands of business management and strategy consulting companies present in Africa’s largest cities. This is a sampling, rather than a complete list, and it should be noted that many firms carry out assignments in Africa via partnerships with other institutions that already have established structures and experience doing business on the continent. Outside of Johannesburg, Casablanca and Lagos, consultancy offices are scarce, but the number of offices does not necessarily reflect the volume of activity. According to Infomineo, there is strong year-over-year growth (39%) in the number of consultants in Africa working for McKinsey & Co., Bain & Co., Boston Consulting Group, A.T. Kearney, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company), with Kenya leading the way with the highest percentage increase.