Innovative Approaches to Customer Access in the African Informal Markets

Being successful in African markets first requires to develop and grow the markets. Challenges faced in developing an African power tools market reside around: Affordability, Awareness, Accessibility, and Availability. The focus of this chapter is on how the distribution gap can be closed through innovative approaches. Reaching the, often informal, artisans and users requires to be onsite with local resources to first gain detailed information on the needs of customers and their ecosystem. As it is a dynamic environment an agile approach that facilitates regular adaptations is preferable. An important part of any successful approach is to enable your customers to have access and to your products and make a conducive ecosystem available, e.g., provide solutions for the electricity problem. This chapter describes some of the approaches and measures Bosch Power Tools division has taken in Africa.