Jokes aside, one of the most striking realities I have witnessed over the past (almost) decade building insights and data on opportunities and business in hashtag

#Africa is the degree of alienation of major brands towards the continent (brands who surely have the resources to invest, that is). What's worse is that these companies, funds, and organisations would actually be keen to enter these markets but often lack visibility into local opportunities due to internal practices that neglect the presence of information providers.

Despite the work organisations like Briter and global media organisations such as The Economist do, the knowledge gap remains too vast to be able to capture the immense diversity of opportunities in these markets.

The Economist is thus not wrong. More data, more awareness, more advocacy are crucial to move the needle.