FT ranking is a boost on Nigeria’s brand perception- Inogbo
By Oghale Mafaru
Following the recent Financial Times ranking of Nigeria as one of the top five countries with the fastest-growing companies in Africa, the Principal PR Executive of Worktainment Limited, Mr. Inogbo Obinna said the recognition has elevated the brand persona of the country and should be leveraged to drive foreign investment and growth.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with MARKETING EDGE, the PR expert stated that the emergence of Nigeria as one of the top five countries on the list is a vivid demonstration of the resilience and doggedness of Nigerian entrepreneurs who against all odds have explored the adaptive mechanism to navigate the series of challenges in the African business environment.
He said: “Out of the list of 75 companies that made the list, 21 companies are from Nigeria. That’s 28% of the list. We are also the country with the second-highest number, South Africa being the highest. Given these statistics, it shows that Nigeria is the second most important country in Africa for business and that’s commendable, especially with the avoidable challenges to business we have as a nation”.
According to him being listed on the first ranking for Africa by the UK’s most credible financial newspaper, Financial Times’ ranking opens a vista of opportunities for Nigeria in the area of investment and increase in foreign earnings.
“Entrepreneurship is about calculated risk and any well-funded foreigner who looks at Africa as a place to invest will look at Nigeria because we have the human capital,” he said.
Commenting on how the PR industry is working behind the scene to improve the brand equity of the country, Mr. Inogbo noted that as part of their mandate of promoting goodwill and shaping perception, practitioners are also monitoring trends and predicting consequences to advise clients accordingly.
“Contrary to the limitations put on PR by many as just media relations, it is the art and social science of analysing trends, predicting their consequences, counselling organisational leaders, and implementing programs of action which will serve both the organization’s and the public interest”.
This is the first time in the history of Financial Times making a Fastest-Growing Companies ranking for Africa, having previously done rankings for Europe, the UK, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific.
The ranking which covers the period between 2017 and 2020 listed 21 Nigerian companies ranked out of 75 African companies enlisted.
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