Reminiscing World Cup 2010: Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)?

Early this month at the Africa Rising Conference in Accra, Ghana, I was invited to speak on the “Power of Empathy and Purpose in Brand Building”.

I believe the stories we tell create the world we live in.

At the conference, I discovered many nuggets of wisdom from my fellow esteemed speakers.

I share with a hope that your perception of Africa will change. And we can also do that with our own country, Malaysia.

Here are some of them.

1. Africa has to overcome the legacy of an inferiority complex. It’s a continuous work-in-progress.
2. Is marketing in Africa, the marketing of “Europeans” in Africa?
3. Winning brands in Africa must place Africans at the centre of African life and reality.
4. Only people make history.
5. The African reality can be positive, resilient and dynamic in palaces and on the streets.
6. Africa is very rich in their resources. They have so much potential to dominate innovation.
7. We are ‘Africans’ not because we are born in ‘Africa’, but because ‘Africa’ is born in us.
8. If people identify with Africa, then they will have a strong sense of identity.

I returned home to Malaysia feeling that Africa has risen, and we need to rise as Malaysians, too!   

Leaderonomics.com team says 

The 2018 FIFA World Cup is here, and aren’t we Malaysians excited that we can catch some of these matches on our national television?

As Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir dreams of a brand new vision for Malaysia, let’s hang onto this hope and dream that in the near future, Malaysia can also become a co-host country (with maybe our neighbouring country Singapore) to this great world game.

Nothing seems impossible now. Sixteen years ago, we saw the underdogs rise to the occasion in World Cup 2002 when it was co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.

READ: What Propelled The Underdogs In World Cup 2002?

Not forgetting, the reverberation and the sound of vuvuzelas during the 2010 World Cup in Africa, as highlighted by our master storyteller Bharat in his story. Even Black Panther has a subtle message on the future of Africa.

Essentially, the global shift from the ‘big guns’ to smaller players even in the business world cannot be ignored. So are the voices of the underdogs!