In today’s competitive marketplace, the African customer is more informed and more vocal. A few years ago, poor service could be excused perhaps even expected. However, with increasing digital access, rising middle-class expectations, and exasperated sighs from diaspora-based customers visiting family, customer experience (CX) has become impossible to ignore. According to a report by Deloitte (2024) there is a growing demand for globally competitive, value-conscious goods and services.
As we explored in our previous article, “The Cost of Caring,” many African business owners are pulled between supporting extended family and building sustainable enterprises. This often leads to hiring unqualified relatives or making emotionally driven decisions at the expense of business logic. CX in Africa is no longer a luxury or something only “big businesses” worry about.
CX refers to the full journey a customer takes with your brand from the first inquiry to post-purchase support. It includes every interaction, whether online, over the phone, or in-store.
In Africa, CX is shaped by unique dynamics that demand adaptability, resourcefulness, and resilience. Infrastructure gaps, especially in power supply and internet access, continue to hamper efficiency. In 2024, the South African economy lost approximately $27 billion due to load shedding (BusinessTech. 2025). Only a small proportion of business owners can afford to source alternative energy and maintain consistent customer experience. Mobile penetration is increasing steadily but remains below 40%, according to a report by Brookings (2025). As a result, many small businesses still lack digital systems for customer tracking, feedback, and communication. Without data, CX becomes guesswork.
Africa is widely perceived as hospitable and friendly with warmth and community deeply embedded in many cultures across the continent. From the concept of “Ubuntu” in Southern Africa (“I am because we are”) to traditions of communal care and guest respect in East and West Africa, hospitality is more than politeness it’s a way of life. While this warmth is often present in social settings, it doesn’t always translate into formal customer service, creating a gap between personal friendliness and business experience. Part of this disconnect lies in the fact that employees are rarely trained to see CX as a long-term asset it’s often treated as a daily task to be enforced.
We do not mean to add to your mental fatigue about the challenges of doing business on the continent. Rather, we aim to affirm your frustrations while empowering you to start working toward changing the negative narrative that African businesses are not reliable with practical insights that you can apply. Then, your business can be part of the evidence-based reviews that prove that great CX is possible despite economic challenges in Africa.
The Business in Africa Narrative Report (2022) reveals that while Africa holds immense economic opportunity, stories of business success are significantly underreported. The report shows that African countries have some of the highest global interest in entrepreneurship. Yet global and African media often focus on negative frames like corruption, political instability, and foreign influence, while ignoring success stories from smaller thriving economies such as Mauritius and Botswana. Crucially, impactful developments like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) expected to significantly boost trade and income make up less than 1% of business news coverage. This imbalance distorts perceptions and overlooks the real, untapped potential of doing good business in Africa and learning from businesses that are doing CX right.
We owe it to our customers, our employees, and our own ambition to create a continental standard of excellence one that acknowledges local realities while refusing to settle for mediocrity. If we get CX right, we won’t just earn loyalty we’ll build businesses that are sustainable, proud, and rooted in African values done right.
