Good To Know – insights into the trade environment of developing economies.
Frontline Research Group are developing economy and traditional trade specialists. We have over three decades of experience working in these markets and have helped numerous multi-national as well regional brands enter or expand their operations in these markets.
Looking for analysis, insights and direction into developing economies or to discuss your needs, and see how we can assist, contact Steve Johnson, Managing Director at Frontline Research Group on Tel: +230 5493 6376 or email: steve@frontlineafrica.com
Trade News
Retail Census: One of Frontline Research Group flagship services is conducting large-scale, and focussed, retail census. We invite you to discuss your specific requirements—whether you need insights from our ongoing surveys or access to our existing data sets.
Beverage Brands: Coca Cola, along with Pepsi and Red Bull and six other brands made up $88 billion in brand value in 2024. These top 3 brands command 67% of the total value among these nine brands, highlighting extreme market concentration. Coca-Cola is valued at $33.5 billion, PepsiCo at $18.3 billion and Red Bull at $6.9 billion.
Smart Switch Botswana: Since it was established in 2006, Smart Switch has grown its footprint to more than 75 000 beneficiaries in underserved communities across Botswana. At the heart of the offering is a secure, biometric-enabled smart card platform designed for the unbanked and underbanked. The system enables food grant recipients to safely receive, store, and spend funds at local merchant outlets while earning interest on unspent balances.
ASEAN: Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) accounted for almost $2 trillion or 9% of global exports in 2023, on par with the U.S. The same group of nations is China’s largest and the United States’ fourth-largest trading partner.
Orange: Orange Middle East and Africa and the International Finance Corporation are joining forces to accelerate digital connectivity in West and Central Africa. The aim is to develop more inclusive and sustainable digital connectivity in often underserved areas in these regions.
Route To Market
Vietnam Railway Project: The Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway project, with a length of approximately 417 km and a total investment of around $11.6 billion, is expected to commence construction in July 2027. The railway aims to enhance connectivity to Haiphong’s international seaports and facilitate transport links with China, aligning with the Belt and Road Initiative and the “Two Corridors, One Belt” framework. It is designed to meet high-quality transport needs with speed, convenience, and safety while reducing emissions.
African Development Bank: At the African Development Bank Group’s (AfDB) Annual Meetings in Abidjan it was announced that the AfDB expected to finance more transformative projects, i.e. projects that bring about change in the market in which they take place. The Board of Directors of AfDB has approved an investment of $100 million in the industrial platform developer and operator Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms Ltd (Arise IIP) to contribute to funding industrial parks and special economic zones across Africa, as a part of their industrialization strategic priority and flagship Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ).
ASEAN: Regional supply chains are deeply integrated and heavily reliant on supplies from China that support exports to global markets. China accounted for nearly 26% of ASEAN’s total imports last year, up from 16% a decade ago
Solar Power: Solar power is playing a very large part in stabilising the supply of electricity in Africa and ensuring business continues as usual. With 2.5 gigawatts-peak (GWp) of solar capacity added across Africa in 2024 and 194.34 GWp expected in 2025, the continent is fast becoming a global hotspot for solar energy growth. Leading this shift are the commercial and industrial (C&I) sectors, where photovoltaic (PV) systems are being installed on-site at businesses, educational institutions, and government facilities to meet their own energy demands.
