Globalised marketing and the question of development in the Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA)

Purpose This paper seeks to answer the basic question of the fate of Sub‐Sahara Africa's development in the context of the emerging marketing system that is anchored on the globalisation orthodoxy. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws from literature to argue that the emerging globalised marketing system is an advanced stage of colonisation, neo‐colonisation, and re‐colonisation of Sub‐Sahara Africa by the developed economies. Findings Based on this premise, the paper submits that the new system possesses the potentials to impoverish SSA unless innovative marketing and development paradigms that are Afro‐centric are developed, to tactically respond to the challenges posed by the emerging marketing system that favours the rich countries of the world. Practical implications The paper proposes some strategic choices open to Sub‐Sahara Africa for adapting to the new order. Only through this means can the region actively and positively participate in this “juggernaut called globalisation”. Originality/value In providing a view of the impacts of globalisation on Sub‐Sahara Africa from within the region, this paper offers an alternative to the largely “developed world” academic discourse.