Safeguarding African Brands against Counterfeiting

Raheem Akingbolu writes on how counterfeiting is killing African businesses and economies and how a brand protection and anti-counterfeiting firm is taming the ugly menace

Today’s marketplace is global. Every company, every institution, every city, or every nation competes with each other across the world. This is the same way brands compete against each other in the global arena. Building strong brands is one way for countries to establish their presence in the global market arena and position themselves for competitiveness, national growth and development. Moreover, strong brands are great wealth creators for both the owners and their countries of origin. The USA is a very good example. Following this, businesses in Africa are encouraged to intentionally engage in the building of strong brands to enable them to have a place in the global marketplace and become sources of wealth for their countries. This is not easy for them because of many factors including:  the cumbersome way of conducting businesses in the continent, which makes it difficult for brands to thrive; the unfriendly tax laws, outdated Intellectual Property protection laws, the consumption based attitude of African nations, who consume much but produce little and issues of environment such as corruption and bad political leadership in many instances, to mention a few. Added to the aforementioned problems, is the problem of uncontrolled and increasing infringement of Intellectual Property Rights and the lack of support framework to mitigate this crime.

The conception, launch and nurturing of brands is a time-consuming effort that requires a high level of investment over an appreciable period of time, before the brands get accepted, grow equity, and become wealth earners for their owners. This effort includes but not limited to regular research and development for product development and continuous product enhancement, investment in machinery to enhance the production output, investment in packaging design & production, marketing and brand building activities to the target markets and a lot more, all of which combine to build equity and trust for the brand, ultimately helping the brand to gain strength and market share. Unfortunately, as businesses embark on the arduous task of building strong brands, counterfeiters and adulterators prowl on them daily, making them lose returns on their investments.

Brand Protection

As a result, beyond the challenges of building strong brands, organisations must also be ready to safeguard such brands. Brand Protection is another vital component of the Marketing Mix that cannot be ignored. This is because once a brand has built equity, it becomes vulnerable to infringement by those with the unwholesome desire to prey on the brand and reap unfairly from the investment of the brand owners. These criminals who prowl on brand owners’ sweat, mercilessly exploit this equity and trust which has cost the brand owners so much to achieve at a very high cost. These damaging infringement activities range from outright faking of the brands by manufacturing sub-standard look-alikes, tampering with the quality of the brand, unauthorized distribution, sales of the brands, and so many other such destructive activities.  No category is exempted. Sadly, most strong brands are counterfeited: food and beverages, beauty and cosmetics, software and hardware, music and movies, literary works, medications, electrical and electronics, automobile and machine parts, building material, just name it.

In the process, loyal and prospective customers are deceived and made to believe that these fake products are genuine. Moreover, these practices have an incalculable effect on the businesses, injurious to the health of the people, and affects the growth and development of the economy. The economy is affected due to the fact that when brands are counterfeited, the Government is deprived of tax that should be earned from the sale of such.

Every sensitive, consumer-oriented and responsible business should and must fight counterfeiting and other infringement activities to protect their investments, the reputation of their brands and more importantly the health, safety and satisfaction of their customers. They should protect their brands from theft and counterfeiting. Unfortunately, most of them do not know how to go about it or where to get help. These companies need to seek out competent partner organizations, with on the ground knowledge of the environment and expertise to navigate the murky waters of the Nigerian and African markets to mitigate these criminal activities. This is where Marq Sikyor Africa  comes in.

The Beginning

The company, founded in September 2013,  is a pioneer Brand Protection and Anti-counterfeiting firm providing services to local, international and global businesses that wish to protect their brands from counterfeiting and other forms of infringement in Africa. The firm covers the key markets in the continent: East Africa, through their Nairobi operations in Kenya, West Africa, through the Lagos office in Nigeria, and Southern Africa, through the Johannesburg operations in South Africa.

The Founder and Group Evangelist of the company, Mr. Joko Okupe, said: “The repertoire of expertise and experience available to MARQ SIKYOR AFRICA, its in-depth understanding of the market terrains, and good grasp of the workings of Law Enforcement and Regulatory Agencies, make us surefooted to deliver results in infringement investigations and enforcement matters. Our brand protection investigations cover Anti-Counterfeiting, Anti-Piracy, Parallel Imports, Product Diversion, Trademark Infringement and Product Tampering/Adulteration among others.”

Nigeria’s Market

At the Media Presentation of the Company, which was held in Lagos recently, the Founder of the firm, said that “From 2013, when we opened shop, the trend of counterfeiting and infringement has gotten much worse than it was. Victims are helpless, not knowing what to do or where to go for help, when their ideas or brands are infringed upon by criminals. There is a wide ignorance gap yearning to be filled. Government is also trying its best, but limited in many ways too. So, the establishment of this company is a great milestone in the fight against infringements and in the efforts to safeguard brand assets and intellectual property in Nigeria. “Currently, we are in a globalised world where brand building has become a strong fundamental for businesses, institutions, and governments – as it propels business growth and countries’ economic growth. In today’s world, where all frontiers and boundaries are broken, brands cross geographic and cultural borders in trade relationships involving exports for the purpose of earning foreign exchange.”

According to him, “Of the top 10 most valuable brands in the world as at 2021, seven are of American origin and are great wealth earners for the businesses and the country. It’s no wonder the USA is at the forefront of championing the Anti-counterfeiting drive globally. There is a new awakening to the understanding that brands are intangible but incredibly valuable assets to a nation’s growth and development.” It is noted that developed economies appear to be over-investing in branding compared to developing economies to increase their competitiveness. For this reason, developing countries, particularly African countries, are encouraged to re-assess their attitude towards brand building, if they must compete favourably in the global marketplace. He said that strong brands don’t just happen; “They are outcomes of great visions powered by strong strategies and backed by great investments and commitment, over an appreciable period of time .”

He reminded the audience at the Media event that the global market is in a constant state of flux, which most often is accelerated or disrupted through technological change, and brands help markets to adapt most appropriately and responsively. Brands, he said, contribute to the nations’ economic growth and favorably aid competition in the global arena. Brands catalyse the production and reproduction of social goods that benefit the society, as they contribute to increasing a nation’s GDP, and supporting a peoples’ overall livelihood and wellbeing. Brands with strong recognition and global reach are enormous assets to their home countries. Therefore, these brands need to be protected, he said.

Managing Successful Brand

Okupe reiterated that strong brands cost fortunes to create, nurture and grow. According to him “When brands become strong, they garner loyalty and possess the potential of guaranteed future earnings and good returns to the owners.” He reminded brand owners of the need to intentionally think up and implement cutting edge Brand Protection strategies, to protect their most valuable assets from infringement and thefts to ensure they reap the dividends of their sweat and investments.

He called for a close collaboration between brand owners, brand custodians, security operatives, regulatory bodies and other stakeholders with the company to secure and safeguard Nigerian brands, and indeed brands across Africa.