A publication on commercial strategy, insights, and execution excellence for East Africa’s sales, marketing and communications leaders.
Issue 01 — Now Live
Noise: How East Africa’s Marketing Machine Lost Its Voice
Before 2015, the region's biggest brands didn't just advertise, they rewired how millions of people talked, paid, and trusted.
The Outsider’s Playbook: How Kenya Originals Built a KSh900 Million Brand by Refusing to Sell Beer
While EABL’s beer empire commands roughly nine-in-ten shillings spent on lager in Kenya, a Nairobi distillery has quietly built a challenger business worth tens of millions of dollars, by declining to compete in beer at all. Every commercial strategist in East Africa had been told the same, EABL is unbeatable in beer. The Diageo subsidiary […]
The Untaught Trade: Rethinking Sales as a Profession in Africa
How the world’s most overlooked discipline is being reshaped by technology but held back by a persistent lack of sufficient capability-building investment. Why it is time we gave it the respect and training interventions it deserves. A Profession Without a Classroom A quick check with many African universities reveals degree programs in Marketing, Accounting, Medicine, […]
The Blackout Test: How MTN Uganda Turned Six Hours of Silence Into a PR Masterclass
A power failure took down Uganda's largest telecom for half a day. How MTN's leadership fought back is a case study every comms professional should study.
The Big Gamble: Why Nile Breweries’ Entry Into Spirits Could Redefine It, Or Cost It
For about 75 years, Nile Breweries was a beer company. With Kyooto Waragi, it just bet its reputation on becoming something more.
Breaking the Illusion: What Uganda’s 2026 Media Data Actually Says About Digital
Every agency pitch this year leans digital-first. The newest Ipsos NAMS numbers tell a more complicated story, one where radio still reaches more Ugandans than any other medium, and social media’s real strength is narrower and more specific than the hype suggests. If you’ve sat through a media strategy pitch in Kampala this year, you’ve […]
Amateur Hour: How AI is Undoing Decades of Marketing Craft
The tools have never been more powerful. The output has rarely been worse.
Built for East Africa's Commercial Professional
MarketCraft is a commercial insights and strategy publication for salespeople, marketers, agency leaders, PR practitioners, and brand strategists across Uganda and the wider East African region — bringing the rigor of global publications like Harvard Business Review, The Economist, and African Business to East Africa’s own commercial conversations.