Light Creative, a Ghana-based branding and creative design firm serving global start-ups, has edged toward focusing the majority of business on African companies. AFKInsider recently interviewed Jeffrey Manu, Light Creative founder, who spoke about branding — specific to Africa, projecting company values, managing capital and creative branding impact. Leaning on a background in advertising and tech, in part two of the interview Manu discusses the return on investment (ROI) of branding, and the influence big brand marketing strategies.

“Here [in the U.S.], I believe people have understood branding better than back in Africa, because they see the ROI…When you think about big brands here —car brands like BMW — they start advertising to you when you’re 5-years-old. When you get to 35, you already know, ‘Oh, that’s the car I want,'” Manu said.

“In the beginning when I didn’t understand what the ROI of branding was [clients] weren’t sure [what they were getting]. ‘Am I just getting graphic design, am I just getting communications, am I getting strategy? What exactly am I getting and how do I make money from this?’ The mere fact that people haven’t understood the RIO as well causes some challenges.”

View: Part One, Part Three