At best, I hope that my work can change people’s behaviour; I know I can’t change their opinions. This week I was lucky enough to work with some of our retail sales team on the streets of Nairobi selling our new high-speed broadband services (up to 100 mbps). This new service will give Kenyans a chance to change how they work and sell, all benefiting from the opportunities that the Internet provides them.

Selling on the streets, we all understood the enormous potential that this product has to change the lives of the residents we were selling to. We were armed with a bunch of routers, half a dozen brochures and fist full of contracts. We had no power, no lights, no retail unit, no advertising and an unheard of brand. This was the sharp end of sales in emerging markets.

Roughly 65% of Africans are under 35 years, and more than 35% of these are 15 to 35 which makes Africa the most youthful continent on the planet.

And more than ever Africans need to be connected to international markets. Because of the internet, barriers to progress are quickly coming down and now there are more opportunities for connected young people than ever before.

They no longer need a publisher, a record label or a production company to be heard. These tools are now in the hands of all energetic, young creative and entrepreneurial Africans. And it’s the Internet that gives them this chance.

Does marketing change their behaviour, or do consumers change mine?

iPhone negotiations in Great Wall, Nairobi.