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The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of marketing in the economic growth and competitive strategies of Sub-Sahara African firms. It also seeks to offer a backdrop for the papers in the present volume of AJEMS.

It is based on a review of a selection of literature that highlights past and current perspectives of marketing’s contribution to economic growth and firm performance in developing economies.

The review suggests that trade liberalization in African countries since the 1980s has changed the competitive landscape of firms located in these countries and has compelled them to develop market-oriented strategies in order to enhance their performance. But the strategies adopted tend to target the growing middle income segments of the population in the urban areas and to ignore the poor.

It provides directions for future research into issues of inclusive marketing policies and strategies – i.e. strategies that embrace the bottom of the pyramid and transforms the production base of African economies.