Here’s a lesson from one of the world’s richest men, keep your message simple and easy to remember. That is one takeaway from the recent visit of co-founder and former Executive Chairman of Alibaba, Jack Ma.
The tech billionaire recently visited Nigeria for the first time, along with a team of Chinese investors. The trip was Ma’s response to an earlier invitation by Nigerian Vice president, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo, who is promoting Nigeria’s technological potentials. Mr Ma’s visit is on the heels of an earlier visit by Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, who is on a month-long tour of Africa. The African tech sector has been gaining attention from tech giants such as Jack Dorsey, Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, and now, Jack Ma as a growing hub with young, innovative talent.
In describing his mission to Africa, Mr Ma says he is focused on 4 E’s: E-infrastructure, Entrepreneurship, E-government and Education as ways to invigorate the economy. Ma demonstrates one of the key elements of stakeholder engagement: message. In this case, he employs concise communication to inform stakeholders, convey his objectives and get stakeholder buy-in. In crafting your messaging, take a cue from Jack Ma. Keep it short and simple.
