The African holdings of three cornerstone investors, namely, Norfund, FMO and Rabobank, joined forces to create Arise as a locally based and locally focused company, which unveiled its new positioning strategy to market in February.
With the intention of partnering with sustainable, locally owned Sub-Saharan African financial service providers, Arise chooses to maintain a minority shareholding in businesses, and through active participation, will reap returns through a long-term investment strategy.
Brand Union strategist, Bruce Gourley shared, “Arise aims to contribute to economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa and the prosperity of its people by increasing financial inclusion and employment, strengthening rural development and alleviating poverty. The business is purpose-driven, performance-driven and collaborative-driven. We summed this up in the brand purpose, Investing in local prosperity.”
Building on this, Alex Robertson, agency creative director, and his team explored a visual language that highlighted this local investment philosophy. The creative that emerged uses a universal African symbol related to wealth, i.e. cattle, as the brand’s core icon along with the esoteric cues of the rising sun, which lends itself to a new dawn that brings new opportunities, which mirrors the name.
Robertson explained, “The visual symbolism took into consideration the brand personality and embraced values such as ethics, consideration, dynamism and optimism. The iconic African bull head and horns form the central graphic of the icon, creating a feeling of authority and dynamism.”
Gourley added, “Arise boasts differentiating features for its category that reflects its distinctive investment philosophy. This required an equally unique and strategically strong brand introduction to the market.”
