On Friday, Brand Africa unveiled the 12th annual Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands 2022 rankings of the Top 100 most admired brands in the continent.
After a 5-year decline, African brands have surged 4 percent to 17 percent in the 2022 Brand Africa 100 | Africa’s Best Brands survey and ranking of the best brand in Africa, against a backdrop of internal focus as a result of an urgent rebuilding of economies devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the acceleration of AfCFTA’s goal of driving greater intra-African trade.
Challenger brands such as South Africa’s lifestyle footwear brands, Bathu (#52) and Drip (#65), despite being primarily available in South Africa but accessible globally via e-commerce, rocketed into the Top 100 as 17 brands exited, heralding a notable return of African brands that once dominated the rankings by as much as 34% when the rankings began in 2011.
MTN, the continuously leading African brand, has returned to the Top 10 as the highest ranked African brand, replacing Dangote as the #1 African brand.
Dangote, the pre-eminent African brand founded in 1981 by Nigerian Aliko Dangote, emerged as the #1 brand that symbolises African pride. South Africa, led by MTN, leads the African list, with Nigeria, led by Dangote, the overall #1 brand, at 28%, and Kenya with flag carrier, Kenya Airways, at 8% and Ethiopia, with its flag carrier brand, Ethiopian Airline at 4%.
Non-African companies continue to dominate with an 83 percent share of the most admired brands in Africa, topped by overall pacesetter Nike for the fifth consecutive year.
In a separate list of the Top 25 most admired financial services companies, African brands outnumber non-African brands by 68 percent to 32 percent.
DStv, through its brands across the continent, has consolidated its position as the top African media brand for the second year in a row, in a rapidly changing digital and mobile landscape.
Recognizing that, while the rebound in African brands has been notable, the results will not be sustainable without committed and inspirational leadership, Brand Africa recognized leaders who are the catalyst for growth for Made in Africa brands, both in corporate and in those who have championed and supported the development of great local brands in supporting industries. Segun Agbaje, Group CEO of GT Bank, and Nigerian marketing doyenne, founder and chairman of Troyka Group, received the inaugural Africa Brand Leadership Excellence awards for promoting brand-led excellence that drives growth of Made in Africa brands.
“As we emerge out of the pandemic and Africa seeks to assert itself, the results are very inspiring and bode well of an African renaissance led by competitive world class African brands,” says Thebe Ikalafeng, Founder and Chairman of Brand Africa and Brand Leadership.
“With increased number of countries and greater sample size this year, more than ever, and especially so during the pandemic, mobile proved to be the effective tool for us to reach and access respondents across the continent,” said , Bernard Okasi, Director of Research, GeoPoll, which has been the lead data collection partner since 2015.
Karin Du Chenne, Chief Growth Officer Africa Middle East for Kantar, which has been the insight lead for Brand Africa since inception in 2010 says, “despite volumes of brands analysed as a results of increased sample size in terms of respondents and countries, the survey continues to yield a very consistent picture of brands and trends that are transforming the continent.”
Now in its 12th year, Brand Africa publishes the results of a study on the most admired brands in Africa on or around Africa Day, May 25, based on a survey of 29 countries representing up to 85 percent of the continent’s GDP and population. The 2022 study, which took place between March and April 2022, provided over 80,000 brand mentions and over 3,500 distinct brands.
The findings of the Brand Africa 100 will be published in the June issue of African Business magazine.
The 2022 Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands were organised by Brand Africa partners in Nigeria, AT3 Resources and Open Squares Africa, and supported by the Central Bank of Nigeria, South African Tourism and NQR, Africa Media Agency and BCW Africa.
