African brands have risen to 17% of the Top 100

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Today, at a live event hosted by Brand Africa, the 12th annual Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands 2022 rankings of the Top 100 most admired brands in Africa were unveiled.

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 everywhere via e-commerce, massive growth in retail footprint in the midst of the pandemic, and unrivaled marketing and PR dollars, rocketed into the Top 100 as 17 brands exited, heralding a notable return of African brands, which once dominated the rankings as high as 34% when the rankings began,

MTN, the perennially leading African brand, has returned to the Top 10 as the highest ranking African brand, replacing Dangote as the #1 African brand recalled when asked to confirm its position as the #1 African brand.

Dangote, the pre-eminent African brand founded in 1981 by Nigerian Aliko Dangote, emerged as the #1 brand that symbolizes African pride in a Brand Africa survey to determine which brand in Africa is a flag bearer and embodiment of rising optimism and pride in Africa. South Africa, led by MTN, tops the African list, with Nigeria, led by Dangote, at 28 percent, Kenya with its flag carrier, Kenya Airways, at 8 percent, and Ethiopia with its flag carrier brand, Ethiopian Airline, at 4 percent.

Non-African brands continue to dominate with an 83 percent share of the most admired brands in Africa, led by overall pacesetter Nike for the fifth consecutive year.

In a separate list of the Top 25 most admired financial services brands, 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 will recognize in 2022 those 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. The inaugural Africa Brand Leadership Excellence awards were given to GT Bank Group CEO Segun Agbaje and Nigerian marketing doyenne, founder and chairman of Troyka Group, for inspiring brand-led excellence that drives the growth of made in Africa brands.

“As we emerge from the pandemic and Africa seeks to assert itself,” says Thebe Ikalafeng, Founder and Chairman of Brand Africa and Brand Leadership, “the results are very inspiring and bode well of an African renaissance led by competitive world class African brands.”
“This year, more than ever, and especially during the pandemic, mobile proved to be the most effective tool for us to reach and access respondents across the continent,” said Bernard Okasi, Director of Research at GeoPoll, which has been the lead data collection partner since 2015.

“Despite volumes of brands analysed as a result of increased sample size in terms of respondents and countries,” says Karin Du Chenne, Chief Growth Officer Africa Middle East for Kantar, which has been the insight lead for Brand Africa since its inception in 2010, “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 survey 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 survey was carried out between March and April of 2022, yielding over 80,000 brand mentions.

The Brand Africa 100 results will be published in the June issue of African Business magazine, which will be available to subscribers online at www.africanbusinessmagazine.com in June 2022.

Brand Africa partners in Nigeria, AT3 Resources and Open Squares Africa, organized the 2022 Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands, which was supported by the Central Bank of Nigeria, South African Tourism and NQR, Africa Media Agency, and BCW Africa.

Visit www.brand.africa for more information on the Brand Africa agenda, initiatives, and partners, as well as the Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands Rankings, and follow the results on #BrandAfrica100 and #AfricasBestBrands2022.