Nike, Dangote, MTN, DSTV, GTBank ranked Africa’s Most Admired Brands

Despite an increase in sample size and countries, the top 10 most admired brands show little change from previous years. MTN, consistently the only African brand in the top 10 overall brands, fell to 11th for the first time in a decade. American sports and fitness giant Nike retains the top spot for the fourth year in a row. MTN and Dangote retain their status as the most admired African brands that they recall on their own and on-demand, respectively. GT Bank of Nigeria maintains its position as the most admired financial services brand in Africa.

This was the outcome of Brand Africa’s 11th annual Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands 2021 ranking of the 100 most admired brands in Africa at a virtual event organized by Brand Africa, Publics Africa and Uganda Investment Authority.

During a year marked by the pandemic that paralyzed the world, as markets had to adapt to a new reality, African brands maintained their 13% share of the 100 most admired brands in Africa.

With Covid limiting entertainment options beyond the home, while many businesses struggled, many digital businesses like streaming services prospered. This undoubtedly explains South Africa‘s DSTV, which removed the BBC from its long-standing position as Africa’s most admired media brand.

The top 100 brands in Africa continue to be dominated by European brands that have maintained their participation at 41% (-1), North America (+1), Asia (-) and Africa retaining their participation of 13% of the largest brands. admired in the world. Similarly, the main African countries dominating the ranking largely maintained their positions with Nigeria (-1) and South Africa (-) with 5 brands each, Ethiopia (+1) and Kenya (-) representing the 13 brands among the top 100. brands admired in Africa.

IT / electronics (17%) (+ 3), consumer (non-cyclical) (14%) (+ 6), luxury (8%) (- 2), car manufacturers (13%) (+ 3) and apparel clothing (8%) (-) make up the top 5 categories.

This year’s rankings changes are tied to a common theme: the Covid-19 pandemic. Given their impact on lives and livelihoods, this year’s Brand Africa survey sought to understand which brands were perceived as useful during the pandemic. Unsurprisingly, given its global omnipresence during the pandemic, the WHO emerged as the number one most admired global brand that was perceived as most useful during the pandemic. MTN, which donated more than 7 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to 9 African countries, is the leading African and private sector brand at # 2, on the list of the private sector where all multinational mobile operators in Africa: Vodafone Group (# 3), Orange (# 4), Airtel (# 6) – and media brands Facebook (# 10) and DSTV (# 24) made the top 25 list. They were instrumental in communicating about the pandemic and keeping people connected. Behind the role played by the private sector during the pandemic, the list is dominated 80% by various private sector brands and 20% by governmental and non-governmental agencies such as the Red Cross (# 5), multilateral agencies such as the WHO and Unicef. (# 7), government agencies such as the Center for Disease Control (# 16) and USAID (# 19). Unsurprisingly, major pharmaceutical groups Johnson & Johnson (# 12) and Astrazeneca (# 25) rounded out the list. Dangote from Nigeria (# 8) is the only industrial brand on the list.

Ethiopian Airways, the only African airline that has apparently thrived during the pandemic, the first of the continent’s airlines to resume service and convert passenger jets into cargo jets to carry critical PPE across the world and the continent during the depths of the pandemic, spectacularly broke into Africa’s Top 100 Most Admired Brands, the only airline, at 51st.

With loconomies a lynchpin during the pandemic, upstart South African brand Bathu made its way into the Top 25 at No. 10 on the list of most admired African brands, dominated by hardcore brands, Dangote (No. 1), MTN (number 2). and DSTV (# 3), which retained their respective top spots.

Of the 28 countries surveyed, only 5 (18%) have an African as the number one most admired brand in the country.

Now in its eleventh year, each year on or around Africa Day, May 25, Brand Africa publishes the results of the survey on Africa’s Most Admired Brands.

The announcement of the Pan-African list, kicks of the day’s marathon series of announcements, which began in the morning with a virtual event at 0545 GMT in Uganda with the most admired brands from Africa, East Africa and Uganda; which will be followed by the announcement of the most admired brands in South Africa, with Lesotho, Botswana and Namibia, then West Africa and Nigeria; then Morocco North Africa, and will close with a live announcement of Francophone Africa and Ivory Coast list organized by Opinion & Public at 6:00 pm GMT at the Royal Work Club, Le Plateau in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

The results of the Brand Africa 100 will be published in the June issue of African Business magazine, which will be on sale worldwide from May 31, 2020, and is available online to subscribers at www.africanbusinessmagazine.com .

The Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands events are organized by IC Events, Brand Leadership and Africa Practice, and are supported by Africa Media Agency and BCW in communication and Africa Brand Leadership Academy as an academic partner.

Established in 2011, the Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands ranking is the most authoritative study and analysis of brands and underlying businesses in Africa, based on a Geopoll study of 28 countries spanning the five economic regions and analysis and ranking by Kantar and Brand leadership. Together they represent more than 80% of the population and more than 80% of Africa’s GDP. An analysis of data from the last 10 years has established that, on average, only 20% of the brands admired by Africans are made in Africa.

The 2021 survey was conducted between March and April 2021 and returned more than 80,000 brand mentions and more than 3,500 unique brands.

“There is no doubt that the pandemic, the pandemic that continues to cost lives and livelihoods, and which coincided with the launch of the AfCFTA implementation phase, which aims to accelerate intra-African trade from 18% to 50% by 2030, is becoming a catalyst for economies with nations that have to internally seek sustainability. Internal ranking changes, particularly African brands, Africa can and will need to grow its own brands to meet the needs of its growing consumer market, ”says Thebe Ikalafeng, Founder and President of Brand Africa and Brand Leadership. “African brands will continue to play the dual role of being globally competitive but, most importantly, of transforming the promise of the continent into real change.”

“While mobile devices have always been a convenient and effective tool to bring us to reach and accessibility across the continent, it became more important during the pandemic as virtually the only way to reach respondents across the continent, providing us with vital results and timely at a critical time, ”said Caitlin van Niekerk, Global Customer Development Manager, GeoPoll.

Karin Du Chenne, Kantar’s Africa and the Middle East Growth Director, who has been Brand Africa’s information leader since its inception in 2010, says: “Despite the increase in sample size and countries surveyed, and With over 80,000 brand mentions, the survey continues to provide a very consistent picture of an ever-changing continental brand landscape and the brands that will drive African transformation. “