Brand Africa 100 is a Brand Africa pan-African initiative to research, rank and celebrate leading African and non-African brands in Africa. It is the first and most comprehensive pan-African study and ranking of brands in Africa.

Established 10 years ago to coincide with the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the world’s biggest single sporting event, the Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands survey and rankings have established themselves as the most authoritative survey, analysis, and metric of brands in Africa.

It is a consumer-led survey which seeks to establish brand preferences across Africa. The survey is conducted among a representative sample of respondents 18 years and older, in 27 countries which collectively represent 50% of the continent, covering all economic regions and accounting for an estimated 80% of the population and the GDP of Africa. The 2020 survey was conducted between February and April 2020 and yielded over 15,000 brand mentions and over 2,000 unique brands.

The comprehensive rankings and analyses are published annually around Africa Day, 25 May, by African Business Magazine and Brand Africa channels and partners, and are covered extensively by leading global and African media.

Today, the most admired 100 brands on the continent were revealed in a global broadcast across multiple platforms which coincided with the opening of the stock exchanges in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, as an added demonstration of brand value. Sporting and digital brands lead the pack of the most admired brands this year, with Nike, Adidas and Samsung leading the top three spots.

The objective of the launch was to show the resilience of Africa’s best brands, the brand’s most admired by African consumers; and discuss the future of brands after the COVID-19 crisis has disrupted global markets and “wreaked havoc” on global brands, said Thebe Ikalafeng, founder and chairman of Brand Africa and founder and CEO of The Brand Leadership Group, which conducts the annual survey to determine the 2020 Brand Africa 100 Most Admired Brands on the continent, both global and homegrown brands. This is also the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Brand Africa 100.

Top 10 Most Admired Brands in Africa
A total of 27 countries were polled this year via mobile surveys driven by Kantar and GeoPoll and included Namibia and Mauritius for the first time to the list of countries surveyed. They analysed 15 000 brand mentions across the continent.
Collectively the countries surveyed account for over 80% of the population and over 80% of the GDP of Africa.
To make it onto the list for the Top 100, brands must be Pan-African and recalled in at least one other country, other than their domicile market, pointed out Karin Du Chenne, chief growth officer Africa Middle East at Kantar. Four areas were covered: Most Admired Brand (any); Most Admired African Brand; Most Admired Financial Services Brand; and Most Admired Media Brand.
Of the top 100 most admired brands in Africa, the 13% that come from Africa, include 46% from West Africa; 39% from Southern Africa; and 15% from East Africa. Overall, the top 10 of the 100 Most Admired Brands in Africa are:
  1. Nike (fourth year in pole position)
  2. Adidas (again second)
  3. Samsung
  4. Coca-Cola
  5. Tecno Mobile
  6. Apple
  7. MTN
  8. Puma
  9. Gucci
  10. Airtel
“There you have it: 87% of these brands are not from Africa. We have our work cut out for us,” Ikalafeng commented.

Africa’s own brands
Nigerian and South African brands dominate the homegrown brand stakes. Ikalafeng singled out Ethiopian Airlines as one to watch as a case study on how to build a great national brand; as well as Azam in consumer goods; and IVM, an auto manufacturer. Then there were the new kids on the block: Amazon from nowhere to number 56; Alibaba Group which has no products in Africa but set up an innovation prize in Africa and now comes in at number 92. Ford is back at 55. But Dolce & Gabbana is not so cool anymore and has fallen down the rankings to 98. Danone has gone to number 30, up 60 points, because it has been continually active with its marketing, sponsoring global youth tournaments, and through mergers and acquisitions, Ikalafeng explained further.

Most Admired African Brands: ‘Unprompted’ vs ‘Prompted’ responses
The survey also isolated the African brands this year and looked at ‘unprompted’ responses. This was the result:
  • MTN – the South African brand in over 20 countries on the continent, with over 250 million users.
  • Dangote – the great industrial brand out of Nigeria.
  • Anbessa footwear from Ethiopia – a brand that has made headway  beyond its own country.

But when Brand Africa delved deeper into the research survey and asked consumers why these were such admired brands in Africa, prompted with specific questions; Dangote came out tops; followed by MTN; and then DStv, which connects over 80 million subscribers across Africa. “When you walk around the streets of Lagos, and in many other countries, you see the Dangote brand everywhere. In addition to the great work the company is doing in building the brand, the founder is well-known – people also associate the brand with Aliko Dangote,” added Ikalafeng.

In unpacking the financial services market, the most admired brands were overwhelmingly African in this category: 72% are made in Africa; and 16% are mobile:
  • GTBank (Guaranty Trust Bank) -GTBank re-claimed the #1 spot after falling out of the top 5 in 2019. This year’s rankings included a strong presence of payment service brands PayPal, Western Union and Visa, as digitisation and digital-led economies are expected to accelerate more acutely because of the pandemic.
  • FirstBank
  • Ecobank

Most admired media brands were also added to the survey this year. The researchers did not differentiate between the different channels; and discovered that 76% of the most admired media brands were international brands; 12% were mobile providers; and 16% digital or social media services:
  • BBC – their African programming has helped them remain on this list and at the top for many years.
  • DStv
  • CNN

Most admired listed brands on South Africa’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange, features MTN, Multichoice, Clover, Tiger Brands and Shoprite, with MTN leading the pack with a R97 billion market capitalisation and a ranking of 7 on the 2020 Brand Africa Top 100.

In Kenya, it is Safaricom Twaweza (taken out of the Vodafone group and looked at individually) on the Nairobi Securities Exchange which leads with a market cap of Ksh 1.16 trillion and a BA100 ranking of 13 as part of the group. On the Nigerian Stock Exchange, brands that are at the top are Maltina, Star and Dangote, with Dangote as the dominant brand with a market cap of NGN 2.56 Trillion, coming in at 15 in the BA100.

“It’s concerning that in the 10 years since the triumphant FIFA World Cup in South Africa which globally highlighted the promise and capability of Africa, and despite the vibrant entrepreneurial environment, Africa is not creating more competitive brands to meet the needs of its growing consumer market,” says Thebe Ikalafeng, Founder and Chairman of Brand Africa and Brand Leadership. “African brands have an important role in helping to build the image, competitiveness and transforming the continent’s promise into a real change.”

“The reach and accessibility of mobile across the continent enabled us to survey respondents across a representative sample of countries quickly and effectively, giving us vital and timeous results at a critical time,” said Caitlin van Niekerk, Global Client Development Manager, GeoPoll.

Kantar has been the insight lead for Brand Africa since inception in 2010. Karin Du Chenne, Chief Growth Officer Africa Middle East says, “The complex task of analyzing a vast amount of diverse data, countries and trends over 10 years has given us a deep insight into how brands have changed, adapted and kept in step with the changing African environment and consumer who demands more from their brands.”