Race to the top; Africa’s top brands continue to lose to international rivals

BY JANIECE CAMPBELL

“Think locally. Act globally.” A powerful reverse of the usual mantra.

Also, a quote presented by Karin Du Chenne, the Chief Growth Officer of Africa Middle East, encouraging a nation to support businesses within their own communities in order to build a reputation that can compete on a global scale.

May 25^th, 2020 was Africa Day, an annual commemoration that began in 1963. It celebrated the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), a foundation that aimed to bring the African countries together and resolve issues within the continent. At the time, 32 states were admitted. In later years, the OAU was disbanded and legally transformed into the African Union (AU), but the annual tradition continues to live on.

Ten years ago, the entire planet’s gaze was on Africa. For about one month every four years, most of the world stops what they’re doing to feast their eyes on the biggest sport competition ever, The FIFA World Cup. In 2010, the event made history by making its way to the continent for the very first time, with South Africa as its host.

The worldwide heightened adoration for African identity inspired and prompted the launch of Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands. Founded by Thebe Ikalafeng, he envisioned goals to create an intergenerational movement to inspire a great Africa and a desire to drive a positive image of the nation. A country enriched with wealth and culture finally stood on a global pedestal to showcase their brands, ones that could stimulate investment, tourism and a sense of pride and belonging.

“We started this journey in 2010, and it was an interesting time in the history of Africa. It was a time of hope and euphoria. Looking back at that time, African brands were at an all-time high,” says Ikalafeng.

But the high they rode wouldn’t last long. In the following ten years, results have shown only a mere 20% of brands that Africans admired were actually made in Africa.

“It is concerning that despite the vibrant entrepreneurial environment, Africa is not creating more competitive brands to meet the needs of its growing consumer market,” Ikalafeng says. “I think we’re failing because generally, we lack confidence and we like validation from outside countries. In seeking validation from outside, we then try to adapt to the outside rather than taking who we are to the world. Our problem is that we aren’t proud enough of who we are.”

The big reveal of what brands made the top 100 came bright and early at 9 am, in Kenya… or 2 am here in Toronto. 27 countries were surveyed which represents 50% of the continent, and it was discovered that 85% (23/27) of the top brands in Africa were non-African.

The results rolled in… drumroll please!

At the very top, the most admired brands happened to be:

1. Nike
2. Adidas
3. Samsung

The remaining top ten contenders also included Coca-Cola, Apple and Gucci, but it’s interesting to say the least that only ONE African brand made the cut; MTN, a South African based telecommunications provider.

When asked what specific African brands were most admired, the top three were:

1. Dangote; a multinational industrial conglomerate, specializing in multiple sectors such as consumer goods and transportation
2. MTN
3. DSTV; a broadcast satellite service

New, never before seen entries in the top 100 brands included online marketplace platforms like Alibaba Group at #92 and Amazon at #56.

“What we’ve found is that millennials are less forgiving than past generations who are loyal to brands. Rather than buying something and respecting what that brand does, millennial consumers are much more forceful towards what that brand means and what it does to society as a whole. They look at if the product is environmentally friendly, if it’s sustainable, and what types of supply chains the product has. They’re a lot more discerning and less forgiving than prior generations,” says Omar Ben Yedder, a publisher and managing director at IC Publications in the United Kingdom.

With Africa not being an exception to the effects of COVID-19, the pandemic has caused many businesses to suffer. Ikalafeng addressed the crisis and his hopes for a prosperous future for companies across the continent.

“Today we face what they call a once-in-a-lifetime event. COVID-19 is changing things fundamentally. We are all at a reset and how we re-emerge will depend on the choices we make. The most important decisions we will make are how we rebuild more resilient and better-balanced economies – collectively and individually. To thrive in this new world, we’ll have to find many of the answers at home.”

More information on the full list of rankings and categories can be found at www.brandafrica.net/Rankings.aspx