When we carried out our survey of Africa’s most admired brands for the first time in 2010, things were looking optimistic for African brands, but since then their representation in the ranking has dropped by nearly two-thirds. What will it take to allow African brands to compete with the global giants that dominate the table? Brand Africa founder Thebe Ikalafeng examines the results of the 2020 survey and reflects on what they tell us
In the midst of the euphoric and successful staging of the first FIFA World Cup in Africa when internal pride and admiration of Africa was arguably at its highest, African brands also enjoyed their most dominant position in the inaugural Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands ranking. Back in 2010/11, when we launched the ranking of Africa’s best brands, African brands accounted for 34 of the 100 most admired African brands, following a continent-wide poll.
The then president of the African Development Bank, Dr Donald Kaberuka, stated that “Africa’s private sector is poised to become the main engine of growth for the African continent.” Following a decade of growth driven by public investments, the advent of technology, rising exports to China and a fast-growing consumer class, the private sector, the engine of brands, was predicted to fuel the growth of the continent.
With the rise of new African private sector champions, many anticipated the emergence and rise of African brands. Growth was projected to reach 6.2% by 2020. A decade later, in the midst of a global health and economic pandemic, the optimism has been tempered. Growth projections at the start of the year hovered around 3.9% but now there is talk of Africa’s first recession in 25 years.
How is this reflecting on African brands? It’s a bleak outcome. This year’s ranking shows a further decline for African brands, representing 13% of this year’s list, little more than a third of their showing a decade earlier. This is their lowest performance to date, down 2% from last year. Asia (16%), Europe (42%) and North America (29%) have all managed to increase their share.
Overall, out of the top 100 most admired brands from our first ranking in 2010/11, only half still appear in this year’s list. This is due to mergers, acquisitions and the obsolescence of many brands. The most prominent changes are in the technology category with the demise of Blackberry (#32 in 2010/11); the consolidation of Vodafone […]
