United States sports and fitness mega brand, Nike is the most admired and leading brand in East Africa, according to a Pan-Africa survey of the most admired brands among African consumers, released on Tuesday.
According to the survey, fifty percent of the brands, all non-African – Coca Cola, Samsung, Airtel, Apple and Nike – are common between Kenya and the East African region.
Where the pan-African media category albeit dominated by global brands, remains fragmented with numerous local and regional brands in all markets, the financial services category is relatively consolidated and African – with 64 percent of the top 25 financial services brands, led by Togo’s Ecobank, South Africa’s FNB and ABSA among the top 10, are all made in Africa and pan-African.
Over the past three years Africa’s share of the most admired brands has declined from a high of 25percent in 2013/14 to lows of 16percent in 2015/16, 16 percent in 2016/17 and 17percent in 2017/18 respectively.
In the Top 100, the US sports and fitness mega brand, Nike retained the overall 1 brand in Africa spontaneously recalled by consumers.
The most admired African brands spontaneously recalled by Africans were South Africa’s leading pan-African telecoms brand, MTN, followed by Ethiopia’s Anbessa and Nigeria’s, Dangote.
Speaking in Nairobi, founder and chairman of Brand Africa and Brand Leadership, Thebe Ikalafeng said that one of the biggest challenges facing Africa is transforming its vibrant entrepreneurial energy and environment to create competitive brands that meet the needs of its growing consumer market.
“These rankings are an important metric of and challenge for creating home-grown competitive African brands that will transform the African promise and change its narrative and image as a competitive continent,” he said.
Brand Leadership is a pan-African branding and integrated marketing communications partner for decision-makers and brand builders interested in invested in Africa.
JK/abj/APA