Brand Africa announces top brands for 2015

This year’s celebration took place at the Sandton Convention Centre and saw some of the continent’s biggest and most valuable brands honoured.

Speaking at the awards was Thebe Ikalafeng, founder and chairman of Brand Africa, who explained the integral role the continent played in creating brands.

“Essentially our job, as a continent, is to create brands and we do this for three important reasons,” he said.

“When we create brands, the companies behind those brands create jobs and this, in turn, creates tax revenues within the continent, which then ensures the continent thrives in the world.”

Ikalafeng added that the Brand Africa 100 rankings were an important measure of the progress Africa was making in building ‘made in Africa’ brands and challenging the dominant non-African brands in Africa, which have historically accounted for 80 percent of the most admired brands in Africa.

“While non-African brands dominate Africa because of their sheer volumes, historical admiration and investment, it is important for Africa’s ultimate economic independence that it competes for a larger share of its own consumer base,” he said.

Also present was CEO of Brand South Africa, Kingsley Makhubela, who echoed Ikalafeng’s sentiments, but also spoke briefly about the brands which did not make the cut.

“As we honour top brands, let us also focus on those brands that did not make it to the list so as to encourage them to improve,” he said.

Other big winners at the awards were DStv, which scooped Most Admired Brand: African Media; and Samsung which won Most Admired Brand in the electronics category and Most Admired Brand: Non-Africa.

Strive Masiyiwa, a Zimbabwean businessman, was also honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his role in the multi-billion dollar telecommunications company, Econet Wireless Group.

Details: www.brandafrica.org

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