Bad times can’t keep SA down as brand value hits $215bn

Despite excessive load-shedding and a weakening economy, SA’s brand value has increased by 23% to $215bn, according to valuation consultancy Brand Finance.

In fact, Sub-Saharan Africa is strongly represented among the top 20 fastest-growing nation brands this year, led by SA and Tanzania (brand value up 23% to $41bn), and followed by Kenya (up 19% to $80bn) and Ghana (up 16% to $57bn).

Brand value is understood as the net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.

Brand Finance says SA’s rise in brand value indicates that the nation is increasingly able to live up to its resilient reputation. Its latest survey says that, in the face of many obstacles to economic growth, including unemployment and poverty, high levels of crime and widespread, long-lasting electricity blackouts, SA has performed well.

Similarly, four North African nation brands feature among the top 20 fastest growing. Morocco (brand value up 22% to $80bn) and Egypt (brand value up 19% to $214bn) saw growth in their brand values likely due to the strengths that lie in their diversified economies and in their manufacturing sectors, as well as high tourism appeal.

The US (brand value up 7% to $26.5-trillion) has retained its position as the world’s most valuable nation brand, remaining well ahead of second-ranked China (brand value up 8% to $21.5-trillion).

The US and China are well ahead of third-ranked Germany (brand value up 4% to $4.5-trillion), Japan (brand value down 3% to $4.3-trillion) and the UK (brand value up 10% to $4.1-trillion).

Not surprisingly, Russia (down 18% to $641bn) has suffered the world’s largest fall in brand value.

In addition to the self-imposed harm on the Russian nation brand, the invasion of Ukraine has also caused harm to the value of the Ukrainian nation brand, which has fallen 21% from $107bn last year to $85bn this year.

Across the world, notes the study, the values of the world’s nation brands have substantially returned to their pre-pandemic levels. The total value of the world’s top 100 nation brands is now about $97.1-trillion, up 7% year on year and only marginally behind the pre-pandemic value of $98.0-trillion in 2019.