Africa’s top brands announced

Brand Africa, in partnership with African Business and the Economic Commission for Africa, has announced the results of the 15th annual Brand Africa 100 | Africa’s Best Brands rankings. Nike retains its No 1 spot as the most admired brand overall in Africa for the eighth consecutive year, while South Africa is the most admired nation brand in Africa.

Dangote and MTN are the most admired African brands. Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote, the founder of Dangote, received a Lifetime Achievement Award for championing impactful industrialisation, building a world-class African brand and transforming the continent’s economic future through a benchmark home-grown enterprise.

MTN is the No 1 African brand doing good for society and the environment, and for contributing to a better Africa.

Dangote, MTN, M-Pesa, Ethiopian Airlines and Brand South Africa were inducted into the inaugural Brand Africa Hall of Fame for consistently ranking among Africa’s most admired brands over the past five to 15 years and building sustainable, world-class brands.

The US, UK, and China top the rankings of the most influential nations in Africa.

The 2025 rankings reveal a stark disconnect between rising African optimism and declining brand loyalty. While 68% of Africans express belief in Africa, up from 64% in 2024, only 11% of the top 100 most admired brands are African — a historic low, down from 14% in 2024. This drop underscores the urgent challenge for home-grown brands to convert belief into consumer commitment, and for Africans to support “made in Africa” brands.

“It is disappointing to see the sharp drop in African brands, which mirrors the ranking of non-African nations as the most influential in Africa,” says Thebe Ikalafeng, founder and chair of Brand Africa. “It’s a wake-up call for Africa — and a barometer of the continent’s lagging industrialisation agenda. It’s not enough for Africans to say they believe in the continent — they must buy made-in-Africa. For that to happen, African brands must invest in research & development, continue to innovate, deliver quality and use authenticity as a differentiator.”

The rankings are based on a comprehensive pan-African survey conducted across 31 countries and in eight languages, from Arabic to Swahili, representing more than 85% of the continent’s population and GDP.

The research reflects a changing brand landscape driven by Africa’s youthful population, expanding cultural influence and growing geopolitical engagement with global blocs such as the G20 and Brics+.

The Brand Africa 100 | Africa’s Best Brands study, established in 2011, has grown to be the most comprehensive barometer of consumer brand preferences. The research is conducted by independent research partners, including GeoPoll and Kantar, as the lead, supported by Integrate (Morocco), Gopinion (Algeria), Analysis (Mauritius) and Oxygen (Namibia).

For more information on Brand Africa 100 | Africa’s Best Brands, visit https://www.brand.africa/Home/FAQs

The big take-out: “It’s not enough for Africans to say they believe in the continent — they must buy made-in-Africa. For that to happen, African brands must invest in research & development, continue to innovate, deliver quality and use authenticity as a differentiator.” — Thebe Ikalafeng, founder and chair, Brand Africa