On the evening of Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024, at the Capital Club in Nairobi, Brand Africa awarded the best local and global brands admired by Kenyans from the 2024 Brand Africa 100, conducted continent-wide in collaboration with GeoPoll and Kantar. The event was attended by top decision-makers from several sectors including business, humanitarian, media, and government.
The opening remarks were given by Gina Din-Kariuki, Chairperson of Brand Leadership Group and Founder & Chairperson of Gina Din Group, along with H.E. Peter Maddens, Ambassador of Belgium. Both speakers emphasized the significance of local brands in influencing the future of Kenya and the world.
The Master of Ceremony, Thebe Ikalafeng, who is the Founder and Chairman of Brand Africa, shared insights about the Brand Africa 100 journey. He discussed how different countries across Africa perceive their brands. Later, he invited GeoPoll’s Senior Manager of Marketing and Outreach, Frankline Kibuacha, and Daniel Osema, MD of Kantar East Africa, to the stage. They shared details about the extensive surveys, which involved over 300,000 data points from more than 30 African countries.
Key Data Points
- 30+ countries in all 5 regions representing 80% of the continent’s population, collectively account for 85% of Africa’s GDP
- 15000+ individuals over 18 years old.
- Over 300,000 brand mentions and 3,000 unique brands.
- Between 2011 and 2021, on average, only 20% of the most admired brands in Africa are made in Africa.
- Africans (64%) believe in Africa, but not loyal to African brands (14%)
Kenya’s Most Admired Brands
Most Admired Consumer, Non-cyclical Brands
| Kenyan | Non-Kenyan | ||
| 1. | Ketepa Tea | 1 | Blue Band (UK) |
| 2 | Bidco Kenya | 2 | Omo (UK) |
| 3 | Brookside Milk | 3 | Pampers (USA) |
Most Admired Retail Brands
| Overall Admired Brands | |
| 1 | Naivas (Kenya) |
| 2 | Kilimall (Kenya) |
| 3 | Sarit (Kenya) |
Most Admired Personal Care Brands
| Overall Admired Brands | |
| 1 | Nivea (Germany) |
| 2 | SoftCare (Kenya) |
| 3 | Nice and Lovely (Kenya) |
Most Admired Alcoholic Beverages Brands
| Kenyan | Non-Kenyan | ||
| 1 | Tusker | 1 | Guinness (UK) |
| 2 | EABL | 2 | Johnnie Walker (UK) |
| 3 | Kenya Breweries | 3 | Heineken (Netherlands) |
Most Admired Non-Alcoholic Beverages Brands
| Overall Admired Brands | |
| 1 | Coca-Cola (USA) |
| 2 | Fanta (USA) |
| 3 | Dasani (USA) |
Most Admired Telecommunications Brands
| Overall Admired Brands | |
| 1 | Safaricom/Mpesa (Kenya) |
| 2 | Telkom (Kenya) |
| 3 | Faiba (Kenya) |
Most Admired Electronics/Computers Brands
| Overall Admired Brands | |
| 1 | Samsung (South Korea) |
| 2 | Apple (USA) |
| 3 | Tecno (China) |
Most Admired Auto-Manufacturers Brands
| Overall Admired Brands | |
| 1 | Toyota (Japan) |
| 2 | Honda (Japan) |
| 3 | Mercedes Benz (Germany) |
Most Admired Sports and Fitness Brands
| Overall Admired Brands | |
| 1 | Nike (USA) |
| 2 | Adidas (Germany) |
| 3 | Puma (Germany) |
Most Admired Technology Brands
| Overall Admired Brands | |
| 1 | Google (USA) |
| 2 | Microsoft (USA) |
| 3 | Jumia (Nigeria) |
Most Admired Financial Services Brands
| Kenyan | Non-Kenyan | ||
| 1 | Equity Bank | 1 | ABSA (South Africa) |
| 2 | KCB | 2 | Britam Insurance (Bahamas) |
| 3 | Cooperative Bank | 3 | Standard Chartered (UK) |
Most Admired Media Brands
| Kenyan | Non-Kenyan | ||
| 1 | Citizen TV | 1 | DStv (South Africa) |
| 2 | Royal Media | 2 | CNN (USA) |
| 3 | Nation Media/ NTV | 3 | BBC (UK) |
Most Admired Doing Good for Society, Environment and People
| Kenyan | Non-Kenyan | NGO | |||
| 1 | Safaricom/Mpesa | 1 | Coca-Cola (USA) | 1 | UNICEF/United Nations |
| 2 | Equity Bank | 2 | Samsung (South Korea) | 2 | Croix rouge/Red Cross |
| 3 | NEMA | 3 | Nike (USA) | 3 | USAID |
| 4 | KCB | 4 | Unilever (UK) | 4 | WHO/OMS |
| 5 | Mombasa Cement | 5 | Colgate (USA) | 5 | Green World |
Outstanding Awards
-
Africa Brand Leadership Excellence Award
Dr. Abbas Gullet, the Chief Executive Officer of Boma Panafrican Ltd, and former Secretary General of the Kenya Red Cross Society received the prestigious Africa Brand Leadership Excellence Award, acknowledging his exceptional contributions and impactful leadership across the continent.
-
Africa Brand Leadership Awards
Absa Kenya and its CEO Abdi Mohamed won the prestigious 2024 Africa Brand Leadership Awards, recognized for excellence in brand building and leadership.
-
Most Admired NGO/UN Doing Good for Society, Environment, and People Brand
UNICEF Kenya received the Brand Africa award for the Most Admired NGO/UN Doing Good for Society, Environment, and People Brand in Kenya. They were recognized for their commitment to children’s rights and well-being across the country and beyond.
The 2024 Brand Africa
African brands have retained a 14% share of Top 100 most admired brands in Africa for the second year in a row. African brands, led by South African telecommunications group, MTN, Nigerian conglomerate, Dangote, Zambian consumer group, Trade Kings, Nigerian telecommunications group, Glo, South African media group, DStv and Ethiopian Airlines retain their respective positions as the Top 5 most admired African brands spontaneously recalled. Get the full top 100 brands in Africa.
“Brand admiration is the most desired state of a brand’s health. Building, strengthening and leveraging it is the most important objective of branding.” – Park, MacInnis and Eisingerich, Building a Business People Love
