By AMA PRESS RELEASE
Brand Africa, in partnership with African Business and the Economic Commission for Africa, today unveiled the results of the 15th annual Brand Africa 100 | Africa’s Best Brands and Ethiopia’s Best Brands rankings. The announcement was made at the historic Africa Hall in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia—the birthplace of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU).
Ethiopia Airlines, Ethio Telecoms, EBS and Mekedonia are leading brands in Ethiopia, with Ethiopian Airlines flying the flag as the #1 overall Ethiopian brand.
The 2025 rankings reveal a pessimistic view of African and Ethiopian brands, with only 6% of the Top 100 brands admired Ethiopian, and 32% of Ethiopians believing African countries contribute to a better Africa. On the country, 68% of Africans express belief in Africa, up from 64% in 2024, but only 11% of the Top 100 most admired brands are African.
There were only 42% of the brands of G20 countries of origin and 50% brands of BRICS+ countries of origin among the most admired brands in Ethiopia. The low conversion rates underscore the urgent challenge for homegrown brands to convert belief into consumer commitment, and Africans to support Made in Africa brands.
“It is disappointing to see the low preference for local and African brands,” says Thebe Ikalafeng, Founder and Chairman of Brand Africa. “Unfortunately, it mirrors the ranking of non-African nations as the most influential in Africa.
“What’s clear is that 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 R&D, continue to innovate, deliver quality, and use authenticity as a differentiator.”
In his keynote, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa,Mr. Claver Gatete, who hosted the launch, praised the Hall of Fame inductees and Brand Africa laureates for advancing the African agenda.
He endorsed Brand Africa, stating it aligns with the ECA’s mission to promote inclusive industrialisation, regional integration, and private sector-led growth. He called for investment in youth-driven innovation, regional value chains, and the creation of a Pan-African creative innovation fund to identify, finance, and globalise Africa’s most promising brands.
Following the global launch, Brand Africa will embark on a multi-country roadshow to share insights and rankings across all regions of the continent in supporting its mission to drive a brand-led African agenda.
The study was independently conducted by the world’s most respected global research firms with deep coverage and experience across Africa – GeoPoll and Kantar, and supported by regional research partners.
The overall 2025 study spans a baseline study across 31 African countries, including South Africa, which represents over 85% of Africa’s population and GDP, and conducted in the eight major languages that are official or widely spoken in the five major economic regions of Africa, including Ahmaric to Swahili. Due to the high penetration, convenience and effectiveness, data in South Africa was conducted through mobile, which has been the primary approach for the rest of the continent since 2015.
Consumers aged 18 and older are asked to spontaneously identify their most admired brands across several categories: brands that are doing good for society and the environment, brands contributing to a better Africa, African and non-African brands, and the most admired nations, regardless of the brand’s origin. To understand insights of categories with low unaided recall but significant societal influence, in 2017 Brand Africa introduced prompted (aided) questions for media and financial services brands.
What distinguishes the Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands study is that since its inception in 2011 (1) it is grown to be the most comprehensive barometer of consumer brand preferences spanning 31 African countries which collectively account for more than 85% of the continent’s population and GDP; (2) it is research-based rankings; (3) conducted by independent and globally respected research partners, including Geopoll and Kantar, as the lead, supported by Integrate (Morocco), Gopinion (Algeria), Analysis (Mauritius) and Oxygen (Namibia), and (5) is brand-neutral because the study is unsponsored ensuring there is no commercial influence.
The 2025 Brand Africa 100 | Africa’s Best Brands are covered widely and will once again be the cover feature of the June edition of African Business magazine, Africa’s foremost business publication since 1966.
Finally, Brand Africa announced today that the Africa Hall will now be the venue for all Brand Africa 100 | Africa’s Best Brands global announcements.
