How five brands entered Hall of Fame

Since 2011 Brand Africa has published an annual list of the 100 most admired brands in Africa, initially in the Mail and Guardian and, since 2013, in partnership with African Business. This year’s list, published in full here, eagerly anticipated in the continent’s C-suites, has shown which companies have held commercial and cultural sway and become more than providers of goods and services for the continent. Much has changed in the time that the list has been published. The African consumer has grown more connected, aspirational, and brand-conscious. Meanwhile, technology has unlocked new opportunities across sectors and markets.

This year’s rankings, once again, paint a clear picture of the overwhelming dominance of foreign brands on the continent, demonstrating deep-rooted patterns in consumer behaviour, and the immense brand power wielded by multinational corporation. Despite this, a handful of indigenous companies have stood the test of time and consistently demonstrated that it is possible to build enduring African brands that retain the trust and loyalty of African consumers.

Five African champions

One of these companies is MTN, which rose one spot to become the top African brand overall, and climbed one spot to rank 10th among the Top 100 Global Brands. The South Africa-headquartered telecoms operator also retained its position as the number one telecoms brand in Africa, ahead of regional rivals Airtel (ranked 24th) and Glo (ranked 37th). With over 290 million subscribers across 21 African markets, the company’s market penetration is undeniable and unrivalled in most of the markets it operates in. It also operates the continent’s largest mobile money platform, MoMo, with over 70 million users and an annual transaction volume nearing $200bn.

Another strong performer is Ethiopian Airlines, which rose to 42nd overall in the rankings, up from 43rd in 2024. The firm maintained its status as the continent’s top aviation brand and the only African carrier to feature in the Top 100. The airline’s hub-and-spoke model, centred around Addis Ababa, connects over 60 African cities to more than 130 destinations worldwide. With $7.02bn in profits in the fiscal year ending June 2024, the airline is among the top 20 globally by revenue. Its profits were boosted by a 30% increase in passenger numbers in the same year, despite a challenging travel environment and reported delays in deliveries of new aircraft.

Dangote Group, Africa’s largest industrial conglomerate, continues to cement its position as a continental industrial leader. In this year’s rankings, it rose three spots globally to 25th and despite being overtaken by MTN as Africa’s top brand overall, Dangote retained its position as the number one African industrial brand, ahead of rivals such as Azam Group and Trade Kings. The continued rise of Dangote can be attributed to its growing output in cement production. The company has expanded its footprint and now has an operational presence in ten countries and a market presence in eight more. Just as important is its expansion beyond cement and petroleum into fertilisers and food processing and tentative steps towards clean energy and petrochemicals.

Perhaps the most iconic fintech innovator to come out of the continent, mPesa, is represented by part-parent Vodafone, ranked 19th. mPesa, owned by Safaricom, which in turn is a joint venture between Vodacom (a subsidiary of Vodafone) and the Kenyan government, processed close to $300bn in transactions in 2024. Having brought financial inclusion to over 40 million unbanked people, mPesa’s impact and value is not in any doubt.

South Africa is the African country that has also consistently led the way in country branding. It is admired across Africa both as an economic powerhouse and also as a centre of excellence when it comes to tourism and education. It hosts international events, including in sport and fashion. This year the country will host the G20 meetings. South Africa continues to set the benchmark in many fields even if other countries on the continent, such as Rwanda, are working hard to create a clear identity and strengthen their appeal, in Africa and globally, in areas such as sports and tourism, as well as tech and industry.

The success of each of these brands was built on being able to deliver services and, in the case of Dangote, goods to millions of Africans. For MTN and mPesa, in particular, these were services that, prior to their introduction, were out of the reach of millions – millions for whom they are today a feature of their daily lives, perhaps already taken for granted.

Dangote and Ethiopian Airlines, on the other hand, have proven that it is entirely possible for African providers to deliver what in the past may have been the domain of companies originating out of Europe, America or Asia. By doing so, these companies are not just serving customers and retaining wealth within the continent, they are adding to continental pride and to the confidence of entrepreneurs big and small that it can be done in Africa by Africans.

Brand power is built on trust. In a continent where political instability, weak infrastructure, and inconsistent governance can deter investment and consumer confidence, these four brands have bucked the trend and provided stability and consistency in the face of myriad challenges. MTN’s enduring presence, even in high-risk environments, has made it synonymous with connectivity, despite geopolitical battles and regulatory wrangles.

Similarly, Dangote has been able to meet growing demand for cement and weathered some rough storms on its way to reducing West Africa’s dependency on imported fuel via its huge new Nigerian refinery.

Ethiopian Airlines, for its part, has been able to build a profitable and globally competitive airline with a reputation for punctuality, safety and professionalism, becoming a national and even pan-African symbol of excellence. With mPesa, Safaricom was able to build consumer trust by offering a reliable, user-friendly and cost-effective solution that answered a profound need.

Building beyond borders

Each of these companies also draws much of its power from its ability to expand beyond its original borders. Naturally, this is most true for Ethiopian Airlines and MTN, which by the nature of their services are natural and even necessary cross-border propositions. While its tremendous reach has made MTN the most valuable African brand, Ethiopian Airlines has made Addis Ababa the continent’s leading aviation hub, connecting eastern, western, northern and southern Africa in a way few could have imagined just two decades ago.

While Dangote is dominant in its home market, with brands across different “verticals” or market sectors, it has become much more than a Nigerian story. Its cement is available in an increasing number of countries and, once fully operational, its refinery is expected to impact the supply chain in finished petroleum products well beyond the borders of Nigeria. Just as significantly, Alikote Dangote, its founder and leader, has a towering presence and reputation as the continent’s leading industrialist, with the ear of presidents and the admiration of consumers.

While less pan-African than the others, mPesa is also expanding into other eastern African countries and scored a major coup when it began operating in Ethiopia in August 2023, ten months after Safaricom launched its voice and data offering in the continent’s fifth largest economy. But mPesa’s biggest achievement is positioning the continent as one that can lead in innovation. The continent still leads the world in terms of mobile money.

Given the challenging environment, few African companies are able to achieve sustained profitability and build resilience the way these four have. Last year, MTN’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation was an impressive 70.1bn rand ($3.9bn), with revenue from its telecom services growing by 13.8%, driven by increases in data (21.9%) and fintech (28.5%) revenues. Mobile money users across its 19 markets of operation now exceed 60 million, which presents significant revenue opportunities. Under its Ambition 2025 strategy, which focuses on scalable digital platforms, network modernisation and regulatory agility, MTN is expected to have built further resilience, making it an even more formidable corporate presence in the continent.

For the same period, the Dangote Cement’s revenue grew by 62.2% owing, it said, to “buoyant volume growth from Nigeria in addition to price increases in selected operations in line with inflationary realities.”. The group’s net profit rose by 10.5% to 503.2bn naira ($317m), while operating profit jumped to 1.15 trillion naira ($724bn).

Ethiopian Airlines remains the most profitable airline on the continent, leveraging economies of scale, fleet ownership and an operational model that covers maintenance, training, catering, and logistics to diversify its offerings and insure itself against volatilities.  According to results published by its parent company Safaricom in November 2024, mPesa’s revenue grew by 16.6% year-on-year to KShs77.2bn ($598m).

Innovation keeps top brands a step ahead

Key to resilience is innovation and reinvention, especially in industries that are amenable to disruption and in which new entrants are lionised. MTN itself was once a major disruptor, opening up GSM connections and, eventually, financial inclusion to millions in Africa. Three decades later, MTN continues to innovate and keep up with much younger competitors.

In response to the “super-app” trend, it launched Ayoba in 2019, integrating messaging, payments, and content in a single app that now has over 30 million users. It has also rolled out 5G mobile services in South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana. In 2024 it inked a deal with Mastercard that will further boost financial inclusion with, among other things, a virtual card for MTN mobile money users.

MTN’s consistent innovation has resulted in its multi-generational appeal. In the 2025 Top Brands rankings, it ranks first among Gen Z (18-28) users and second among millennial (29-44) consumers. Gen X (45-60) and boomers (above 61) both made it their top choice, evidence of the brand’s ability to cut through various age brackets and offer solutions that address the particular needs of the various demographics.

Ethiopian Airlines’ success is, perhaps more than anything else, a result of its ability to adjust to the market and redefine its offerings in response to customer needs and global and regional events.

For example, it adapted to the pandemic by expanding its cargo and logistics services, increasing its destinations to 74, as it helped move medical supplies around, a much-needed service at the time. The airline also has cross-generational appeal, ranking 8th among Gen Z; 9th among millennials and third with Gen Xers.

For Dangote, its diversification into petroleum, food processing and petrochemicals means that it will become even more familiar to consumers not directly engaged with its core offering of cement. However, it already has a solid reputation as a homegrown industrial giant with the capability, as it replaces imported products with the outputs of its refinery, to act as an economic stabiliser not just in Nigeria, but the West African region. Interestingly, while it ranks second among Gen Z and Gen Xers; and 1st among Millennials, it is only the third most trusted brand among boomers, perhaps reflecting which generation is more likely to be engaged in activities that require Dangote’s products.

As the brand that is most often held up as an exemplar of African innovation, mPesa has much to live up to. With 51 million users, KSh35.9 trillion ($278bn) in annual transactions and a growing presence in East Africa, mPesa clearly remains a significant player in the market. It is no longer merely a payments application, but a provider of loans and other micro-financial services, playing a critical role in the lives of millions, especially those in underbanked and vulnerable communities.

The United Nations has lauded its impact on poverty reduction and it has inspired similar innovations in places as far flung as India and Brazil, proving that African innovation can shape global trends. It is worthy of note that mPesa’s success has yet to be replicated at a similar scale, despite the rise of fintech across the continent. That may be due to the fact that its rise was a result of a perfect combination of enabling factors. And while other mobile money platforms have been launched, few have had the advantage of that perfect storm of timing, trust, distribution, and simplicity. mPesa’s legacy, it may turn out, is beyond technological, its behavioural: it changed how people relate to money and made it possible for others in its wake to become more acceptable to a previously sceptical consumer base.

Giving the consumers what they want

The enduring success of this quartet however offers an indication of the ingredients of brand success in Africa. Each of them was able to scale by offering accessible solutions to a pressing consumer demand, sometimes even before the consumers had fully identified that need. For MTN, it was connecting people across regions; Dangote offered local replacements for costly imports; Ethiopian Airlines reconfigured continental aviation with its hub and spoke model; and mPesa brought financial services to millions of unbanked people. They also invested in infrastructure, built trust with consumers and engaged with governments and regulators to shape the ecosystems in which they operate. With the rise of social media, artificial intelligence, digital communities and activist consumers, the next generation of major African brands will be forged in an entirely different landscape.

Brand power will not flow merely from excellence in delivery of goods and services, but from perceived authenticity and shared values with consumers.

Younger consumers are choosing to bestow their custom on brands with whom they have an affinity. Companies must therefore learn to listen, to respond nimbly to criticism, to stand for something other than profits, and to build narratives that travel across languages, borders, and platforms. To thrive, companies will need to transition from being services and goods providers to becoming storytellers, enablers and partners in progress.

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MTN: how we built the brand

MTN is today one of the most ubiquitous brands in Africa. Nompilo Morafo, Group Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer, tells us how the MTN brand has evolved over time to stay relevant while putting products and people at the heart of its strategy.

What do you see as the key defining moments that defined MTN’s early success?

We marked 30 years in the business last year. Among key defining moments were the start of our first commercial operations in South Africa on 1 June 1994 – at the same time as the birth of President Nelson Mandela’s democracy. With a small team of 20, MTN started building a network just as those who had fought for freedom started building a nation.

From the outset the demand for mobile telephony was much greater than anticipated and that set the tone for what was to come.

In 1996 we launched Pay as You Go services, dramatically opening up the market. With no contracts and no credit checks, even those without bank accounts could now have cellphones.

In 1998, we created MTN International and our international expansion started in Rwanda, Uganda and eSwatini, followed by Cameroon in 2000 and Nigeria in 2001. In that same year we launched the MTN Foundation to manage social investment projects. This was indeed a defining moment as it underscored our commitment to creating shared value, recognising that our success was intricately linked to the wellbeing of our communities.

With voice revenues declining, how is MTN repositioning itself as a leader in fintech, payments, and digital services?

As mobile markets mature, growth in demand for voice services is typically outpaced by the acceleration in demand for data services. MTN Group’s financials bear this out.  In 2024, voice revenue accounted for 31% of total MTN Group service revenue across our 16 markets. Data revenue contributed 39%. But in some of our markets voice revenue is still growing, albeit at a slower rate.

We are driven to extend digital and financial inclusion across Africa. We now offer MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) in 14 of our 16 markets, where we have more than 62m MoMo users. In Q1 2025 our fintech platform recorded 5.5bn transactions valued at $95.3bn. In the same period, we processed $1.4bn in remittances. Every transaction, every transfer and every tap helps people forge their own paths. They also clearly show the repositioning of MTN over time.

How is the MTN brand evolving to stay relevant to the digital generation?

From the outset MTN was a brand leading the communications revolution sweeping the world and South Africa, and that would soon sweep across more of Africa. In recent years our brand has consistently been ranked as the most valuable African brand. In 2022 we refreshed our brand identity to keep it relevant and inspiring. The exciting demographic opportunity of the fast-growing, youthful populations in our markets is a key part of our investment case, hence our focus on keeping the brand fresh and relevant to our customers, both existing and prospective subscribers.

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Dangote: how we built the brand

For our Top Brand 15th anniversary, African Business put some questions to the brand and communications team at Dangote to understand how one man’s dream created a brand that today has become synonymous with industrial transformation.

Aliko Dangote has become an avatar for African industrialisation. How has the Dangote Group leveraged this personal brand in pursuing its objectives across various sectors on the continent?

The Group has leveraged on his personal brand via strategic investments and philanthropic initiatives. The Dangote personal brand is strong and is consistent with domestic manufacturing and trade. Therefore, Dangote Group is generally accepted across Africa for direct investment. The Group is Africa’s biggest cement manufacturer and operates the largest single train petroleum refinery.

What does it mean for Dangote to be seen not just as a business, but as a force for continental transformation?

Construction of cement plants across Africa has fuelled job creation and has led to growth across the continent. Dangote Group has eased job movement across Africa as staff are transferred across countries. We remain a large contributor of tax. Cross border investments have helped to transfer the industrial capacity of host countries through technology transfer, adoption and adaptation.

In Nigeria, all the technical staff for the construction of the petroleum refinery and fertiliser were recruited and trained from ground zero as there were no existing plants with skills to poach from.

How has the group navigated the structural challenges the continent has to build sustainable businesses across markets and sectors?

Dangote Group overcame structural challenges by improving on existing resources or building totally new ones. The Group built new access roads to plant sites and constructed captive power plants. The captive power plants solved the problem of unreliable public electricity supply. At various seaports, the Group overhauled existing facilities to help either in the export or import of clinker and other materials.

While building the refinery, Dangote built a new jetty, bought thousands of cranes, dredging machines, trucks, etc.

What message does Dangote’s success send to the next generation of African industrialists?

Africa is home. Only African investors can really develop Africa. Invest in Africa. The continent offers the best in terms of returns on investment.

Yes, there are challenges, but those challenges are investment opportunities. There are opportunities in Africa in all sectors. We have opened the road, hitch on the ride.