Aliko Dangote,Chairman/Ceo Dangote Group. Photo Credit- News Agency Of Nigeria(NAN)
Dangote Group, from Nigeria, has emerged as the most admired African brand, of African continent origin, by consumers ahead of telecoms firm, MTN, according to the South African-based Brand Leadership Movement in collaboration with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
The Dangote brand, also the leading brand in Nigeria, came top in the fresh ranking of 100 best brands in Africa themed “Brand Africa: 100,” the sixth edition announced in Johannesburg.
The Brand Africa 100 was established in 2010, in recognition of the growth of African brands, which were beginning to challenge global brands in Africa or lead global brands in new categories such as telecommunications.
The aim of Brand Africa is to identify, acknowledge and promote African and global brands that are catalysts for Africa’s growth, reputation and value.
Describing the brand, ‘Dangote,’ The Brand Africa revealed that the “Nigerian industrial brand Dangote is the number one African brand recalled when consumers are prompted about the continent (Africa) of origin, while the South African telecommunications brand MTN is the number one African brand spontaneously recalled, irrespective of continent of origin.’
The United States sports and fitness brand, Nike, is the overall brand in Africa spontaneously recalled by consumers.
The Brand Africa 100 ranking is based on a survey among consumers 18 years and older, conducted in 23 countries across Africa. The countries, representing all African economic regions, collectively account for 75 percent of the population and the 74 percent of the GDP of Africa.
Chief corporate communication officer of the Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, said the management was not surprised at the ranking because the company had continuously deepened and delivered on its core values. The focus of the company, according to Chiejina, is to be a world-class enterprise that is passionate about the quality of life of the people and giving high returns to stakeholders.
“And this philosophy is driven by values, which include customer service, entrepreneurship, excellence and leadership. In any of our subsidiaries, the focus is to provide local, value-added products and services that meet the ‘basic needs’ of the populace.
“Through the construction and operation of large scale manufacturing facilities in Nigeria and across Africa, the Group is focused on building local manufacturing capacity to generate employment, prevent capital flight and provide locally produced goods for the people.
“The expansion of our business especially the Cement which has operations in 14 African countries including Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia, among others has added to popularity of our company and the products,” Chiejina stated.
Thebe Ikalafeng, founder/chairman, Brand Africa and Brand Leadership, said, “African brands have an important role in helping to build the African brand.”
These rankings are an important metric of the progress Africa is making in creating home-grown world-class brands that are changing the narrative on African competiveness, image and reputation and contributing to its socio-economic transformation.
