Telecommunication giants, MTN, Vodafone and Airtel, have been ranked among the top 10 most helpful brands in Africa during the heat of the Covid-19 pandemic last year.
According to African Business – the institution that released the rankings – the telecommunication giants were instrumental in communicating about the pandemic to customers and in keeping people connected – mainly through digital means.
In addition, telecoms scrapped charges on mobile money transfers as well as reduced charges on data.
Some of the telecoms went as far as to acquire and donate covid-19 vaccines to some African States. MTN for instance, donated over 7 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to 9 African countries including Ghana which received 165,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Vaccine.
MTN, according to the ranking emerged second, with Vodafone and Airtel placing third and sixth place respectively.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) took the first position emerging as the #1 most admired global brand and perceived to have been most helpful during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian State-owned airline, Ethiopian Airways, found its way into the list of Africa’s 100 most admired brands.
The airline, according to the ranking undertaken by African Business, emerged the 51st most admired brand on the Continent.
Ethiopian Airways was the only African airline to have seemingly thrived during the pandemic as it was the first of the continent’s airlines to resume service and convert passenger planes into cargo planes to transport critical PPE’s around the world and the continent during the pandemic’s depths.
During a year defined by the pandemic which brought the world to a halt, as markets having to adapt to a new reality, African brands retained their 13% share of the Top 100 most admired brands in Africa.
According to African Business, the Top 100 brands in Africa continue to be dominated by European brands which have held their share at 41% with Africa retaining its 13% share of the most admired brands in the world.
Similarly, the leading African countries that dominate the rankings largely retained their positions with Nigeria and South Africa – 5 brands each – Ethiopia and Kenya accounting for the 13 brands among the Top 100 most admired brands in Africa.
Established in 2011, the Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands rankings are the most authoritative survey and analysis on brands and underlying businesses in Africa, based on a study by Geopoll across 28 countries spanning all the five economic regions and analysis and ranking by Kantar and Brand Leadership.
Collectively they account for over 80% of the population and over 80% of the GDP of Africa. An analysis of the data over the past 10 years, has established that on average, only 20% of the brands admired by Africans are made in Africa.
The 2021 survey was conducted between March and April 2021 and yielded over 80,000 brand mentions and over 3,500 unique brands.
No Ghanaian company made it to list of Africa’s 100 most admired brands.
