JOHANNESBURG, 29 October 2020 – BCW Africa, Brand Leadership, Kantar and Geopoll today announced the launch of the #BuyAfricaBuildAfrica initiative. The initiative seeks to promote pride in Africa, enhance awareness of local brands and encourage patronage of African ideas, goods and services.
In the ten years since the inception of the Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands survey and rankings, regarded as the most authoritative survey and analysis of brands on the continent, African brands have lagged their non-African counterparts. Since a high of a 34% share in 2011 when the first survey was launched, African brands have dropped to an all-time low with just a 13% share in the 2020 survey of the Top 100 brands Africans admire. Non-African brands accounted for 87% of the Top 100 brands.
“African brands have an important role to play in helping to build the image and competitiveness of the continent,” says Thebe Ikalafeng, Founder of Brand Leadership and Brand Africa 100.
“63% of African respondents prefer to buy African brands whenever possible,” Ikalafeng says quoting the ‘How we made it in Africa survey’ of June 2017. “In the wake of COVID-19, there has been a shift in consumer values towards community and supporting local, which is likely to continue beyond the pandemic. This provides fresh opportunities to invest in local brands, drive greater consciousness amongst consumers and ultimately grow the number of African brands that Africans admire and that feature in the Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands.”
#BuyAfricaBuildAfrica is aligned with and supports the African Union 2063 agenda for a united, peaceful and prosperous Africa and the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) goal to accelerate intra-African trade and boost Africa’s trading position in the global market.
Qualifying ‘made in Africa’ brands are encouraged to adopt and co-brand their initiatives and brands with the #BuyAfricaBuildAfrica stamp of approval. There are five criteria for qualification:
- The brand should be created in Africa
- The business should be registered and trading in Africa
- The business should be tax-registered and compliant in Africa
- The brand or business should be serving African and/or global consumers
- The business should employ at least one person other than the founder
Local brands should register by completing a short form. Upon verification they will receive access to a certificate and #BuyAfricaBuildAfrica collateral they can use to promote their business as a purveyor of African products and services and enhance awareness and profile as an African brand. #BuyAfricaBuildAfrica is a non-profit initiative and no fees are required to join the movement.
“The over 80 African brands of all sizes across various industries that have been in the Brand Africa 100 over the past 10 years are being encouraged to register on the platform and start displaying the logo in their marketing campaigns – as the pioneers of ‘made in Africa’ excellence,” says Karin Du Chenne, Kantar’s Chief Growth Officer – Africa and Middle East.
“Consumers also have an important role to play in identifying, sharing about and supporting local brands because, by buying Africa together we can build Africa,” she adds.
“Our teams of brand experts, research specialists and communication professionals across the continent are the catalysts for this initiative, in the hope that many others will support it. We have collaborated on the Brand Africa 100 with Brand Leadership for some years now – so this takes our joint commitment to building brands in Africa one step further,” concludes Robyn de Villiers, BCW Africa Chairman and CEO.
