According to the organization, which has been tracking Africa’s most admired brands for the last 14 years, despite 64% of Africans expressing confidence in the continent, they remain loyal to non-African brands.

The top five most admired African brands in 2024 are South African telecommunications group MTN, Nigerian conglomerate Dangote, Zambian consumer group Trade Kings, Nigerian telecommunications group Glo, and South African media group DStv, along with Ethiopian Airlines.

MTN Group, headquartered in Johannesburg, was ranked eleventh among the top 100 most preferred brands on the continent for the second year in a row, behind some of the world’s biggest brands that have dominated the market for decades.

Nike from the United States, Adidas (Germany), Samsung (South Korea), Coca-Cola (USA) and Apple (USA) all retained their positions for the fifth consecutive year as the top five most admired brands in Africa.

Other top 10 brands are Gucci (Italy), Toyota (Japan), Tecno (China), Zara (Spain) and Puma (Germany).

MTN, Coca Cola and UN/UNICEF were also recognised as leaders in "doing good for society and environment".

South Africa (5) and Nigeria (5), along with Ethiopia (1), Zambia (1), Zimbabwe (1), and Tanzania (1), are the only six African nations that make up the 14% share of the top 100 brands.

Europe retained its 37% share of the top 100, while North America declined by 12.5% to 28%, and Asia grew its share by 23.5% to capture 21% of the African market.

“While the share of African brands remain a disappointing 14%, with Africans overwhelmingly believing that mostly Africa will contribute to a better Africa, as nations continue to create an enabling environment for African entrepreneurs and the AfcFTA opportunity is realized, it’s just a matter of time, but ultimately the share of African brands will increase,” said Thebe Ikalafeng, founder and chairman of Brand Africa.

Here is the full list of the top 100 brands in Africa by consumer taste: