Which African countries have the strongest ‘nation brands’?

Brand Africa in association with Brand Finance today released a list of the ‘Most Valuable African Nation Brands’.

Thebe Ikalafeng, chairman of Brand Africa

To compile the list, Brand Finance analysed the impact of a country’s reputation and image on foreign consumers and investors.

“The top ten Most Valuable African Nations are without a question among the most dynamic African nations at the forefront of re-inventing Africa’s image, reputation and competitiveness,” said Thebe Ikalafeng, founder and chairman of Brand Africa.

Brand Africa’s explanation of how the countries were ranked is somewhat confusing. Let’s try: Countries are ranked by looking at a range of economic, demographic and political factors. Each country has been given a ‘brand rating’ as well as a ‘brand value’. The ‘brand rating’ is an indication of the strength, risk and future potential of a country’s ‘brand’, while ‘brand value’ is a measure of the financial strength of a country’s ‘brand’.

South Africa emerged as the ‘Most Valuable African Nation Brand’, while Egypt and Nigeria are in second and third positions respectively. Here are the top ten countries with their ‘brand values’ and ‘brand ratings’.

Top African Nation Brands

RankingCountryBrand valueBrand rating
1.South Africa218A
2.Egypt109A-
3.Nigeria88BBB
4.Morocco48A-
5.Algeria45BB
6. Angola31B
7.Tunisia24A
8.Kenya19A-
9.Ghana18A-
10.Ethiopia12BBB

“In a world of ever increasing competition, brand reputation has become a crucial differentiator. Economic wealth hangs on fine distinctions between commercial offers … One of the national brand endorsements is country of origin. There is no doubt that strong country branding can add billions to national wealth by supporting commercial brands in a hyper competitive world. All countries should be actively managing their nation brands to gain value,” commented David Haigh, CEO and founder of Brand Finance.