MTN emerges atop Brand Finance's Top 50 list for brands in South Africa

London-based brand valuation consultancy Bran Finance has conducted an assessment of the top brands in South Africa to release a list of the Top 50. The telecommunications sector appears to be thriving in the country, given that MTN and Vodacom emerged at the top of the list for South Africa.

MTN has long been at the pinnacle of South Africa’s telecom sector, having been named the best mobile network for two years in a row by German business advisory firm P3 Group. The mobile network was judges the best when it came to the quality of voice calling and data connectivity.

The firm’s success has been attributed to its strong leadership as well. CFO at the firm Ralph Mupita was named the CFO of the year for 2019 at the South African CFO awards this year, sponsored by Deloitte. MTN was followed by Vodacom in the rankings, representing dominance of the telecom sector.

According to Brand Finance, the top 50 brand in South Africa appear to be going against the grain in the current economic scenario, given that the country is navigating a period of economic stagnation. The GDP growth in the country averages around 1% at present, while growth at these companies appears to be much quicker.

The brand valuation consultancy reports that the average growth rate across the top 50 for this year was more than 16%, representing their domination. The top 10, meanwhile recorded a growth rate of just under 20%. Aside from MTN and Vodacom, the financial services sector also had considerable representation in the top 10.

FNB, Absa and Standard Bank place in the third, fourth and fifth place respectively, reflecting the strong year that the financial sector has had this year. Despite disruption from all directions, the sector has recorded considerable growth over the last year.

Commenting on the rankings, Managing Director at Brand Finance Jeremy Sampson said, “We can celebrate that the top South African brands are consistently recording high brand value growth rates, in stark contrast to the nation’s sick economy, which is currently falling short of other countries’ growth across the continent.”

“There is a need to develop brands within this sector if South Africa wants to close the gap with leading economies. Brands in these sectors are rated lowest of all for overall reputation, trust and quality of service, and little improvement is evident over the past 12 months,” he added.