The Challenges of Continental and Nation Branding in Africa

By Danilo Desiderio

A compelling article published by Semafor Africa sheds light on a significant challenge: the low brand awareness of African products among Africans and the general distrust towards them. This issue, as highlighted by Semafor, is evidenced by a study on the 100 most-admired brands in Africa, which found that 80 percent of them are foreign.

This preference for international brands over locally made products and services not only impacts African businesses but also diminishes the visibility of African nations on the global stage.

In October 2021, we published a blog post advocating for the creation of a collective trademark system to enhance the visibility of African brands both within the continent and beyond. The findings from Semafor reinforce the urgency of such an initiative.

Since brands play a crucial role in shaping a country’s image and identity, Africa’s continued reliance on foreign brands limits its ability to project a strong, unified economic presence.

Overcoming Perception and Building Success Stories

A recent study by AfCFTA Dialogues, a platform dedicated to raising awareness of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), further supports this concern. The research reveals that many Africans perceive locally made goods as inferior in quality and safety compared to imported products.

However, this negative perception does not apply universally. Several pan-African success stories, such as South Africa’s telecommunications giant MTN, Nigeria’s industrial powerhouse Dangote, Ethiopian Airlines, and Kenya’s Safaricom M-Pesa, illustrate the potential for African brands to thrive.

Additionally, the Ghana-based luxury fragrance company Scent of Africa has successfully carved out a niche in high-end markets, achieving a remarkable 25 percent sales growth in 2024.

These success stories demonstrate the potential for African brands to reshape the continent’s image. However, as Semafor points out, they remain too few.

To change this, African countries must unite – under the leadership of the African Union (AU) – to develop a framework that supports a “Made in Africa” agenda. Without such an initiative, the primary beneficiaries of the continent’s vast single market will continue to be foreign companies rather than African businesses.

Policy Initiatives and Implementation Challenges

A useful precedent for such a framework is the U.S. Buy American Act of 1933, which mandates that at least 50 percent of all U.S. government procurement must come from domestic sources. Inspired by this, the African Business Council (AFBC) proposed a “Buy Africa” regulation at the 14th African Union High-Level Private Sector Forum in July 2023.

This initiative would require African governments to allocate at least 40 percent of their procurement to African-owned businesses. Similar policies have already been adopted in individual countries: Kenya’s Access to Government Procurement Opportunities program, launched in 2013, reserves 30 percent of public procurement for youth, women, and persons with disabilities.

Likewise, Tanzania and South Africa have implemented procurement policies that set aside 30 percent and 25 percent, respectively, for women-owned businesses.

Despite the promise of such policies, their implementation at a continental level faces significant obstacles. Unlike other regions with strong regulatory bodies, Africa lacks institutions capable of enforcing legally binding regulations.

Even decisions made by the African Union Heads of State and Government – the highest decision-making body of the AU – are often ignored. For example, the 2007 AU mandate requiring member states to invest at least 1 percent of GDP in research and development has not been met; by 2021, the actual expenditure as documented by the AUDA-NEPAD’s Second Continental Report on the implementation of Agenda 2063, was just 0.45 percent of GDP.

Similarly, commitments made at the 2022 Niamey Industrialization and Economic Diversification Summit to allocate 5-10 percent of national budgets to industrial development remain unfulfilled. This pattern suggests that continental regulations often hold more symbolic than legal weight.

The Potential of Voluntary Certification Schemes

Given these challenges, Africa might benefit more from voluntary certification schemes rather than attempting to enforce binding regulations. A certification system, overseen by regional or continental agencies composed of independent experts, could allow businesses to obtain a “Made in Africa” label, guaranteeing the authenticity and quality of African-made goods.

Such an approach has been successfully implemented in other regions, including Russia, and could serve as a valuable model for Africa.

By fostering a robust and credible certification system, Africa can gradually build consumer trust in locally made products, enhance brand visibility, and position itself as a competitive player in the global market. Now is the time for African nations to act – collaboratively and decisively – to redefine the continent’s economic identity.

Danilo Desiderio serves as the CEO of Desiderio Consultants Ltd in Nairobi, Kenya, specializing in African customs, trade, and transport policies. He is a customs and trade expert at the World Bank and a senior associate to the Horn Economic and Social Policy Institute (HESPI).