By ‘Mamohaila Rampo
MASERU
The Brand Africa Network in collaboration with Tangerine Media and Experiences awarded certificates to 2022 Brand Africa top 100, Lesotho edition on Tuesday.
The event proved to be of great importance to the business community of Lesotho as it recognized different brands across a number of industries. Bonono Merchants went home with two certificates for being the most admired Lesotho brand also for being the most admired apparel brand in Lesotho. Business tycoon Lebona Lephema was awarded an Africa brand leadership excellence certificate.
The most admired media brand in Lesotho went to the People‘s Choice (PC) FM, the most admired financial service was awarded to the First National Bank (FNB), the most admired beverage brand went to Maluti premium lager, most admired telecom brand was Vodacom Lesotho, most admired retail brand was Shoprite and well recognized companies such as Alliance, Econet Telcom Lesotho (ETL) and Matekane Group of Companies (MGC) were also awarded certificates.
Brand Africa Lesotho Chairman Advocate Phelane Phomane said the theme for 2022 is “Building Resilient African Brands”. Phomane said while African brands account for only 17% of Africa’s most admired brands, the growth and emergence of new African brands in the Top African Brands list offers a ray of hope and insight into Africa’s potential brands.
Brand Africa founder and chairman Thebe Ikalafeng, when giving the background of Brand Africa, said it all started in 2010 during the world cup in South Africa. He said he realized that most African stories are not told by Africans but the Wersterns, saying they had no African brands to offer people who came from around the world. “That is why I came up with the Brand Africa awards, to inspire African brands to do more and earn their space in international markets. Our brands tell our story, they represent the reputation of an organization, which proves that a brand is not just an image,” he said.
Ikalafeng said after a steady decline in the rankings, Lesotho brands stood their ground and retained a 17% share of the Top 100 brands in Africa during a year defined by the Covid-19 pandemic. Against the backdrop of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), he added that they look at how African brands and businesses reacted and which brands have retained, improved or lost their status among African consumers after and during the pandemic.
He also made it clear that the annual reports and analysis are from a survey done by Basotho of rankings of the most admired brands, ensuring that they delivered what the people had chosen.
