Africa's Best Brands - launch next week

The rankings, first launched in 2011 at the second Brand Africa Forum, have been held in Johannesburg in 2011, in partnership with Brand South Africa, in New York in 2013, in partnership with African Business on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and in Nairobi in 2014, in partnership with the Kenya Securities Exchange.

This year, the scope and sample countries have been expanded from a base of 8 countries to 22 countries, covering every leading African economy, all five political regions and economic zones - making it one of the most representative and comprehensive pan-African study on brands in Africa.

Brand Africa 100 is a proprietary approach developed by Brand Leadership Group in partnership with Brand Finance plc, one of the world's leading independent valuation consultancy, TNS, the global consumer knowledge and information company and Geopoll, one of the leading mobile survey platforms, with a database of nearly 200 million users in emerging markets.

"These rankings are an important metric of the progress Africa is making in building African brands and challenging the dominant non-African brands in Africa, which over the years have accounted for 80% of the most admired brands in Africa and a dominant 99% share of the value of the Top 100," says Thebe Ikalafeng, Founder and Chairman - Brand Africa.

"While non-African brands dominate Africa because of their sheer volumes, historical admiration and investment, it is important for Africa's ultimate economic independence that it competes for a larger share of its own consumer base, which is estimated will reach a population of 2 billion by 2050 and achieve consumer expenditure of $1 trillion by 2020. Equally, the license for non-African brands to thrive in Africa will be determined no longer by history and economic might, but by how they adapt to the evolving and increasingly assertive African consumers that demand brands that reflect their needs, conditions and ambitions."

The Gala will be hosted by Brand South Africa and supported by Brand Finance, TNS, Geopoll, SA Mint, Fresh RSVP, SA Mint, African Business, CNBC Africa, M&G Africa, African Media Agency, Blue Media and Fresh RSVP.

The Brand Africa 100 results will be published by African Business magazine, on sale globally from 26 October 2015, online by Mail & Guardian Africa and broadcast on CNBC Africa in an awards highlights special.

For more information, go to www.brandafrica.org.