Safaricom top of the pile of Kenya's most valuable brands

Students having fan during D.O.P.E Campus tour, Kenyatta University Chapter. The D.O.P.E Campus tour is organized by Sol Generation. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

Leading telecommunications service provider Safaricom has been named the best brand in Kenya out of 25 companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

This is according to a new survey by think tank Brand Finance, which looked at the bands that the majority of Kenyan consumers rate highly across the various sectors.

Safaricom emerged top of the list of 25 companies followed by Equity Group, KCB Group, M-Pesa and Co-Operative Bank. Other top-valued brands include Kenya Power, NCBA Group, I&M Bank and Tusker.

"Kenya's top brands have demonstrated some considerable resilience over the past year, clearly shown by the brand value growth achieved by all the top-five most valuable brands in the ranking," said Regional Director for East Africa at Brand Finance Walter Serem.

"This is all the more impressive considering the difficult operating conditions that Kenyan brands have faced over the past few years."

Some of the key factors identified for driving brand value include wide availability, great customer service, trustworthiness, conveniently located outlets and variety of products and services.

Brand Finance looked at the performance of the brand (25 per cent), its equity (50 per cent) and its level of investment (25 per cent) to develop scores.

"Brand equity accounts for 50 per cent to reflect the importance of stakeholder perceptions to behaviour," explained the survey.

"Brand Equity is important to all stakeholder groups, with customers being the most important."

Brands were also scored on their environmental awareness, community involvement, employee sentiment and corporate governance.

"Safaricom has shown considerable resilience during difficult operating conditions over the past year," explained Brand Finance in the report.

"The brand has been able to achieve revenue growth, while successfully completing the first two years of its five-year strategy. Safaricom has also grown into Ethiopia, a market it hopes it can expand to reach the level of its Kenya operation within ten years."

Data from the company's latest annual report indicates Safaricom reported Sh107 billion in M-Pesa revenue and Sh83.2 billion from voice with profit after tax standing at Sh69 billion, the highest in a listed company in East Africa.

Paint manufacturer Crown Paints was ranked the most reputable brand followed by Safaricom, KCB Group and Equity Group. "Crown Paints Kenya is the fastest growing brand, up 70 per cent to Sh2.1 billion," explained the report.

"With additional regional operations in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, Crown Paints has benefitted from the phasing out of pandemic-induced restrictions in East Africa over the past year," said the report.

"As the construction industry in the region has begun to pick up, there has been an increase in demand for its products, contributing to a jump in revenues."