Paul Arithi 
Every year, leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance puts 5,000 of the biggest brands to the test, and publishes nearly 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries.{Photo/Courtesy}
Safaricom is Kenya’s most valuable brand with a brand value of Ksh 87 billion
Equity is Kenya’s strongest brand and the world’s 4 th strongest banking brand with 92.4 BSI
Brand Finance has released its 2023 report for the most valuable and strongest Kenyan Brands. Safaricom has maintained its position as the most valuable Kenyan brand and Equity scooping the top spot for the country’s strongest brand.The UK brand valuation consultancy valued the Safaricom brand as the highest in Kenya at Ksh 87 billion followed by Equity at Ksh 62.5 billion, KCB at Ksh 46.6 and MPESA at Ksh
28.3 billion.
The consultancy defines brand value as the net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market. This is the value you would pay if you were to acquire the brand name without touching any of its assets. Other top Kenyan brands also featured in the most valuable ranking are Co-Operative Bank, Kenya Power and NCBA.
“Safaricom has shown considerable resilience during difficult operating conditions over the past year. These include high inflation, a volatile global geopolitical environment, and disrupted supply chains. Despite this, the brand has achieved revenue growth, while successfully completing the first two years of its five-year strategy,”says David Haigh, CEO Brand Finance.For the second year in a row, Equity has been named as the strongest Kenyan brand with an elite AAA+ ranking and 92.4 Brand Strength Index (BSI) ranking, a 1.6 point jump from last year’s ranking. Other strong Kenyan brands in the ranking include KCB with a 90.4 BSI,Safaricom 89.4 BSI, Co-operative Bank 84.6 BSI, Tusker 72.6 BSI and MPesa 70.7 BSI.
The same ranking also named Equity the World’s fourth strongest banking brand in its top 500 banking industry ranking.
“The banking sector was the most valuable in the Kenya 25 2023 ranking. It accounted for 7 of the brands included, with a combined value of KES161.6 billion.
This was 49% of the total brand value in the ranking and was up a total 31% year-on-year. This is a sign that Kenya’s banking brands are very much alive and kicking, despite a challenging economic environment,” adds David Haigh.
Commenting on the report, Walter Serem, Regional Director for East Africa at Brand Finance Said,“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 theranking.
This is all-the-more impressive considering the difficult operating conditions that Kenyan brands have faced over the past few years.” Paint manufacturer Crown Paints was also singled out in the report as Kenya’s fastest growing brand, moving up 70% to Ksh 2.1 billion in brand value.
Every year, leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance puts 5,000 of the biggest brands to the test, and publishes nearly 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries.Brand Finance is the world’s leading independent brand valuation and strategy
consultancy with its headquartered in London, and a presence in more than 20 countries.Brand valuation helps companies understand the value of their brand and how it contributes to the overall value of the company.
This important understanding can inform decision-making related to marketing and branding efforts, as well as provide a benchmark for future performance. It can also be used to help attract investors and secure financing. Additionally, brand valuation can be useful in the event of a merger or acquisition, as it can help determine the value of the brand being acquired.
