South Africa Tourism urges development of formidable brands across Africa
By Taiye Olayemi
The South Africa Tourism has urged Africans to focus more on building unique and formidable brands which can be patronised and admired globally.
Mr Thekiso Rakolojane, Regional Head, West Africa, South Africa Tourism, said this on the sideline of the 2022 edition of Brand Africa Award, held in Lagos on Wednesday.
Rakolojane said that Africa still had a lot to do in promoting patronage of locally made products across the continent.
“I recall the founder of Brand Africa, Mr Thebe Ikalafeng, saying that 83 per cent of products Africans consume are western brands while only 20 per cent are from Africa.
“This is a wake-up call for Africans to remain proud of their brands to enable them gain global attention,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the African brands that were recognised and awarded at the awards ceremony were: Cocacola, MTN, DSTV, Dangote Group, Channels Television and Innoson among others.
“From all the awards tonight, we can see that Africa still has a lot to do in creating more brands that will gain global attention and admiration.
“For South Africa Tourism, we are here to get insights to formulate our communication strategy, every single marketing we do is informed by insights to address the direct aspirations of Africans.
“We expect everyone to do same and ensure Africa gains huge recognition because the continent is blessed and for us, we always aspire to be the best globally,” he said.
Speaking on the just concluded INDABA Tourism Expo, held in South Africa, Rakolojane added that 36 countries across the globe attended, with over 67 Nigerian travel agencies.
He said that South Africa truly appreciated this, urging more Nigerians to visit the country for the forthcoming summer vacation as they would be exposed to lots of attractions.
He noted that the country was known for its interesting safari, classic African scenery, golden savannah, hauntingly beautiful deserts, great gaping gorges and more.
“South Africa is open to business, summer is fast approaching, we welcome Nigerians and Africans generally to come visit,” he said. (NAN)
