MTN Group was recognized as the top corporate brand in Africa at the fourth BrandFinance Global Nation Brands League Awards. The event hosted by Brand Africa in collaboration with BrandFinance, saw MTN beating Standard Bank (SBK), Absa (ASA), First National Bank (FNB), Nedbank (NED), Investec (INL), Telecom Egypt, Telkom (TKG), Guaranty Trust Bank and Mobinil, who together with MTN constituted the top 10 brands in Africa. According to BrandFinance the award also puts MTN on the Brand Finance Top 500 Global Brands List as the only African brand on that prestigious list. At the same event, South Africa was also acknowledged as the most valued African Nation Brand 2011, beating Nigeria and Egypt. BrandFinance said SA showed modest growth on the back of a successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup and became one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world. "In a recent survey conducted by TripAdvisor.com, respondents voted Cape Town as the number one tourist destination on the planet," BrandFinance said in its index report. Brand Africa is an independent pan-African brand-centric initiative for Africa by Africans, who are confident in and passionate about Africa. It's about Africans proactively taking charge of their destiny to build a better Africa for investment, exports, tourism and citizenship. BrandFinance named the top 10 countries in Africa as South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, Algeria, Angola, Tunisia, Ghana, Kenya and Libya. MTN Group Marketing Executive Jennifer Roberti was quoted by various media in South Africa as saying MTN’s ranking as Africa’s most valued consumer brand was a pleasant Africa Day surprise for the mobile operator. She said the news of the accolade would well be received across MTN global footprint, especially in Africa where it was the most admired brand and leading corporate institution in the vast majority of its markets. “Our inclusion as the only African brand on the prestigious Top 500 Global Brands list bears testament to MTN’s Africa and marketing know-how,” she said. “This shows the phenomenal growth of the MTN business in most operations, whether measured in terms of value share or subscriber numbers.” Roberti noted that for example, nearly 70 per cent of MTN’s total subscribers were in African markets, with Nigeria contributing 40.2 million, Ghana, 9.07 million, South Africa, 19 million; Uganda, 6.9 million and Cote D’Ivoire 5.4 million. MTN Africa is a leading mobile operator with 147.2 million subscribers in Africa and in the Middle East. In Ghana MTN is the market leader with some 54 per cent market share. Story by: Samuel Nii Narku Dowuona/Adom News/Ghana