This article was originally published in the Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index 2026
Africa's potential continues to be undermined by negative narratives dominating world media. What are the three positive outlooks for the continent in 2026 that everyone should be aware of?
General Manager
of Marketing,
Brand South Africa
Africa’s peculiarity is its ability to turn constraint into creativity and diversity into strategic advantage.
Africa is moving from the margins of global decision-making to being a strategic partner in a multipolar world. AfCFTA regional infrastructure corridors and value-addition policies will further reposition Africa from a collection of fragmented markets to an emerging integrated economic space. This shift strengthens Africa’s bargaining power in trade, manufacturing, food systems and critical minerals.
Africa is dominated by the young, skilled population – a huge advantage. The youth is innovative especially in the creative art space. Therefore, I see 2026 as a defining moment year where growth in fintech, agritech, healthtech, AI-enabled services and the creative economy will remain a key counter-narrative to pessimism.
These sectors are solving local problems at scale while generating employment and global competitiveness. This is evident of the notion that Africa’s growth story is increasingly internally driven, resilient and innovation-led for the world
Lastly, Africa’s cultural industries: music, fashion, film, design, language and storytelling are increasingly shaping global popular culture. Culture in Africa is not peripheral; it is economic, political and identity-forming; a true reason to believe in Africa’s soft power that is organic, youth-driven and globally influential, without being state-engineered.
South Africa hosted the G20 summit last year and is taking an active role in setting the agenda internationally. What are the key issues that you champion as a country?
Firstly, G20 was successful, evident in endorsement and feedback loops from various heads of states.
One of the most prominent issues was debt relief and financial equity for developing countries where South Africa pushed for more transparent and fair sovereign credit ratings. It advocated reducing the cost of capital for low-income countries and strengthening multilateral mechanisms, mobilising climate finance and shaping the energy transition agenda by boosting flows of public and private finance for clean energy.
South Africa also broadened participation to include youth, women, grassroots groups and civil society, emphasising people-centered perspectives on global economic issues and staying true to its values of Ubuntu and inclusivity.
Brand South Africa is one of the leaders globally in leveraging nation brand value as a tool to track progress. What is it that makes this metric so helpful for your organisation?
A lot of nation branding agencies have had to show and demonstrate reasons why they exist. Our focus on nation brand value is purely to emphasise the opportunity for investing in South Africa, profile sectors driving this growth, and harness this growth through our messaging.
Moreover, it is common practice that most countries use nation brand indices purely as reputation scorecards. The tides are changing to focus on the economic benefit story.
Brand South Africa goes further by tracking brand strength alongside economic, social and governance indicators, allowing brand value to act as a diagnostic tool for progress.
As per global standards, Brand South Africa explicitly connects brand value to:
investor confidence, trade competitiveness, national cohesion and international credibility. This integration reflects a developmental state logic, uncommon but increasingly recognised as best practice. South Africa has demonstrated a successful private, public partnership story and intentional collaborations that will enhance the nation brand’s reputation. The drivers of the nation brand value are the private sector, and this is a rock-solid approach that will continue to benefit how South Africa shows up on the global stage.
