Businesses challenged to build, not just market their brands
Keynote addresses and panel discussions at the 2026 Business to Brand Summit challenged businesses to rethink brand as a main driver of growth and long-term value.
Senior corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, marketers, founders and creatives gathered in Sandton for the 2026 Business to Brand Summit, an event that placed Africa’s brand future in the spotlight.
Hosted by Pat on Brands on April 16 to 17, under the theme, Africa Rising: Building Iconic Brands for a New Era, the two-day gathering created a space for industry dialogue on what it will take to build brands that are not only visible, but valuable, scalable and strictly African.
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The summit emphasised that brand is no longer just a function of marketing, but a main business drive linked to trust, growth, performance and long-term enterprise value of the business.
The event featured keynote addresses and panel discussions, which urged businesses and entrepreneurs to be more intentional about building brands that are not only visible but also competitive and respected globally.
During his opening address, Thebe Ikalafeng, Brand Africa founder and chairman, called on African chief marketing officers (CMOs) and senior brand leaders to rise to the occasion at a time when Africa’s talent is visible across the world’s most powerful brands, yet too few of the brands admired by Africans are African-owned.
Ikalafeng said nearly 80% of the brands admired by Africans were not African, despite the continent’s world-class marketing talent.
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In a direct message to the CMOs in the room, he said, “You lead the world’s most powerful brands. You carry Africa’s most important story. Advocate for Africa in global budgets, set the standard for localisation, and build for the continent. Our job as CMOs is to create African brands which build and create Africa.”
A highlight of day one was the summit’s flagship executive panel featuring Lunga Siyo, Mosala Phillips, Lindiwe Sangweni Siddo and Ziphozinhle Wonci, a conversation that brought the perspectives of the business leaders on the role of brand in business.
The panel explored how a brand must be understood not only as a marketing function, but as a strategic asset that requires alignment across leadership, operations and financial performance.
Telkom and Small Businesses CEO Siyo said, “A brand only earns credibility when the business beneath it can translate capability into performance, and performance into trust, loyalty, and commercial value.”
Day two of the summit shifted attention to emerging businesses, founders and high-growth brands, with programming focused on what it truly takes to scale in a competitive and fast-changing market.
The summit concluded with the Pat on Brands Brand Clinic, a live on-stage session designed to move the conversation from insight to application.
Two brands, Corewell and Tekkie Wash, were selected to receive a live brand diagnosis in front of the summit audience.
The session gave both businesses practical feedback and strategic direction from experts in attendance, while offering delegates a valuable look into how brand challenges can be unpacked and addressed in real time.
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