Women in Marketing (WiM) Africa, in partnership with Kantar, brought together more than 60 senior marketers, brand leaders, and Gen Z voices in Bryanston, Johannesburg, last week for the second edition of its Real Talk Debate series.
The session asked a timely and provocative question: Is the industry ready for Africa’s Gen Z audiences?
With Gen Z representing over 60% of Africa’s population under 25, their influence is reshaping marketing, media, and brand strategy across the continent.
The debate featured powerhouse leaders including Khensani Nobanda (Nedbank Group), Ammarah Issufo (Unilever), Kerryn Greenleaf (AB InBev), Farah Mehdi (TikTok), Senamile Zungu (Kantar), Moyin Ororuntoba (EDC Squared), and a fireside chat with Monalisa Zwambila (Riverbed Agency) moderated by Renissa Gounden (Kantar Consulting).
Key takeaways
The debate surfaced critical insights for brands navigating Gen Z engagement:
- Co-creation over control: Brands must move beyond dictating briefs to influencers and instead co-create authentically with Gen Z.
- Platform value, not vanity: Too many marketers care about being “seen” on TikTok or Instagram, rather than whether those platforms truly deliver brand value.
- Generational nuance: While Millennials introduced digital to the workplace, Gen Z are digital-first and values-driven, and Gen Alpha will be AI-natives with even bolder expectations.
- Walk the talk: Gen Z demand real action on social issues, not token gestures. Live poll data showed 84% of attendees believe “purpose fatigue” stems from brands failing to execute authentically.
- Lead with marketing courage: Panellists agreed that courage in marketing is essential. Without bold, purpose-driven leadership from marketers, organisations risk stalling on the change Gen Z expects.
- Complex & nuanced identities: From building businesses to protesting and livestreaming activism, Gen Z refuses to fit into one box. Brands need to embrace their multifaceted realities.
- Empathy is a superpower: Female leaders emphasised listening deeply as the most powerful way to earn trust.
Polls conducted before and during the debate further underlined the challenge:
Senamile Zungu,
Kantar 27 Aug 2025 - 86% of attendees felt the industry has made some progress in connecting with Gen Z, “but not enough.”
- 47% identified loss of long-term loyalty as the biggest risk of failing to connect authentically with Gen Z.
- 38% said Gen Z’s greatest disruptive power lies in democratising influence through peers and micro-creators.
“Gen Z have already redefined the rules of engagement,” said Andrea Djan-Krofa, founder of WiM Africa. “This debate wasn’t about whether we’re ready, it was about asking the harder questions: What more can we do? Is what we’re doing really working? Bringing women leaders and Gen Z voices together in one room was critical to unpacking these realities and shaping the future of marketing in Africa.”
Ivan Moroke, CEO of Kantar South Africa, added: “Despite the challenges the past year has brought to the business world, inclusive marketing remains a key brand growth strategy. It's heartening to see how many brands are with us in supporting communities that are underrepresented and indeed underserved. The real mic drop moment is that Gen Z's women of Africa are living a reality like no other. Successful brands of the future will be the ones that do the work to better understand these unique experiences. That's the real numbers game.”
Next steps
The debate will feed into WiM Africa’s forthcoming White Paper on Gen Z Audiences in Africa, featuring contributions from brand leaders, media owners, academics, and Gen Z voices themselves. The white paper will be published in October 2025.
The Real Talk Debate series continues with upcoming editions in Nairobi and Lagos in early 2026.
