About

Top Zed (Zambian) Brands and where we started from.

It’s been an incredibly exciting couple of years (since 2013), watching your nominations and votes stream in via our Twitter Handle @TopZedBrands and the online nominations/voting form we developed.   

We especially thank the early adopters (and supporters, the usual suspects and leaders of the Zambia Twitter landscape – you know who you are! 

Since 2013, we have been presented with interesting results. It has also highlighted that we need to continue to clarify our guiding principles. Sharing these principles publicly is in the interest of fairness and transparency. 

Our raison d'être: Promote (for FREE) Zambian brands (products or services). 

Here are our guiding principles:

1. Ours is a movement (you are encouraged to be part of it)! We see #TopZedBrands as a movement that recognises Zambian success, we demonstrate what is required for other Zambian brands to succeed, and educate business leaders of the importance of business etiquette like good customer service. We exist to reward Zambian brands that offer:

• Locally made products or services you can depend on

• Good customer service

• Impressive visual brand (logo and marketing message, packaging, or in-store visual brand)

• Product or service you feel is export-ready, and should be (or is already on) on international shelves

2. When nominations & votes are open - #TopZedBrands does not accept people nominations – whilst we appreciate and respect the people making a true difference to Zambia, #TopZedBrands is about Zambian products and services brands, not people brands.

3. All companies operating in Zambia can be nominated. This includes:

• Small start-up business that is set out in building their brand, growing businesses, established brands, and franchises.

• Companies fully owned by Zambians and mixed ownership. We believe that every business operating in Zambia, wherever they are from, have the same challenges to make their business a success. To be successful, all businesses must offer a strong brand experience and quality products and services and good customer service.

For updates on nomination & vote announcements follow us via 

@TopZedBrands (on Twitter using the hashtags #TopZedBrands, #BuyZambian, #BuyLocal, #BuyZambianFirst and #MadeInZambia 

4. Anyone affiliated with #TopZedBrands should not be nominated. Anyone that is, will graciously stand down. This includes organisers and judges.

Source: The Best Of Zambia* 

*The Best of Zambia was originally involved (in the setup of this social media campaign)  in the 2013 and continues to be one of our biggest supporters (silently). This post has been edited!