Articles: Opinion

About the brand

Founded in 2004, Mukuru is one of the easiest way to send and receive money around Africa. It is among Africa’s fastest growing financial services company. The brand has over 60 global partners, 42 branches across Africa and has conducted over 50 millions transactions — as of July 2021. Services range from cash transfers, funeral cover, card services, wallet services and groceries.

Having started in the international talk time vouchers and later wider financial services — in May 2022, Mukuru unveiled a new identity to reposition themselves as a global brand. Notably, the change came with a logo refresh and new identity system. In addition, Mukuru recently announced a leaping sponsorship deal with Crystal Palace — an English Premier League football club, Malawi Super League Team; The Mighty Wanderers FC, and a brand ambassador deal with Springbok legend Tendai “The Beast” Mtawarira.

Tendai was also named UNICEF’s Regional Ambassador for Eastern and Southern Africa.

Opinion

Speaking directly to the logo change only, which is part of the branding process but not branding in itself. Not much information has been given by Mukuru on the entire branding process. The old logo worked well for a startup. It had enough character, simplicity and distinction in the wordmark to make it both memorable and recognisable.

However, what didn’t work as well was the mascot. Yes, for being different and grabbing attention — it did the job. The cow seemed to grow on people. But for longevity and functionality, it was too busy. To add to the convolution, the wordmark had little toes added. Quite the illustration. This was all too Barney and friends for a brand that was making big waves on a global level.

The new logo, is a much improved effort at reflecting Mukuru’s international growth and authority as a brand. It’s simple and visually balanced — giving more strength and draw to the glyph. The glyph is made of a series of Ms, creating a sun-like emblem. The mark can be seen superimposed around people, in some marketing collateral, for reinforcement. This serves the brand well, giving a node to some African origins vibe.

It’s a well-designed glyph that can easily be timeless and is incredibly versatile.

For Africans branding for the international market, this is a much-needed trajectory. Before, when brands like Mukuru operated in Zimbabwe, there was little to no formidable competition. Now, effective branding seems to be a growing phenomenon in the country. There was a time when brands only needed to have a working product that’s innovative and gave significant value. You almost didn’t need to focus on effective strategy and good design.
However, with the advent of globalisation, saturated markets and the ubiquity of social media, this is fast changing.

All this to say, we put an approval stamp on this change. It is drastic. Less of an evolution and more of an overhaul. Either way, it was deeply needed for a brand of Mukuru’s reach.