Africa’s Consumer Sentiment Returns to Positive Territory at 4.8 in June as Consumers Move from Geopolitical Shock to Adaptation

The Kasi Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS) provides a monthly reading of how African consumers are navigating economic conditions, capturing shifts in confidence across personal finances, local economies and national outlooks. To make changes in consumer sentiment easier to interpret, the ICS can be viewed through four market regimes: Expansion (16+), Growth (8–15), Slowdown (0–7) and Contraction (<0). These regimes provide a simple way to understand whether consumer confidence is strengthening, moderating or contracting, and whether consumers are likely to be more open to spending or increasingly cautious.

Africa’s consumer sentiment rebounded by 7.0 points in June 2026, rising from -2.2 in May to 4.8. This moved the continent out of a Contraction regime and into Slowdown, marking a meaningful improvement in the consumer outlook. But the recovery remains incomplete. Africa’s consumer sentiment has now returned to positive territory after falling from Growth (8–15) to Slowdown (0–7), around the period when the Iran war began. Although sentiment has since recovered from its May low of -2.2 to 4.8 in June, the continent remains in the Slowdown regime, suggesting that consumers may be adapting to the ongoing uncertainty without yet returning to the confidence levels seen at the start of the year.

However, the recovery remains uneven. While sentiment improved across several markets, the majority of the largest markets tracked remained below zero. The June results therefore point to a recovery in continental sentiment rather than a broad-based return to optimism.

The movement also reflects sharply diverging consumer experiences across markets. Some countries saw substantial improvements in confidence, while others continued to experience negative sentiment or further deterioration. This makes the direction of change as important as the absolute score: markets with negative sentiment may still be recovering, while markets with positive sentiment may be losing momentum.

Consumer confidence improved across 6 of 9 African markets, with three moving out of contraction

Cameroon (16.8 | ▲ Up from 5.9)

Consumer sentiment strengthened sharply, moving from Slowdown into Expansion.

DRC (-8.5 | ▼ Down from -3.5)

Confidence weakened further, remaining within Contraction.

Ghana (41.8 | ▲ Up from 35.8)

Sentiment strengthened further, remaining firmly within Expansion and continuing to record the strongest consumer outlook among tracked markets.

Ivory Coast (-17.7 | ▲ Up from -23.7)

Confidence improved significantly but remained firmly within Contraction, indicating that sentiment remains deeply negative despite the recovery.

Kenya (-3.6 | ▲ Up from -11.3)

Sentiment improved significantly but remained within Contraction, recovering from a particularly weak May reading.

Nigeria (-3.5 | ▼ Down from 2.6)

Sentiment weakened, moving from Slowdown into Contraction.

South Africa (-0.7 | ▲ Up from -5.5)

Confidence improved but remained marginally within Contraction.

Tanzania (2.9 | ▲ Up from -10.0)

Sentiment recorded the strongest recovery in June, moving from Contraction into Slowdown.

Uganda (12.5 | ▲ Up from 9.6)

Confidence strengthened further, remaining within Growth.

Brands should invest for growth where confidence is rising and protect value where consumers remain financially cautious

June shows a continent moving from broad-based weakness toward a more fragmented recovery. Sentiment improved across most tracked markets, but the strength of that recovery varied considerably. Ghana and Uganda continued to show strong positive confidence, while DRC and Tanzania recorded substantial rebounds. At the same time, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire remained below zero, showing that improved sentiment does not necessarily mean a return to positive consumer confidence.

For brands and businesses, the implication is clear: consumer confidence is recovering. Markets with strengthening sentiment may offer greater room for growth and discretionary consumption, while markets that remain negative will continue to require stronger value propositions and more cautious demand assumptions. The opportunity lies in tracking not only where confidence stands, but also which markets are gaining momentum, and which are losing it.

About Kasi Insight

Kasi Insight is Africa's leading decision intelligence firm specializing in high-frequency consumer and economic data across Africa. Through its proprietary survey infrastructure and analytics platform, Kasi provides real-time insights that help organizations anticipate economic shifts, understand consumer behavior, and make better strategic decisions.

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