{"id":878904,"date":"2026-10-08T15:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T13:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=878904"},"modified":"2026-10-08T15:49:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T13:49:37","slug":"major-south-african-bank-ranks-higher-than-samsung-nike-and-chanel-as-one-of-the-best-companies-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/878904\/major-south-african-bank-ranks-higher-than-samsung-nike-and-chanel-as-one-of-the-best-companies-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Major South African bank ranks higher than Samsung, Nike, and Chanel as one of the best companies in the world"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

12 South African companies have been listed as the best places to work globally, according to a new Forbes ranking, with Nedbank placing the highest in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Forbes World’s Best Employers<\/a> index ranks hundreds of international businesses to identify the best places to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rankings survey thousands of employees and base the list on several metrics, including salary, career advancement opportunities, and work-life balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In total, 900 companies from around the world were included in the list, with 12 being based in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The highest-ranked South African company was Nedbank, which ranked 26th globally, up from 49th in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This placement put the South African company higher than groups such as Samsung, Chanel, and Marriott International.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The banking giant, which was founded in 1888, said the ranking reaffirmed its place as one of the best employers in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nedbank’s executive head of organisation effectiveness, Andee Uren, said the placement in Forbes’ ranking was a “significant achievement” for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Being recognised as Africa’s leading banking and financial services employer is a significant achievement for Nedbank and a testament to the exceptional people who bring our purpose and values to life every day,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Ranking among the top employers globally demonstrates that organisations from Africa can compete with the very best in the world”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uren noted that the company’s placement in the global rankings was important, as it reflected its efforts to create a positive work environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are committed to creating an environment where employees feel empowered to innovate, grow and make a meaningful impact.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nedbank was not the only South African bank on the list; Standard Bank, Absa, FirstRand, Investec, and Sanlam were also mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside of banking, companies such as MTN, Sasol, and Mediclinic were ranked, demonstrating representation from several South African business sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South African Airways (SAA) also made the list, as the only state-owned company recognised in the rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South African companies named in the World’s Best Employers list by Forbes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Company name<\/strong><\/td>Global ranking<\/strong><\/td>South African ranking<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Nedbank<\/td>26<\/td>1<\/td><\/tr>
Standard Bank<\/td>54<\/td>2<\/td><\/tr>
Absa<\/td>98<\/td>3<\/td><\/tr>
FirstRand<\/td>104<\/td>4<\/td><\/tr>
MTN<\/td>133<\/td>5<\/td><\/tr>
Investec<\/td>197<\/td>6<\/td><\/tr>
Sasol<\/td>298<\/td>7<\/td><\/tr>
Mediclinic<\/td>460<\/td>8<\/td><\/tr>
Sanlam<\/td>470<\/td>9<\/td><\/tr>
Sappi<\/td>680<\/td>10<\/td><\/tr>
Adcorp<\/td>844<\/td>11<\/td><\/tr>
South African Airways<\/td>866<\/td>12<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Not the first win<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For some companies, Forbes’ ranking is not the first international recognition they have received for being among the best employers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanlam was previously listed as the best South African employer<\/a> in a Time magazine list, ranking 388th globally out of 1,000 businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, Sanlam CEO Paul Hanratty said the global ranking was a proud moment for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are proud to see Sanlam acknowledged on this global stage,” he said. “The recognition reflects the commitment of our people and the trust our clients place in us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Forbes index, Sanlam ranked 470th globally and 9th in South Africa, and was one of only four companies named in both lists, alongside Absa, MTN, and Standard Bank<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Globally, the Forbes World’s Best Employers list named Microsoft as the best overall company to work for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The top ten was dominated by American technology companies such as Apple, Alphabet, and Nvidia, which have all taken centre-stage for their rapid growth in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other international companies in the top ten included Shopify, a Canadian software company; the Japanese technology giant Sony; and Lego from Denmark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The list is not comprehensive, with businesses analysed by Forbes only if they have over 1,000 employees and an international presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To create the index, Forbes said it surveyed over 300,000 employees worldwide, gathering data on numerous companies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several South African companies have been named among the best in the world in a new Forbes ranking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":859574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"failed","_sma_x_autopost_error":"Instagram publishing failed: Instagram returned HTTP 400: Media ID is not available","_sma_x_post_id":"2108180877595316505","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2230447627775636","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[1896,28,1799,1675,2880],"class_list":["post-878904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-forbes","tag-mtn","tag-nedbank","tag-saa","tag-sanlam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=878904"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":878979,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878904\/revisions\/878979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/859574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=878904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=878904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=878904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}