The ranking: Africa's Fastest Growing Companies 2024

© Benson Ibeabuchi, for the FT

List of 50 includes many businesses that have overcome the Covid pandemic and the continent’s economic problems

The third year of our now expanded ranking of Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies (below) comes against a background in which many economies are struggling to recover from the Covid pandemic. Economic growth in Africa, overall, in 2023 was 3.2 per cent, according to the IMF — lower than in Asia, which grew at nearly 5 per cent. And, given the African continent’s fast population expansion, this underperformance is even starker in per capita terms. Rather than closing the gap with wealthier regions, on aggregate, Africa is falling further behind.

Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies 2024

Rank	Company Name	Brand	Country	Sector	Absolute growth rate(%)	Compoudannual growth rate (CAGR,%)	Revenues 2022 ($mn)	Revenues 2019 ($mn)	Number of employees 2022 :	Number of employees 2019		Founding  year
50	AfriGrown	AfriGrown	South Africa	Professional, Scientific & Technical Services	260.63	53.35	4.67	1.47	31	19		2008
49	Paratus Namibia Holdings Ltd.	Paratus Namibia Holdings	Namibia	Fintech, Financial Services & Insurance	262.86	53.67	26.63	130.04	202	450		2017
48	KudiGo Inc	Verifibuy	Ghana	E-commerce	266.25	54.14	1.78	0.49	18	34		2017
47	Veritasi Homes And Properties Ltd.	Veritasi Homes	Nigeria	Real estate	267.56	54.33	77.94	24.95	33	23		2017
46	Solar Md Pty Ltd.	Solar MD	South Africa	Electrical Manufacturing	272.1	54.96	24.76	7.54	75	35		2014
45	Sundry Markets Ltd.	Marketsquare	Nigeria	Retail	281.44	56.25	128.42	39.62	2,098	922		2014
44	Good Nature Agro Products Ltd.	Good Nature Agro	Zambia	Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing	291.4	57.59	9.8	2.5	171	31		2014
43	Luxity Pty Ltd.	Luxity	South Africa	E-commerce	297.61	58.42	2.98	0.75	23	12		2015
42	Turaco Ltd.	Turaco	Kenya	Fintech, Financial Services & Insurance	303.43	59.19	2.28	0.56	60	37		2019
41	Easy Solar (Sl) Ltd.	Easy Solar	Sierra Leone	Energy & Utilities	303.53	59.21	6.76	1.67	256	150		2016
40	Powergen East Africa Renewable Energy Ltd.	Powergen Renewable Energy	Kenya	Energy & Utilities	307.48	59.72	3.44	0.85	104	146		2011
39	GoMyCode	GoMyCode	Tunisia	Education & Social Services	309.4	59.97	2.1	0.51	130	40		2018
38	Fleetcam Pty Ltd.	Fleetcam	South Africa	IT & Software	311.63	60.26	3.11	0.86	44	21		2014
37	CSSi South Africa Pty Ltd.	CSSi South Africa	South Africa	IT & Software	315.02	60.7	44.16	12.06	82	37		2000
36	Innovo Networks Pty Ltd.	Innovo Networks	South Africa	Media & Telecomunications	316.41	60.88	1.69	0.46	8	5		2013
35	Aces Africa Pty Ltd.	Aces	South Africa	Energy & Utilities	336.65	62.49	3.96	1.04	54	20		2013
34	Quick Mart Ltd.	Quick Mart	Kenya	Retail	346.72	64.69	294.86	76.34	5,309	1,734		2006
33	Open Vantage Pty Ltd.	Open Vantage	South Africa	IT & Software	362.22	66.58	3	0.74	53	28		2017
32	Herholdt’S Group Pty Ltd.	The Herholdt’S Group	South Africa	Energy & Utilities	405.66	71.64	273.7	61.34	208	161		1989
31	West African Soy Industries Ltd.	Wasil	Nigeria	Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing	446	76.09	248.71	53.6	762	174		2015
30	Hubtel Ltd.	Hubtel	Ghana	Fintech, Financial Services & Insurance	448.97	76.41	31.95	5.82	238	60		2007
29	Natural Extracts Industries Ltd.	Natural Extracts Industries	Tanzania	Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing	496.85	81.39	2.99	0.51	135	39		2011
28	Terragon Holdings Mauritius	Terragon	Mauritius	Advertising & Marketing	568.23	88.35	19.45	2.91	109	106		2017
27	Zendascape Pty	Aura	South Africa	IT & Software	596.45	90.97	3.73	0.61	63	15		2017
26	Consilient Ltd. Company	Consilient	Somalia/Somaliland	Professional, Scientific & Technical Services	599.74	91.27	2.58	0.37	35	15		2019
25	Lipa Later Ltd.	Lipa Later	Kenya	Fintech, Financial Services & Insurance	606.44	91.88	7.17	1.01	73	12		2017
24	The Seamless Company Ltd.	Seamlesshr	Nigeria	IT & Software	700.66	100.06	2.62	0.38	160	39		2018
23	Globe Medex For Trade And Distribution	Globe Medex	Egypt	Pharmaceuticals & Cosmetics	799.97	108.01	2.55	0.28	12	6		2017
22	Marchiche Global Solutions	Marchiche Global Solutions	Morocco	Professional, Scientific & Technical Services	858.61	112.43	10.34	1.14	66	104		2008
21	Tymebank Ltd.	Tymebank	South Africa	Fintech, Financial Services & Insurance	885.69	114.41	40.41	4.65	350	230		2018
20	Evolution Foods International Pty Ltd.	Evolution Foods International	South Africa	Food & Beverages	911.04	116.23	2.3	0.26	1	1		2017
19	Bisedge Ltd.	Bisedge	Nigeria	Logistics & Transportation	926.54	117.33	3.14	0.36	372	20		2016
18	Thrive Agric Ltd.	ThriveAgric	Nigeria	Professional, Scientific & Technical Services	964.9	120.01	73.26	8.1	223	30		2016
17	Balancell Energy Pty Ltd.	Balancell Energy	South Africa	Manufacturing	984.95	121.38	11.4	1.19	40	8		2017
16	Alpha Morgan Capital Managers Ltd.	Alpha Morgan Capital	Nigeria	Fintech, Financial Services & Insurance	994.85	122.05	13.79	1.48	59	22		2012
15	Deimos Cloud Pty Ltd.	Deimos Cloud	South Africa	IT & Software	1,196.11	134.9	15.23	1.33	82	24		2018
14	Lapaire Glasses Côte D’Ivoire S.A.R.L.	Lapaire	Ivory Coast	Health Care & Life Sciences	1,344.04	143.52	3.42	0.24	323	24		2018
13	Agro Supply Ltd.	Agro Supply	Uganda	Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing	1,466.77	150.23	2.29	0.15	12	4		2017
12	Mycredit Investments Ltd.	FairMoney	Nigeria	Fintech, Financial Services & Insurance	1,719.13	163	142.93	9.25	542	45		2017
11	AfricaWorks	Africaworks	Mauritius	Real estate	1,847.88	169.06	7.45	0.38	77	12		2017
10	HearX Group Pty Ltd.	HearX Group	South Africa	Health Care & Life Sciences	2,056.82	178.36	12.28	0.57	172	42		2016
9	Kentegra Biotechnology Epz Ltd.	Kentegra Biotechnology	Kenya	Health Care & Life Sciences	2,333.05	189.77	3.76	0.15	194	42		2017
8	Yellow Digital Retailers Ltd.	Yellow	Mauritius	Energy & Utilities	2,892.22	210.45	28.77	0.96	85	17		2018
7	Enara Group	Enara	Egypt	Energy & Utilities	3,265.65	222.87	4.31	0.15	36	3		2018
6	Chari.Co	Chari	Morocco	E-commerce	4,107.31	247.8	6.31	0.15	187	10		2019
5	Afex Commodities Exchange Ltd.	Afex	Nigeria	Fintech, Financial Services & Insurance	5,733.12	287.82	415.54	8.38	391	59		2014
4	Moniepoint Inc.	Moniepoint	Nigeria	Fintech, Financial Services & Insurance	7,979.35	332.31	148.66	1.84	962	111		2015
3	Resourgenix Pty Ltd.	Resourgenix	South Africa	Employment Services	26,441.42	542.65	33.62	0.14	91	5		2019
2	Kyosk Digital	Kyosk.App	Mauritius	E-commerce	41,644.81	647.37	155.35	0.37	202	20		2019
1	Omniretail Inc.	OmniRetail	Nigeria	E-commerce	66,294.88	772.39	139.88	0.25	896	11		2019

Nigeria, one of the continent’s three biggest economies, spent 2023 in economic crisis as prices spiralled upwards and the naira went into freefall. Nevertheless, it still had the second highest number of companies in our ranking of Africa’s fastest-growing, compiled in conjunction with research company Statista. South Africa, where growth has also been lacklustre, was home to the highest number.

Even generally more dynamic economies, such as Kenya — which, like many African countries is labouring under high public debt — struggled to get out of the low-growth doldrums as inflation gnawed at disposable income and the government squeezed expenditure.

“Our purchasing power has really suffered,” says Daniel Kobei, a community leader, looking around the empty terrace of a once-thriving grilled meat restaurant in Nakuru, Kenya’s fourth-largest city. That left little money to spend on luxuries like eating out, he says. Abebe Selassie, the head of the IMF’s Africa department, acknowledges that Covid-19 set economies back. “I worry about the effect that the pandemic has had on poverty, particularly in the most fragile countries,” he says.

Still, he points out that many businesses have managed to survive, and even prosper. “Much of the private sector, particularly the private sector that’s not directly reliant on government business, has shown incredible resilience,” he says.

The FT-Statista list reveals the type of companies that, even in hard times, have managed to grow, often by disrupting markets. Stéphane Bacquaert, managing partner at Adenia, a private equity firm specialising in Africa, says problem solving was key. He cites Herholdt’s Group (number 32 in the ranking) which provides solar equipment to homes and businesses in South Africa, a country bedevilled by power cuts.

Herholdt’s pivoted from legacy electrical equipment to renewable energy after a tussle between its family owners. Adenia backed the younger generation and the business has taken off.

“Anyone can tell you electricity is a huge problem in South Africa,” Bacquaert says. “So, if you solve that problem, you must have a winner.”

He says this is also true of Quick Mart (number 34), which bucked a difficult retail environment by transferring lessons learned in eastern Europe to Kenya, in east Africa.

This year, our ranking has a wider geographical spread of companies than before. The big newcomer is Morocco, with 12 companies in the top 125 against just three last time. Mauritian-domiciled companies also did well with nine winners, against four in 2022. South Africa had 42 companies in the list, followed by Nigeria’s 25, while Kenya tied third at 12.

Again, it was a Nigerian company — this time Omniretail — that came top. As in previous years, the winning business is a B2B ecommerce platform that helps small retailers, kiosk owners, and market traders digitise their business.

Mauritian-domiciled Kyosk.App (number 2) — which describes its business as “empowering traditional African retailers, farmers and their customers with a digital first and data-led distribution platform” — performs a similar role. Founded in Nairobi, it has since expanded to Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria.

Still, 2023 was “a rough year for the tech ecosystem”, according to Partech, an investment platform for tech and digital companies. Its annual survey of venture capital investment in Africa showed a 46 per cent drop from 2022, to $3.5bn, raised from 547 deals, which was also fewer than in recent years.

However, Lexi Novitske, general partner at Norrsken22, an Africa-focused tech growth fund, says there are signs the market has now bottomed out. Since November, venture capital firms have raised more than $650mn in funding for Africa, with Norskenn22, itself, raising $205mn.

Novitske says valuations have become attractive again after an investment exodus last year. She prefers asset-light companies, especially those harnessing AI, some of which are capable of providing solutions to global problems. She highlights HearX (number 10), a South African-based company that uses AI to diagnose and treat hearing problems, and now sells its products in the US.

“African companies are not only solving local or regional problems but global ones,” observes Aniko Szigetvari, a founding partner at Atlantica Ventures, a pan-African venture capital fund. “If you figure it out in Africa, you can take it to other markets.”

Szigetvari cites Lelapa AI, which transcribes chatbot messages into African languages such as isiZulu and Sesotho, as an example of a company with transferable technology. Another, from this year’s ranking (number 21) is Tymebank, a neobank that is taking its South African-developed model to the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore.

Nevertheless, there are other big hurdles for companies, over and above the sluggish macro-environment. Businesses frequently mention currency and regulator risk, and negative investor sentiment as a result of political and security upheavals — including in the coup-prone Sahel.

For Valerie Labi, though, whose German-Ghanaian start-up Wahu is manufacturing e-bikes in Accra, the real problems can be more mundane. She blames bureaucracy both in Ghana and in cross-border trade for hampering ambitious start-ups. African banks, she says, are reluctant to finance innovative start-ups like hers.

However, Bacquaert of Adenia says there are some signs that local pension fund investment is at last finding its way to fast-growing start-ups, with Ghana, Kenya and South Africa leading the way. “This has opened up a pool of money,” he says. “And you don’t have to pitch them on the African story because they already understand it.”

Methodology

Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies 2024 lists 125 companies, ordered by the highest compound annual growth in revenues (CAGR) between 2019 and 2022.

Application phase

Through research in company databases and other public sources, Statista identified thousands of companies in Africa as potential candidates for the FT ranking. These companies were invited to participate in the research by post and email. The project was advertised online and in print, allowing all eligible companies to register via the websites created by Statista and the Financial Times.

The application phase ran from October 9, 2023 to February 29, 2024. The submitted revenue figures had to be certified by the chief financial officer, chief executive, or an executive committee of the company.

Criteria for inclusion in the list

To be included in the list of the Africa’s fastest growing companies, a company had to meet the following criteria:

Revenue of at least US$100,000 generated in 2019 (1);

Revenue of at least US$1.5mn generated in 2022 (1);

An independent company (not a subsidiary or branch office of any kind);

Headquartered in an African country (2);

Revenue growth between 2019 and 2022 that was primarily organic (ie “internally” stimulated).

(1) Value equivalent in local currency for companies not reporting in US dollars. For the ranking, a conversion of all figures to US dollars was performed using yearly average exchange rates for 2019 and 2022. The CAGR provided has been computed based on reporting currency.

(2) All countries in the African continent were eligible to participate

Evaluation and quality assurance

All data reported by the companies was processed and checked by Statista. Missing data entries (employee numbers, address data, etc) were researched in detail. Companies that did not fulfil the criteria for inclusion in the ranking were omitted.

The minimum CAGR required to be included in the ranking this year was 8.62 per cent.

Disclaimer

The ranking of the Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies 2024 was created through a complex procedure. Although the search was very extensive, the ranking does not claim to be complete, as some companies did not want to make their figures public or did not participate for other reasons.