The Financial Times and Statista published their fifth annual ranking of Africa's fastest-growing companies, and South Africa took 51 of the 130 spots, more than Kenya and Nigeria combined.
Kenya placed 17, Nigeria 16, Mauritius 12 and Tunisia got 6 for its first appearance in the top five. Egypt's Thndr, a digital brokerage, took the number one spot overall, ending a three-year run of Nigerian firms at the top.
Interesting insights on Africa's fastest-growing companies
The ranking measures compound annual revenue growth between 2021 and 2024, with figures certified at the CEO or CFO level and verified by Statista. Over 9,000 companies were evaluated, and the minimum CAGR to make the cut was 9.27%.
Fintech, IT and software businesses account for nearly 40% of the list. SA names that surfaced include GoTyme Bank (formerly TymeBank, jumping to 23rd from 29th last year), Nedbank at 15 and PayMeNow, the earned-wage access startup whose revenue grew from $1.23m in 2021 to $7.28m in 2024.
The methodology penalises companies that grow in depreciating local currencies, which is most of why Nigeria's count fell from 28 to 16, and part of why SA's relatively stable rand quietly helped local firms stand out.
Crossfin's Dean Sparrow told the FT that SA's strength is talent depth and a relatively stable operating environment, and Absa chief economist Jeff Gable noted that load shedding has effectively disappeared as a brake on business. Norrsken22's Lexi Novitske told the FT her fund is "putting the brakes on" Nigerian investments and rotating capital toward Egypt and SA.
SA builds solid companies
The SA companies on this list are not the splashy seed rounds of 2021 to 2023; they are businesses with audited revenues, real customers and the kind of compounding growth that needs three to five years of operating in a stable environment.
It means SA is providing the environment companies need to grow: Cheaper engineering talent than Lagos or Nairobi at the senior end, a deeper capital markets stack, and a regulatory environment that, while frustrating, is at least predictable.
None of that is glamorous, but it's exactly what shows up in a five-year revenue CAGR.
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