Africa’s fastest-growing companies are no longer in South Africa

In recent times, there has been a decrease in money flowing to emerging markets, and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has affected start-up companies. The FT/ Statista 2023 annual ranking of Africa’s fastest-growing companies (listed here) looks back at a time when businesses showed remarkable growth despite the challenges of the pandemic.

The ranking shows that companies in sectors like fintech, renewable energy, healthcare, commodities, and agriculture managed to grow their operations while many countries were under lockdown.

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Although the ranking lists the 100 fastest-growing companies in the continent, only a single South African company ranks among the top 10, reflecting the growing difficult challenges that the country has been facing. In fact, South Africa represents about 30% of the list, a far cry from the overwhelming majority of the past.

Despite South Africa’s domestic issues, the list reflects a growing sectorial diversity and shows Nigeria and Kenya as the most innovative countries. The full report can be seen here.