South African Businesses Lead Top 20 Companies in Africa Rankings

South African businesses are reportedly dominating the rankings among the top 20 leading companies in Africa

These South African companies constitute the overwhelming majority of the top 20 companies on the continent, accounting for 80% or 16 out of 20, leaving only four non-South African companies.

Notably absent from the top rankings are several companies from Zimbabwe, including Delta Corporation, the country’s largest brewer, Innscor Africa Holdings, a significant manufacturing and retail conglomerate, and Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, the largest mobile telecommunications operator. Analysts have attributed this absence to persistent exchange rate distortions and other economic challenges that make conducting business in Zimbabwe exceptionally difficult for corporations.

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An intriguing observation is that several of the South African companies listed are managed by black Zimbabweans, suggesting that local businesses could have made the list under more favorable economic conditions.

According to Statista, a global data and business intelligence platform, South African multinational Naspers Limited holds the top position as the largest company in Africa by market value. Established in 1915 as a publishing house in South Africa, Naspers later transitioned into a major player in the global technology and digital sectors after going public in 1994.

Naspers boasts a market value exceeding US$49.6 billion, followed by Anglo American Platinum, another South African resources firm, with a value of approximately US$36.4 billion.

Other notable companies in the top rankings include Standard Bank Group, MTN Group, Vodacom Group, Capitec Bank Holdings, Sasol, Kumba Iron Ore, Gold Fields, Safaricom (Kenya), Maroc Telecom (Morocco), Sibanye-Stillwater, Dangote Cement (Nigeria), Absa Group, Sanlam, MTN Nigeria, Attijariwafa Bank (Morocco), and AngloGold Ashanti.