Discover the Leading 500 Companies in Africa
Jeune Afrique has released its list of the top 500 influential businesses in Africa after studying over 1,200 companies.
The Covid pandemic and war in Ukraine have negatively affected companies in Europe. The business environment is now unstable and unpredictable, which presents challenges but also opportunities. Despite the difficulties, some companies have managed to succeed by implementing innovative strategies to adapt to unexpected events. These strategies have helped them overcome external disruptions and remain competitive.
Jeune Afrique has compiled a list of the top 500 businesses in Africa that have made the most of their opportunities in the 2021 fiscal year. This ranking is the third highest overall revenue ranking since the inception of this type of analysis.
The ability of businesses to withstand the impact of Covid-19 and the economic instability that has affected the region due to various factors like the fall in oil prices and raw materials has been proven. It is noteworthy that mining and hydrocarbon companies have played a significant role in achieving these positive outcomes.
The company Sonatrach from Algeria takes the top spot on this list with a revenue of 34 billion dollars and a profit of over 5.5 billion dollars. This huge company from Algeria has seen a 75% rise in its sales in dollars that it exports.
Sonangol, an oil company from Angola, made a comeback on the Top 15 list despite experiencing a 10% production reduction in 2021. They climbed eight spots on the list because of an increase in prices.
The economy of the continent has experienced a significant increase.
In the rural areas, South Africa takes the lead with 8 businesses in the Top 10 and accounting for nearly half of the revenue in the Top 500. However, this pattern appears to be declining annually. Following South Africa, companies from Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, and Algeria account for between 6.5% to 9% of the total revenue.
There are four recently added participants who have taken a spot in the Top 100 list. They go by the names of Airtel Africa, ENI Angola, Société Marocaine de Distribution, and Sodiam, and are based in Nigeria, Angola, Morocco, and Angola respectively.
As per the African Development Bank (AfDB), in the matter of expansion, Africa's GDP leaped by 4.8% in 2021, with Sub-Saharan Africa experiencing a 4.5% rise, following a decrease of 2.1% in 2020.
With the exception of South Sudan and Equatorial Guinea, all African countries experienced growth in 2021, with some even achieving some of the highest rates on a global scale. For example, Rwanda had an impressive growth rate of 10.9%, Morocco experienced a growth rate of 7.9%, while Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, and the DRC all had growth rates of 7.4%, 7.5%, and 6.2% respectively.
Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa, which are considered the biggest players in the continent's economy, experienced less impressive growth rates. Nigeria had 3.6% growth, Egypt had 3.3% growth, and South Africa had a growth rate of 4.9%.
The performances in 2021 wiped out the series of crises that occurred in the mid-2010s, with South Africa being affected to a lesser extent.
