Twenty-seven companies in Nigeria are making their entrepreneurial endeavours count against all odds and have been listed in a ranking by the Financial Times and research company Statista among the fastest-growing companies in the country. BusinessDay was a cooperation partner in the research.
In Africa’s biggest economy, higher prices for food, fuel, and other raw materials are squeezing small business owners, forcing them to either cut back on production, fall into debt, or pass on cost increases to customers who are also feeling squeezed.
However, some fledgling start-ups and established powerhouses are defying challenges to dominate the second edition of the FT-Statista 2023 annual ranking of Africa’s fastest-growing companies.
Six of the top 20 companies on the list are from Nigeria, with their operations ranging from financial services to real estate and retail.
The successful Nigerian companies are AFEX Commodities Exchange, MoniePoint, Sankore Securities Ltd, Alpha Morgan Capital Managers Ltd, Neveah Ltd, Bluecamp Ltd, Veritasi Homes and Properties Ltd, Comercio Partners Ltd, Tropical General Investment Ltd, Kawai Technologies Ltd, Paga Group Ltd, Foodco Nigeria Ltd, Rt Briscoe Plc and Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc.
“We’re proud to enter FT Africa’s fastest-growing list for the second time and now ranking as the first fastest-growing in Africa. This is a testament to the hard work and perseverance of everyone at AFEX,” Ayodeji Balogun, group CEO at AFEX, said.
Others are Investment One Financial Services Limited, Trexm Oil and Gas Services Ltd, United Capital Plc, Tripple Gee & Company Plc, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Appzone Ltd, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Blackhouse Media Ltd, Courteville Business Solutions Plc and IHS Nigeria Ltd.
Six of the successful Nigerian companies are listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
According to the methodology of the selection, these companies have achieved the highest compound annual growth in revenues between 2018 and 2021.
To be included in the list of Nigeria’s fastest-growing companies, the revenue generated by the firm must be at least $100,000 in 2018, revenue of at least $1.5 million in 2021, the company must be headquartered in Nigeria, and it is not a subsidiary or branch office of any kind.
“These companies were invited to participate in the competition 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 report methodology said.
The healthy performance of Nigerian companies should come as no surprise, said Eloho Omame, partner at TLcom, a venture capital firm investing in tech-enabled businesses across the continent.
Omame said Nigeria’s youthful population — the median age of its 221 million people is 18 — means there is a huge cohort that is beginning to consume goods and services for the first time, and to interact with the digital products that are solving problems across a range of sectors.
Further findings showed AFEX Commodities, founded in 2014, topped the list, posting a 22,076 percent increase in revenue from N185.7 million in 2018 to N41.1 billion in 2021.
Monipoint, a digital banking platform for businesses, was ranked second; the firm’s revenue grew by 7,372 percent from N837,850 to N62.6 million in 2021.
Sankore Securities Ltd, an investment platform, ranks third with an 810 percent growth in revenue to N16.6 million in 2021 from N1.8 million in 2018. It was followed by Alpha Morgan Capital Managers Ltd, which recorded a 508 percent increase in revenue from N570 million in 2018 to N3.4 billion in 2021.
Neveah Ltd, a commodities and trading company, recorded a 442 percent growth in revenue from N1.1 billion in 2018 to N6.1 billion in 2021. Bluecamp Ltd, a marine and civil construction company, posted a 442 percent revenue growth from N252 million to N1.3 billion.
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Veritasi Homes And Properties Ltd grew its revenue by 357 percent from N4.2 billion in 2018 to N19.4 billion in 2021; Comercio Partners Ltd grew its revenue by 322 percent to N1.5 billion in 2021 from N363 million in 2018; Tropical General Investments grew its investment by 273 percent to N218 billion in 2021 from N58.5 billion.
Kawai Technologies posted 241 percent growth in revenue to be ranked tenth in Africa. It was followed by Paga, a payment platform, which recorded 238 percent revenue growth during the period. Foodco Nigeria Ltd recorded 203.8 percent growth.
Rt Briscoe Plc, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Investment One Financial Services Limited, Trexm Oil And Gas Services Nigeria Ltd, United Capital Plc, Tripple Gee & Company Plc and Fidson Healthcare Plc all recorded revenue growth of 129.5 percent, 120.6 percent, 120.6 percent, 97.7 percent, 95.1 percent, 91.9 percent and 90.1 percent respectively.
Other shortlisted companies such as Appzone Ltd, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Blackhouse Media Ltd, Courteville Business Solutions Plc and IHS Nigeria Ltd also recorded revenue growth of 83.7 percent, 81.2 percent, 74 percent, 53.5 percent, 52.5 percent, 49.5 percent, 48.6 percent and 34.4 percent respectively.
“The Nigerian consumer tends to have a very strong appetite and tends to be willing to try new products and this can fuel growth for businesses, especially tech companies,” Omame said. “Nigeria is a prime destination for investment capital into companies in Africa, even beyond the start-ups.”
