Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa host the majority of little-known billion-worth start-ups, in what Financial Times says are the fastest growing in Africa.
Financial Times made the revelation in its latest report dubbed Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies 3023.
In its second year, the report focuses on companies in sectors including fintech, renewable energy, healthcare, commodities and agriculture.
According to the survey, the firms grew their businesses while much of the world shut down.
Growing Start-ups in Africa
AFEX based in Nigeria made it to the top of the list. It deals specifically Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing and had Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) OF 505.2
Moniepoint ALSO FROM Nigeria came in second. The company deals in Fintech, Financial Services & Insurance.
Sokowatch from Kenya was among the top three promising firms. It is the third fastest growing start-up on the continent.
It delivers fast-moving consumer goods to kiosks and shops in Kenya’s fragmented informal markets.
Altech, a Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)-based startup was fourth. The company deals with energy and utilities and had $17 million in revenues as of 2021.
Africaworks, a Mauritius based company made it to position five. The company focuses on real estate.
On the other hand, Deimos, in South Africa was position six and focuses on IT and Software.
Dayster Power from Mauritius deals in Energy & Utilities and is worth $6.4 million.
Sankore from Nigeria is placed seventh and is worth $16.6 million with 108.2% CAGR. The company deals in Fintech, Financial Services & Insurance.
Easy Solar is a Sierra Leone-based start-up and had 107% CAGR. It deals in energy and Utility valued at $7.2 million.
Chari at position ten is based in morocco and deals in E-commerce. Its total revenue is $1.8 million with 95% CAGR.
Funding Gaps
After a record-breaking 2022, with almost $5 billion raised, African start-ups now face a funding challenge, the amount raised by new ventures being less than half of what it was at the same time in 2022.
By the end of April 2023, African startups had raised $536 million, compared to $950 million in the same period last year, according to data compiled by the online database Africa The Big Deal.