The Financial Times, and research company, Statista have released a report on Africa’s fastest growing companies 2023. The list highlights how the top 100 African businesses from across different sectors—fintech, renewable energy, healthcare, commodities and agriculture—kept their businesses afloat while most of the world’s businesses shut down.

The report ranks the top 100 companies according to the highest compound annual growth (CAGR) in revenues between 2018 and 2021.

Topping the list is Nigerian-based startup Afex Commodities Exchange and Moniepoint. Afex Commodities Exchange, which provides brokerage and trade finance services for commodities such as maize, sorghum, cocoa, and rice, comes in first place while Moniepoint, a company that offers banking services for small businesses, came in  second. 

Kenya’s Wasoko, which headed the list the previous year, comes in third. The e-commerce company helps small traders access inventory through more efficient supply chains in seven African countries. 

Althoughfintech and IT/software sectors were highly represented in the list, an extensive diversity of corporate activity was also present on the list. The fastest-growing companies include a  Namibian winery—Silverland Vineyards, a Kenyan fish farm—Victory Farms, a South African company that conducts remote hearing tests—Hearx and renewable energy companies, Altech and Easy Solar in the Democratic Republic of Congo and another company in Sierra Leone.

The criteria for being adjudged on the list of Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies is for companies to have generated “revenues of at least $100,000 in 2018 and revenue of at least US $1.5mn generated in 2021”. Also, listed companies must be “independent (the company is not a subsidiary or branch office of any kind) and the company’s operational headquarters are located in one of the African countries.” Companies’ revenue between the watch period (2018-2021) should be “internally stimulated” and purely organic.