New data reveals that at least 365 companies operating across Africa now generate $1 billion or more in annual revenue, up from 345 in the previous count conducted in 2023, with their collective yearly turnover reaching approximately $1.5 trillion. The figures represent a 36 percent increase in combined revenues over the three-year period, while average revenue per company has climbed 32 percent to $4.1 billion.
The revenue expansion has been heavily driven by commodity sectors, with oil and gas alongside mining accounting for roughly 70 percent of all revenue gains. Thirty companies on the continent now generate over $10 billion annually, compared to just twenty in the 2023 assessment. South Africa remains the primary hub for these large enterprises, hosting 42 percent of all billion-dollar revenue companies despite contributing only 13 percent of the continent’s gross domestic product.
Brandspur Banking News Desk notes that Africa’s five largest economies—South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria, and Morocco—collectively account for 50 percent of continental GDP and house 73 percent of these high-revenue businesses. West Africa recorded the fastest growth in the number of such companies since 2023, now representing 15 percent of the total, up from 10 percent in the prior count.
A notable shift in ownership structure is also underway. Locally owned African corporates now constitute 55 percent of billion-dollar revenue companies, rising from 50 percent in 2023, while subsidiaries of foreign multinationals have declined to approximately 28 percent from roughly 33 percent over the same period. The data indicates that Africa’s large-enterprise ecosystem is expanding in both number and scale, with increasing African ownership participation across key sectors.
