Main companies in Africa 2023, by market value

In 2023, the South African multinational Naspers was the largest company in Africa by market value. It had a market value of over 80.8 billion U.S. dollars. FirstRand, which is also listed in South Africa, ranked second with a value of around 19.1 billion U.S. dollars, followed by Standard Bank Group at roughly 16.3 billion U.S. dollars.

Naspers: an international player from South Africa

Naspers Limited had origin in a publishing company established in South Africa in 1915. The business went public in 1994, when it was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Over the years, Naspers expanded and diversified to become a global leader in the digital and technological market. Specifically, its subsidiary Prosus is among the main internet and online service companies worldwide. In 2023, Naspers’s total assets amounted to around 66 billion U.S. dollars. The total revenue reached approximately 22 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, after increasing steadily from 2013 onwards. Naspers South Africa owns Takealot.com, one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in Africa.

Africa’s stock exchanges

Africa has 29 stock exchanges. The leading bourse on the continent is the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, which also ranked among the largest stock exchanges in Europe, Middle East, and Africa, with a total market capitalization of over 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars as of 2023. The bourse of Nigeria was considered the best performing stock market on the continent in 2020, and the fourth best in 2022. MTN Nigeria and Dangote Cement were the leading companies listed in the Nigerian Exchange Group as of 2031. Additionally, another key stock market in Africa is the Egyptian Stock Exchange, which counted 218 listed companies in 2022.