Top most valuable firms across Africa
FirstRand
FirstRand is a portfolio of integrated financial services businesses that offer a universal set of transactional, lending, investment and insurance products. It is one of the financial services providers licensed by the Reserve Bank of South Africa, the national banking regulator. Listed on the JSE and the Namibian Stock Exchange, FirstRand Limited is one of the largest financial institutions in South Africa and provides banking, insurance and investment products and services to retail, commercial, corporate and public sector customers. FirstRand executes its strategy through a portfolio of leading financial services franchises; Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), the corporate and investment bank; First National Bank (FNB), the retail and commercial bank; WesBank, an instalment finance provider; and Ashburton Investments. The company valuation currently stands at $12.55 billion (Sh1.41 trillion).
Vodacom Group
Vodacom Group is owned in a 50/50 partnership by the South African telecommunications giant Telkom and British multinational operator Vodafone. On 6 November 2008, Vodafone announced that it had agreed to increase its stake to 64.5 per cent, and Telkom said that it would spin off its remaining holding by listing it on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).On 1 April 2011, Vodacom officially unveiled its new change in branding from blue to red, using the same style as its parent company, Vodafone. The South African based mobile operator offers data, business and messaging services to 55 million customers across 12 countries. The company is valued at $12.48 billion (Sh1.4 trillion).
Maroc Telkom
Maroc Telecom is the main telecommunications company in Morocco. Currently employing around 11,178 employees, it is the largest telecommunications network in the country with 8 regional delegations and 220 offices present across Morocco. The company is listed on both the Casablanca Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris. Maroc Telecom introduced fibre optics to the country with speeds up to 200 Mbits/s. The company is valued at $11.08 billion (Sh1.24 trillion).
Prosus
Prosus N.V or Prosus, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate company that is the international Internet assets division of South African multinational Naspers. The global investment group is the largest consumer Internet company in Europe, and among the largest technology investors in the world. Prosus holds a portfolio of international Internet firms, including fintech, and food delivery systems. Products and services of its businesses and investments are used by more than 1.5 billion people in 89 markets. Prosus’s ordinary shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam and as a secondary inward-listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The company is valued at $119.14 billion (Sh13.4 trillion).
Financière Richemont
Compagnie Financière Richemont which is commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury holding goods company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells jewellery, watches, leather goods, pens, firearms, clothing and accessories. Richemont is publicly traded as CFR on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Securities Exchange. The company is currently valued at $28 billion (Sh3.144 trillion).
Standard Bank Group
Standard Bank of South Africa is a major South African lender and financial services group. It is Africa’s biggest lender by assets. The bank now known as Standard Bank was formed in 1862 as a South African subsidiary of the British overseas bank Standard Bank under the name The Standard Bank of South Africa. The South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SAcsi) of 2015 and 2016 rated Standard Bank as being lowest among South African banks in terms of customer service. The company is valued at $10.12 billion (Sh1.14 trillion).
Safaricom
Safaricom PLC is a listed Kenyan mobile network operator headquartered at Safaricom House in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the largest telecommunications provider in Kenya, and one of the most profitable companies in the East and Central Africa region. The company offers mobile telephony, mobile money transfer, consumer electronics, e-commerce, cloud computing, data, music streaming, and fibre optic services. It is most renowned as the home of M-PESA, a mobile banking SMS-based service. Safaricom controls approximately 64.5 per cent of the Kenyan market as at 2020 with a subscriber base estimated at approximately 35.6 million. Safaricom has released its latest sustainable report indicating that the company created a total value of Sh664 billion for the Kenyan society in the last financial year. This is 10 times greater than the profit the company made in 2021.
Access Bank
Access Bank Plc is a Nigerian multinational commercial bank, owned by Access Bank Group. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the national banking regulator. Originally a corporate bank, they expanded into personal and business banking in 2012. Access Bank and Diamond Bank merged on April 1, 2019. After the merger which brought in more than 42 million customers, Access Bank became the largest bank in Africa by customer base and the largest bank in Nigeria by assets. Access Bank plc is a large financial-services provider. The bank employs more than 28,000 people as per 2021 records. In June 2021, the bank had an asset base in excess of $25.5 billion (Sh2.861 trillion), and shareholders’ equity was valued at approximately $1.87 billion (Sh209.8 billion).
Attijariwafa Bank
This is a Moroccan multinational commercial bank and financial services company founded and based in Rabat, Morocco. It is the leading bank in Morocco and the largest commercial bank which is part of the Royal family in Morocco Alaouite Dynasty’s holding company the known as SNI. It was established after a merger between Banque Commerciale du Maroc and Wafabank. It is the fourth largest bank in Africa and currently holds offices in Asia,Europe and Africa plus being listed in the Casablanca Stock Exchange since 1993.The company is valued at $6.99 billion (Sh786.4 billion).
Anglo American
Anglo American is a global mining company with a portfolio that includes diamonds, platinum, copper and iron ore. It is the world’s largest producer of platinum, with around 40 per cent of world output. Anglo American has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Anglo American was ranked as the 274th-largest public company in the world. Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, a Jewish German émigré (immigrant), founded the Anglo American Corporation (AAC) in 1917 in Johannesburg, South Africa, with financial backing from the American bank J.P. Morgan and Company to start the gold mining company. This fact is reflected in the company’s name. The AAC became the majority stakeholder in the De Beers company in 1926, a company formerly controlled by Alfred Beit, also a Jewish German émigré (immigrant). The company today is valued at $22.62 billion (Sh2.54 trillion).
