Africa's Fastest-Growing Companies 2024
The Financial Times presents Africa’s Fastest-Growing Companies, a special report on fastest growing companies in Africa, to be published in May 2024. Innovative, modern and fast-growing companies are the driving force of the international economy in the 21st century. They generate jobs and sustain market competitiveness.
This will be the first time that the FT, in partnership with Statista, will seek to identify the African companies1 with the strongest growth between the years 2019 and 2022. They will be featured in a special report in the FT newspaper and on FT.com in May 2024. Potential candidates will be contacted by Statista or can put their name forward at this website.
The application phase for the Africa's Fastest Growing Companies 2024 is over! If you are interested in participating in the next edition, please pre-register your company to leave your contact details and be invited directly by Statista.
It is as easy as this
- Register with Statista by February 15th, 2024
- Verify your revenue data by February 15th, 2024
- Enjoy and benefit from your company’s success!
Benefits
- New business opportunities
- Employer branding
- Effective media coverage
- Reputation
- Access to more than one million facts
Why should my company participate?
New business opportunities: Inclusion in the Africa’s Fastest Growing is a visible and public acknowledgment of your company’s performance that extends far beyond your specific industry and country. It will also generate attention for your business on the part of potential partners, customers and investors around the world.
Reputation: Corporate growth usually generates demand for new employees. Being featured in the high-profile Africa’s FT ranking will increase awareness of you as an employer and of your potential.
Effective media coverage: FT Reporters will write about standout companies, specific sectors and trends which dominate business in Africa. The ranking will be published as a supplement within the weekday edition of the FT newspaper and the full rankings will appear online.
Employer branding: All companies that make it into the list may use the award logo for marketing purposes upon payment of a licence fee. Your company will still be able to communicate the award , free of charge, as long as it does not use the official label.
Who is eligible?
In order to be included in the ranking your company must meet the following criteria:
- Revenue of at least US $100,000 generated in 20191.
- Revenue of at least $1.5 m generated in 20221.
- Independence (the company is not a subsidiary or branch office of any kind).
- Operational headquarter in one of the African countries.
1 Countries that do not use the dollar to express revenues should provide average local currency value equivalent over the course of the relevant fiscal year
How do I register?
1. Online registration
Please register with Statista by February 15th, 2024. Alternatively, you can download the form from the list below and send it to FT-africa@statista.com upon completion.
2. Verification of revenue information
Your revenue data needs to be verified. Please use this form for this purpose. The form must be signed in person by a managing director or a member of your executive committee (CEO or CFO). It must then be sent to Statista by email, fax, or mail by February 15th, 2024.
Downloads
English
Form of Registration as PDF document
Verification Form as PDF document
French
Form of Registration as PDF document
Verification form as PDF document
Contact details
Should you have any additional questions or would otherwise like to contact us, please email FT-africa@statista.com.
Disclaimer: The Financial Times and Statista retain the right to change the criteria and/or produce new criteria at any point in the project’s lifetime.
FAQs:
- Do I have to pay to register?
No.
- Do I have to pay to be included in the ranking?
Not at all. If included in the ranking, your company is free to celebrate its success via a press release, social media, or a company website. Only businesses that want to use the official seal featuring the FT and Statista logos with the title Africa's Fastest Growing Companies 2024 have to pay a licensing fee, in a one-off payment. The seal will be available after publication of the ranking.
- Do I have to purchase the Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies 2024 license in order to point out or make reference to my place in the rankings?
No. All those who apply and make it into the list are free to publicize this fact. The official seal Africa's Fastest Growing Companies 2024, which is available for a license fee, is merely an additional option for those who want to advertise and promote their achievement in a more visually striking manner.
- Is the creation of Africa's FT ranking commissioned and paid for by customers?
No, this project has two revenue sources: revenues from license fees, as outlined above, and advertisements in an FT special report where the ranking will be published alongside FT articles on African company growth trends and profiles. The special report, to appear as part of the FT in print and online, is an independent piece of journalism written and commissioned by FT journalists, drawing on the data collected for the ranking.
- Who is eligible to participate?
In order to be included in the ranking your company must meet the following criteria:
- Revenue of at least US $100,000 generated in 2019.¹
- Revenue of at least US $1.5 m generated in 2022.¹
- Independence (the company is NOT a subsidiary or branch office of any kind).
- Operational headquarter in one of African countries.
1Countries that do not use the dollar to express revenues should provide average local currency value equivalent over the course of the relevant fiscal year
- My company is wholly or partly owned by venture capital, private equity firms or investment funds. Can my company still qualify for Africa's FT?
Yes, as long as it complies with the aforementioned criteria. You can find more information in the note on independence here.
- How do you verify the data provided by participants?
Revenue data are verified through the signing off of this form by the managing director/CEO, the finance director/CFO or a member of the executive committee. The form may be forwarded via email or post.
- When is the registration deadline?
Registration through the online form can be completed between October 4th 2023 and February 15th 2024.
- Until when am I able to submit the revenue verification form?
The deadline for us to receive this document is February 15th, 2024.
- On what criteria is the ranking of the companies in Africas's Fastest Growing Companies 2024 ranking determined?
The ranking is determined by the revenue growth between the years 2019 and 2022.
- How will Statista calculate the average growth in revenue of a company?
We use the compound annual growth rate. For example, if a company achieved total revenue of US $1.5m in 2019 and total revenue of US $7.5m in 2022, we calculate an average yearly increase of 71%
((revenue 2022)/(revenue 2019))^(1/3)-1=Growth rate
((7.5 Mio.USD)/(1.5 Mio.USD))^(1/3)-1=71%
- The fiscal year of my company does not coincide with the calendar year. However, the survey and the form ask for the total revenue for the calendar years of 2019 and 2022. Which revenue information should I provide?
Please provide the revenue details for the fiscal years which fall predominantly in the calendar years of 2019 and 2022. For example:
06/01/2022 to 05/31/2023 → use this for 2022 as 7 months were in 2022
10/01/2018 to 09/30/2019 → use this for 2019 as 9 months were in 2019
Special scenario - your fiscal years split the calendar years exactly in half:
07/01/2019 to 06/30/2019 and 07/01/2022 to 06/30/2022 or
07/01/2022 to 06/30/2023 and 07/01/2022 to 06/30/2023
You may use one of these combinations of fiscal years. Just make sure you don’t mix them.
- Which definition of revenue will be observed in the Africa's FT list?
Net revenue adjusted for returns, excluding value added tax and derived only from business activities (excluding any other operating income) as disclosed in your company report.
- Are further key data, such as profitability, relevant for the Africa's FT ranking?
As a minimum, we require data on revenue growth. We do not need profit information.
- When will Africa's FT ranking be published?
The ranking will be published in May 2024.
- Which information concerning individual companies will be published by The Financial Times?
The following information will be released about the top companies: the company name, the average revenue growth and the total revenue for the years of 2019 and 2022, the number of employees in 2019 and 2022, the founding date of the company, the URL of the company website, as well as the location of the head office.
- How will I find out whether or not my company has made it into the ranking?
The results of our research will be published in the Financial Times and on FT.com so that the findings can be read and shared by everybody. Before this, the awarded companies will be informed by post of their inclusion in the list.