Five South African businesses have featured in Africa’s top 500 largest companies list.
Image: IOL
The Africa Report and its sister media, Jeune Afrique, published the 26th edition of their exclusive ranking of Africa’s 500 largest companies in 2025.
At least five South African companies are comfortably in the top 10 of the 500 largest companies on the continent, with Eskom ranking fourth and Sasol fifth.
Bid Corp came in at number seven, followed by MTN at number eight and Shoprite at number 10. Vodacom, the country’s biggest cellular network, was ranked at number eleven.
Of the top 500 African Champions driving the economy of Africa after a cumulative growth of nearly 25% over two years, the activity of all the companies in the ranking has stabilised, with total revenues amounting to $736.8 billion, marking a 3.1% decline compared to the 2024 edition.
The report indicated that this demonstrates a challenging global context characterised by sluggish growth and declining commodity prices.
“This edition highlights the impact of macroeconomic turbulence on large African companies. Currency devaluations in Egypt and Nigeria have particularly affected the performance of local firms, reducing their revenues when expressed in US dollars.
“Additionally, the drop in commodity prices has weakened the mining and oil sectors, while South Africa, despite remaining the most represented country in the ranking, is gradually losing its influence.”
Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.
Despite these challenges, many African companies demonstrate remarkable resilience, adapting to market shifts and seeking new growth opportunities.
Energy remained the leading sector in the ranking, accounting for 28% of total revenues, with Sonatrach (Algeria) at the top, followed by NNPC (Nigeria).
According to the report, the mining sector has faced setbacks due to falling prices of key minerals such as platinum and phosphate, which have impacted major players like Anglo American Platinum and OCP.
“Telecommunications, long a driver of growth, have shown mixed results as inflationary pressures prove challenging to pass on to consumers in a heavily regulated sector. Meanwhile, the airline industry is experiencing a strong rebound, driven by Ethiopian Airlines’ expansion and remarkable progress from Royal Air Maroc and South African Airways.
“The ranking is based on a detailed analysis of nearly 1,300 African companies, assessing their financial performance based on their revenues for the 2023 fiscal year. Data is sourced from Social and verified records, then converted into U.S. dollars at the effective exchange rate at the end of each fiscal year.”
It further stated that the report aims to provide a reliable and comprehensive snapshot of the African economy, excluding the financial and insurance sectors, which are analysed separately.
“For more than 25 years, Jeune Afrique has been analysing the performance of the continent’s leading companies. The findings are clear: their development remains insufficient, given the challenges and opportunities in the market.
“Unlocking Africa’s growth potential requires a new deal between the public sector and private enterprises. These issues will be at the heart of discussions at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan on May 12 and 13,” said Amir Ben Yahmed, CEO of Jeune Afrique Media Group.
IOL
Related Topics: