Egypt dethrones Nigeria on FT fast-growing firms list

The 2026 ranking, released Tuesday by the FT, a British media company in partnership with research firm Statista, placed Thndr at the top of the continent’s fastest-growing businesses, overtaking Nigeria’s Omniretail in the previous list.

The annual ranking tracks the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenues of 130 African companies between 2021 and 2024.

Since the inaugural ranking in 2022, the top spot has largely been dominated by companies from Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation. Kenya’s Wasoko topped the list in 2022 before Nigerian firms led the rankings in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

This year’s results, however, reflect a broader realignment in Africa’s technology and venture capital ecosystem, with Egypt’s fintech sector gaining momentum while Nigerian startups grapple with the fallout from sharp currency devaluations and tightening investor sentiment.

“Topping the list is the Egyptian fintech Thndr, which offers a range of broking services to a poorly served mass market,” the FT said in its report. “A North African version of Robinhood, a US online trading platform valued at more than $60 billion, Thndr has acquired a reported one million active users, many of whom are investing for the first time.”

FT noted that an Egyptian business topped the rankings for the first time this year, while Kenya leapfrogged Nigeria into second place behind South Africa by number of companies represented.

Currency shocks weaken Nigerian firms

BusinessDay analysis of the ranking shows that Thndr’s revenue surged by 6,851.5 percent to $8.02 million in 2024 from $0.12 million in 2021, making it the continent’s fastest-growing company.

Nigeria’s Sabi Holdings recorded revenue growth of 2,953.4 percent to $46.5 million over the same period, while Ghana’s Regulus Investment and Financial Services grew by 2,315.9 percent.

Nigeria’s Haul247 Technology posted revenue growth of 1,816.7 percent to $1.93 billion, while Rwanda’s Inkomoko Entrepreneur Development recorded growth of 1,794.9 percent.

But despite strong operational expansion by many Nigerian firms, the sharp devaluation of the naira under President Bola Tinubu has significantly weakened the dollar-equivalent revenues used by Statista to calculate company size and growth.

The ranking converts revenues into euros and dollars, meaning companies operating largely in local currencies were disproportionately hurt by exchange-rate swings between 2021 and 2024.

The Nigerian naira lost more than two-thirds of its value following foreign exchange reforms introduced from May 2023, while the Egyptian pound also underwent substantial devaluation during the review period.

“Though South Africans often complain about a weakening rand, in reality the currency has been stable compared with African peers, including the Nigerian naira and Egyptian pound, which both underwent sharp devaluations,” said Anton Gaylard, co-founder of Crossfin Technology Holdings.

The impact on investor confidence is already becoming visible.

“We are putting the brakes on our Nigerian investments,” said Lexi Novitske, general partner at Norrsken22, an Africa-focused growth fund that has increasingly shifted attention toward Egypt and South Africa.

“The macro factors are better but a business has to realise returns and sometimes the government doesn’t seem to understand that,” she said, citing uncertainty around naira stability and concerns about policy pressure on businesses.

South Africa dominates the rankings

While Egypt produced the continent’s fastest-growing company, South Africa consolidated its position as Africa’s dominant startup and scale-up ecosystem.

South African firms accounted for 51 of the 130 companies on the list, ahead of Kenya with 17 firms, Nigeria with 16 and Mauritius with 12. Tunisia entered the top five for the first time with six companies.

According to Gaylard of Crossfin Technology Holdings, Africa’s biggest economy’s strength lies in its depth of talent and relatively stable operating environment.

“As an incubator for really good businesses, the domain knowledge and expertise is world class and the cost of personnel relative to other markets gives you a bigger bang for your buck,” he said.

The country’s improving infrastructure environment has also helped restore business confidence after years of severe electricity shortages.

“Almost as quickly as load shedding ramped up as a problem it disappeared,” said Jeff Gable, chief economist at Absa Group. “What’s kind of snuck up on people is the huge effort to stabilise and then improve the country’s infrastructure,” he added, pointing to improvements in ports, rail and electricity supply.

Among the companies benefiting from the recovery is Fieldbar, ranked sixth on the continent, which produces premium handcrafted cooler boxes that have become increasingly popular among South Africa’s middle class.

Kenya rises as diversification broadens

Kenya also strengthened its position this year with companies spanning renewable energy, retail and manufacturing.

The Kenyan firms on the list include Sun King, packaging manufacturer General Printers and supermarket chain Naivas.

Still, investors say structural bottlenecks remain.

“You can apply for a business licence in five minutes, but when it comes to actually running a business things become more difficult,” said Deepak Dave of Autonomi Capital.

Geopolitical risks loom over 2026

According to FT, the ranking is backward-looking and therefore does not capture the economic fallout from the ongoing Middle East conflict, which is already reshaping commodity prices, inflation expectations and investor appetite across emerging markets.

Analysts warn that the Iran war could trigger another wave of pressure on African startups through higher fuel, fertiliser and food costs, tighter funding conditions and increased currency volatility.

That could prove particularly challenging for venture-backed firms already navigating elevated interest rates, weaker local currencies and slowing global capital flows.