21 Ugandan firms among top African enterprises

April 25, 2017 in Companies by Editor

April 25—Twenty one Ugandan enterprises will feature in the African Development Bank (AfDB) and London Stock Exchange (LSEG) Companies to Inspire Africa (CTIA) report which officially comes out on April 26, 2017 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The publication identifies and features fast-growing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the continent, with the objective of feeding a microsite and a database that identifies some of Africa’s most dynamic, fast growing private sector.

Not surprisingly due to its wide manufacturing base and relatively sophisticated financial markets, Kenyan firms dominate the region with 50 companies while Tanzania has 16. Overall, Nigeria leads the list with 59 companies, South Africa (53); Ghana (31); Ivory Coast (19) and Namibia (16).

In terms of regions, Western Africa makes up the bulk of the companies with 124, Northern Africa (61); Central Africa (18); Eastern Africa (103) and Southern Africa (90).

CTIA was put together in partnership with PwC, African Development Bank Group, and CDC Group, “Companies to Inspire Africa clearly shows that there is a proliferation of fast growing, innovative and dynamic private businesses in Africa. These organisations have a real opportunity to help change the markets, economies and communities they touch, not just within their local borders, but well beyond them,” Warwick Hunt, the Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner at PwC International said in March.

He said, “These innovative businesses are able to utilise new technologies, such as the cloud, that are less dependent on substantial physical infrastructure, enabling them to leapfrog developments elsewhere.  We are seeing development of new products and services that are more accessible and manageable, such as secure mobile applications that bring banking to remote communities for the first time, creating new ways for people to interact financially with each other and financial institutions.

He said, “Solutions like this reduce cash based transactions and help grow formal economies with all of the tax and fiscal benefits this brings – enabling governments to invest in much needed areas such as infrastructure and education, fueling longer term growth and development across the continent.”

The London Stock Exchange Group hosted the inaugural launch of the report on 31st of March, 2017, in London. The Bank’s Headquarters will host the first launch on the African continent.

This publication follows the success, in the UK and Europe, of 1000 ‘Companies to Inspire’ (CTI), published in 2013 by the London Stock Exchange (LSEG).