5 Nigerian Companies Named Africa’s Fastest Growing & Their CEOs Unveiled

The list of the fastest-growing companies in Africa in Africa has been released.

This is taking into consideration the fact that many fast growing companies are privately held and do not publicly disclose their full financial data which makes the listing not to be 100% complete.

The listing is published by the Financial times based on research into the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue between 2017 and 2020.

SocietyNow.Ng unveils the chief executive officers of five Nigerian-owned companies in the list of 75, with companies operating in Nigeria counting up to 25 – including foreign firms.

Taking the lead in no particular order is Genesis Food which is part of the larger Genesis Group which was founded by man of means Nnaeto Orazulike.

The company which made the listing of fastest rising companies in Africa categorized as “restaurant” is estimated to have made a $24.4million revenue in 2020 against the $18.6million it made in 2017.

The number of employees according to the data produced in the Financial Times report reduced from 1,797 in 2017 to 1,766 in 2020.

The Founder and Group Executive Orazulike from Anambra state was a founding member of Fidelity Bank.

He started Genesis Foods Limited in 1991 and the brand which provided industrial catering services has branches in different states.

Orazulike who is one of the popular names in PortHarcourt holds a B.Sc in Accountancy from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

…Also on the list is Alpha Morgan the asset management and investment banking firm founded in 2012.

The business outfit named in the list of fastest rising companies in Africa by Financial Times (FT) in the “Financial Services” sector has Ade Buraimo as the group managing director.

According to the data provided by FT, the number of Alpha Morgan’s employees rose from 12 in 2017 to 42 in 2017 while the company’s revenue increased from $1.1million in 2017 to $3.1million in 2020.

The GMD Buraimo from Ogun state has over 25 years of Commercial and Investment Banking experience.

The former Managing Director GTBank Ltd, Sierra Leone and GTHomes (Mortgage Banking Subsidiary of GTBank) holds a Masters in Banking & Finance from the University of Lagos and has a robust team complementing his expertise that includes Adedoyin Anyaehie – Executive Director, Global Wealth Management [Abuja & Northern Nigeria], George Imade – Managing Director, Investment Banking Division and Abimbola Olanrewaju – Head, Treasury.

…Sitting comfortably on the list with a surge in revenue from $8.5million in 2017 to $17.7million in 2020 is Foodco – the diversified consumer goods company with interests in retail and Quick Service Restaurants

The company founded in 1982 also saw staff strength rise from 302 to 591 within this period.

The company which has a new Chief Executive Officer making a difference in Adegbenga Sun – Basorun made the listing under the category “retail”.

The new C.EO. took over from pioneer Mrs Sola Sun-Basorun who moved up to the position of Chairman.

Adegbenga Sun Basorun has brought to bear experience in corporate strategy, operations and digital transformation garnered while working at global multinational companies such as GE and consulting firm McKinsey & Company in the US and South Africa at the growing company he helped out in its stores as a young boy.

Foodco which launched what it described as “Nigeria’s first true online supermarket” in 2020 operates one of the largest supermarket chain brands in southwest Nigeria.

…Unsurprising, the company with Adedayo Hamzat as Chief Executive Officer – Zedcrest Capital is also listed.

The financial solutions provider makes the cut listed in the “financial services” category.

According to FT’s data, Zedcrest Capital limited’s earnings made a very significant improvement from $3.2million in 2017 to $43.5million in 2020.

The company founded in 2013 also had a corresponding increase in staff from 17 in 2017 to 455 in 2020.

Hamzat the CEO is a BSc holder in Industrial chemistry from the University of Ilorin and an MBA in Management and Accounting possessor from Obafemi Awolowo University.

The known financial expert in his 30s is the Chairman of the Board, Zedvance Finance Limited.

…Adding up the number is the company with Ayodeji Balogun – not the singer Wizkid! – as Managing Director, AFEX Commodities Exchange.

Better known as Afex, the company founded in 2017 is named in the “agricultural commodities” category.

It recorded a staff growth from 9 in 2017 to 127 in 2020 while its revenue jumped from $0.1million in 2017 to $5.3million in 2020.

The CEO Balogun was the Regional Director, Africa Exchange Holdings for West Africa and ex-Country Manager for AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited.

According to his profile on Wikipedia, born in 1983 he “ holds a diploma in Heavy Equipment Engineering from Penn Foster University, Scranton and (B.Eng.) in Mechanical Engineering from the Lagos State University. He furthered his education at Lagos Business School, where he earned an MBA and IESE Business School, Spain.”