The report identifies 360 companies from 32 countries representing 7 major sectors. It highlights the entrepreneurial and dynamic landscape of the African private sector. Companies featured include small entrepreneurial businesses through to well-established corporations. A searchable database of the report and a downloadable PDF of the publication are available at www.lseg.com/inspireafrica. The first edition of the report was published in 2017.

•             Average revenue Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is 46% (up from 16% in 2017 report) and average employee CAGR at 25%, over three years, in 2019 report

•             23% of the companies are led by women, almost double the proportion in the 2017 report: Standout sectors where senior female executives are having a big impact are: healthcare & education, and financial services. Ten out of the 20 Ghanaian companies featured are led by women.

•             The fastest growing sectors are financial services (revenue growth rate 70%) and renewable energy (revenue growth rate 66%)

•             Consumer services is the most represented sector with 79 companies from 20 countries this year, reflecting the growth of sub-sectors such as consumer goods, food & beverages, leisure & tourism, media and retail, and the growing middle class in Africa

•             Agriculture remains an important sector for the continent with 53 companies, almost 15% of companies in report

•             Most companies per country are: #1Nigeria (97 companies) and #2 Kenya (66). Nigeria was already most companies in 2017, but strong representation from the industry and technology & telecom sectors

•             The companies in this year’s report are creating significant employment opportunities across Africa with each company employing an average of 363 people.