Most influential companies in 2024

More than just a badge of honour, the global recognition of African companies signifies a dramatic change in the perception innovation on the continent. It also conveys Africa’s capacity for global competition and impact.

In recent years African companies have been utilizing tech to create very innovative solutions to some of the continent’s most pressing challenges.

African businesses are utilising technology to address pressing challenges and compete globally

M-Kopa, a pay-as-you-go product for underbanked customers, partnered with Nokia to establish Kenya’s first smartphone manufacturing plant last year .

In recognition of the growth of innovative solutions, TIME Magazine releases its TIME100 Companies, an annual list of the world’s most influential businesses.

This year’s list contains a few African companies whose ideas have created a positive ripple effect on the continent at large.

TIME’s editors, under the direction of Emma Barker, poll its contributors and correspondents worldwide, solicit recommendations and applications from a variety of industries, and consult with other specialists to choose and come up with the list.

A TIME100 Company is not defined by a single financial indicator or data point. With that said, here are the African companies that made it on the list.

Spiro:

Spiro is an electric motorbike startup. This company which was founded in 2019 and already has a fleet of 14 000 electric two-wheelers. Spiro appeared in Togo and Benin in 2022, followed by Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Nigeria in 2023.

In Uganda, the e-bike and battery swapping company has worked with the government to replace its polluting moto taxi fleet, known as boda-bodas, with electric two-wheelers.

M-Kopa:

M-Kopa is a pay-as-you-go product for underbanked customers across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana. The business, which also offers health insurance, home solar system, and e-bike loans to those on a daily income, partnered with Nokia maker HMD Global to establish Kenya’s first smartphone manufacturing plant last year.

More than 300 jobs and more than a million phones have been manufactured at the factory.

With over 4 million users and US$248 million in sales last year, Moore believes there is a direct correlation between the company’s expansion and the financial success of its clients.

AFEX:

AFEX Commodities Exchange is Nigeria’s first licensed private commodities exchange, which was launched a decade ago and instantly improved access to loans for buying seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, and warehouse storage.

AFEX pulls farmers out of isolation into an integrated agricultural system, purchasing their goods at market prices.

AFEX has reached over 500,000 across Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, facilitating over 1 million metric tons of trades on its digital platform, ComX. AFEX is currently one of the continent’s fastest-growing firms, having secured US$26,5 million in investment last year. — Business Insider Africa