Sub-Saharan Africa offers investors a strong investment opportunity with potential for profitable returns.
The continent has become a shining example of economic promise, as seen by the performance of some of its stock markets. The top 30 companies had a better performance in January than they did in December by $7 billion.
A report by African Financials revealed the trajectory of the Top 30 companies in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) except for South Africa by market capitalization. What African Financials found was that the market capitalization of the top 30 companies in SSA in January 2024 was US$83 billion, up $7 billion from December 2023.
According to the research, Nigeria and Zimbabwe’s stock markets have gone out of control in response to currency devaluation, inflation, and debt. Additionally, Kenya is at a 20-year low in US dollars.
Other highlights from the research include the fact that globally listed equities account for 29% of the top 30 and telecoms and technology for 43%. Only three of the fourteen SSA ex-SA stock markets had positive US dollar gains year to date.
Also, oil prices jumped 7% to $82.60 per barrel, while gold lost 3% to $2,022/ounce. With that said, here are the top 10 Sub-Saharan African countries as of January 31st, 2024 by market capitalization.
| Rank | Company | Stock market location | LC Share Price | Market Capitalization in $US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Dangote Cement | Nigeria | 763.00 | 13,679 |
| 2. | MTN Group | South Africa (Johannesburg Stock Exchange) | R95.54 | 9,548 |
| 3. | BUA Cement | Nigeria | 185.00 | 6,591 |
| 4. | MTN Nigeria | Nigeria | 281.00 | 6,017 |
| 5. | Airtel Africa | UK | £1.12 | 5,341 |
| 6. | BUA Foods | Nigeria | 271.80 | 5,147 |
| 7. | Endeavour Mining | Canada | C$23.29 | 4,304 |
| 8. | Safaricom | Kenya | 13.60 | 3,374 |
| 9. | SONATEL | West Africa (Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières ) | 17,000 | 2,808 |
| 10. | ORANGE-CI | West Africa (Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières ) | 10,655 | 2,652 |