Nigerian companies have been completely edged out of the top tier of Africa’s most valuable corporations for 2025, according to the newly released Africa’s Top 250 Companies ranking. Persistent currency instability, ongoing devaluations, and weak investor confidence have taken a significant toll on company valuations in Africa’s largest consumer market, preventing any Nigerian business from entering the prestigious top 10.
The rankings, published by African Business, show a landscape now dominated by South Africa and Morocco. South African firms secured an overwhelming eight out of the top 10 positions, while the remaining two spots were claimed by Moroccan companies. Nigeria’s highest-ranking representative, Airtel Africa, placed only 17th, highlighting the widening gap between Nigerian corporations and their continental peers.
Analysts attribute this shift partly to global market uncertainty and the volatility of African currencies. The publication explained that sharp swings in currency values, combined with a sustained retreat of global investors from frontier markets, have reshaped the African corporate hierarchy. This cautious approach from international investors has been influenced by a chain of global crises—from the Covid-19 pandemic to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and now escalating global trade tensions.
Even though overall valuations across the continent experienced a mild rebound this year, Nigerian firms continued to fall behind. African Business noted that the struggles of Nigeria’s leading corporations are particularly striking given the country’s economic scale and substantial natural resource base. However, repeated devaluations of the naira have significantly eroded market capitalisation figures when converted into US dollar terms, which is the standard used for the ranking.
Airtel Africa led the Nigerian contingent at number 17, followed by Dangote Cement in 28th place and BUA Foods at 31st. MTN Nigeria placed 43rd, while Geregu Power ranked 67th, BUA Cement 69th, and Transcorp Power 71st. None of these firms came close to challenging the upper tier, where South African tech giant Naspers retained its position as Africa’s most valuable company with a market capitalisation of $40.3 billion.
Collectively, Africa’s 250 biggest listed firms reached a combined value of $564 billion at the end of March 2025, showing improvement from last year’s $503 billion figure. Nevertheless, the total remains far below the record high of $948 billion seen in 2015. The report observed that despite Africa’s booming population and vast economic potential, valuations have generally trended downward over the last decade.
South Africa’s dominance remains firmly entrenched, with 16 of the top 20 companies headquartered there. This resilience is largely supported by the depth of the country’s financial markets and the international footprint of its telecom and financial services sectors—even though South Africa’s domestic economy has struggled with long-term stagnation.
Nigeria’s share of the total value in the Top 250 dropped to just 7 percent—down from 14.8 percent last year and far below its 15.4 percent share of Africa’s population. The report emphasised that its methodology is based on market capitalisation as of 31 March 2025, converted into US dollars. Companies that are not listed on African exchanges or that generate less than half their revenue from Africa are excluded from the ranking.
The findings underscore the urgent need for Nigeria to stabilise its currency, deepen its capital markets, and rebuild investor confidence if its corporations are to regain their historical influence within Africa’s economic landscape.
