South African companies continue to dominate the table of Africa's top 250 companies despite the country's weak economic growth over the years. South Africa's growth outlook is further mitigated by the threat of US tariffs. US President Donald Trump initially announced a 30% tariff on South African goods imported into the United States, but was replaced by a 10% universal tariff imposed in all countries awaiting a 90-day review.
However, relations with the US have been worsening and worsening in recent months. Secretary of State Marco Rubio refused to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Johannesburg. Washington, D.C., South African ambassador Ebrahim Rasool has been expelled. And Trump continues to attack Pretoria over limited plans for land reform. South Africa has appointed respected Musevensi Jonas as a special envoy to smooth relations, but the direction of travel, coupled with the possibility that Trump will see Africa's growth and Pretoria, which will not revive long-studded access, means that South African businesses will soon not be warmly welcomed in the US.
The 20 largest companies in South Africa are also ranked in the top 30 on the continent, with 16 of them among the 18 largest listed companies on the continent. There are some signs of recovery in South Africa's corporate value this year, as the country's National Uniform Government (GNU) bids to improve its economy. Many successful South African companies are also exposed to multiple African markets.
As the top 20 companies in the region are all South Africans, we have created separate tables for South Africa, including South Africa. Using a separate table allows you to consider businesses based in the rest of the region.
The threshold for inclusion in the South African table has increased from SASOL's $4.9 billion valuation in the table in 2024 to $5.1 billion in Pepcoal holdings in this year's rankings, suggesting a recovery in the country's strength of corporate depth. This highlights the total amount of South African companies listed in the top 250, which has not been recovered at all to the 2023 record, but has grown from $300 billion to $358 billion over the past year.
South Africa's largest companies come from a wide range of industries, including banking, insurance, mining, communications, internet and software services, retail, restaurants, investment management, and more. Morocco is the only other African country with a wide range of large companies. Morocco and South Africa have large raw materials sectors, but both use natural resources to benefit the wider economy.
Click here to view the full list of Africa's top 250 companies 2025.
Company Focus: Standard Bank
South Africa's Standard Bank is the third largest company on our list, with market value rising from $16.4 billion last year to $21.6 billion on this year's table. In March, CEO Sim Tshabalala said the bank's growth was based on improved economic headwinds across the sub-Saharan African countries in which it operates. By expanding to so many different countries, we have been able to spread the risk of recession in certain markets and counter the weak ongoing growth in domestic markets.
Standard Bank has also opened a representative office in Egypt, allowing them to “better support clients already active in North and East Africa, and uses Egypt as a base for multinational operations in Africa, trading along with the African Gulf Cooperation Council's corridor” this year, the bank expects an increased investment in Africa's infrastructure and a more stable currency.
This pattern of expansion across the continent, like its counterparts in Morocco and Kenya, has fueled the growth of South Africa's largest banks. This strategy not only helps to promote larger volumes of trade through Africa's Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), but should also encourage other banks to follow the same policies, boosting competition in the process.
The strategy is also welcomed by multilateral lenders in Africa, with the African Development Bank and Standard Bank sealing off a $200 million trade finance risk participation agreement in December and helping to expand local banks' trade funds to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is supplemented by Standard Bank's own R3.6 billion ($194 million) social bonds to provide matching support for SME lending initiatives. Trade finance has struggled in recent years, not only due to the restrictions of South Africa, but also the wider withdrawal of Western banks from the African continent.
