Sylvia Duruson
OmniRetail, a Nigerian eCommerce startup founded in 2019, has been ranked as the fastest-growing company in Africa according to the Financial Times’ latest annual list. The list, compiled in partnership with data provider Statista, ranks companies by their compound annual revenue growth between 2019 and 2022.
Despite being a newcomer to the rankings, OmniRetail shot to the top spot with staggering revenue growth. The startup’s revenues skyrocketed from just $250,000 in 2019 to an impressive $139.8 million in 2022. This meteoric rise defies the struggles faced by many eCommerce firms in Nigeria dealing with dwindling venture funding and high inflation.
OmniRetail houses three main business units – Omnibiz, Mplify, and Omnipay. Over 65,000 retailers across Africa use its platform to order products and access financial services like credit and buy-now-pay-later options. Its rapid expansion highlights the growing digital transformation in Africa’s retail sector.
Another Nigerian startup, Moniepoint, ranked second on the prestigious list with 2022 revenues of $148.6 million, up from just $1.84 million three years prior. Moniepoint provides business banking, agency banking, and personal banking services which have seen booming demand, processing over $150 billion worth of transactions in 2023 alone.
Several other Nigerian startups made the Financial Times rankings as well. Agritech venture Afex claimed the top spot for highest revenues among Nigerian firms at $415.5 million. Digital bank FairMoney generated $142 million, while crowdfunding platform ThriveAgric saw revenues of $73 million. HR tech startup SeamlessHR rounded out the list with $2.6 million in revenues, up from $380,000 in 2019.
To be included, companies had to be headquartered in Africa with minimum revenues of $1.5 million in 2022. Data was provided voluntarily, with some firms declining to participate or submitting incomplete information.
The rankings highlight the increasing vibrancy of Africa’s tech ecosystem, despite turbulent economic conditions. As OmniRetail’s rise shows, the continent’s startups are rapidly scaling innovative digital solutions across sectors like eCommerce, fintech, agritech and more.
