Omniretail, Deimos, Roam Lead 2025 List of Africa’s Fastest-Growing Companies

The Financial Times, in collaboration with Statista, has released its Africa’s Fastest-Growing Companies 2025 list — a benchmark ranking of 130 private and public African companies that achieved the highest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue between 2020 and 2023.

The 2025 edition features 12 companies from Kenya, with Roam Electric and TPS Eastern Africa (Serena Hotels) among the top 50. However, the list is once again dominated by businesses from Nigeria and South Africa — which together contribute 79 of the 130 ranked firms. Fintech remains the most represented sector, followed by e-commerce, logistics, and IT services.

Kenya’s Best Performers: Roam and Serena Hotels

Roam Electric AB, a Nairobi-based electric mobility company known for its electric motorcycles and buses, ranked 35th overall, posting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 86.4% and achieving USD 2.31 million in revenue in 2023. The company’s inclusion reflects Kenya’s growing role in Africa’s green energy and sustainable mobility transition.

Also featured in the top 50 is TPS Eastern Africa Plc, better known as Serena Hotels, which ranked 41st with a CAGR of 68.1% and 2023 revenue of USD 70 million. Despite global hospitality headwinds, Serena has shown resilience and innovation in travel and tourism.

Deimos: South Africa’s Cloud Leader with a Kenyan Presence

One of the standout companies in the IT & Software category is Deimos, headquartered in Cape Town but with a growing presence in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, and the UK.

Deimos ranked 36th overall and emerged as the 3rd fastest-growing IT & Software company in Africa, posting a revenue growth of 537.8% over the three-year period. The company is notable for being bootstrapped and making the FT list for three consecutive years.

“This is more than a ranking. It’s a testament to consistency, excellence, and belief,” said Andrew Mori, Deimos CEO. “Our work has helped banks protect customer data, enabled startups to scale faster, and supported public institutions in delivering digital services more efficiently.”

Deimos is the only Google Cloud partner in Africa with both the Security and Infrastructure Specialisations, and works with notable organisations including the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mercedes-Benz, Yuppiechef, and Jumia.

Top African Companies on the 2025 List

🇰🇪 Kenya

Kenya has 12 companies on the full list, with these two featuring in the top 50:

🇳🇬 Nigeria

Nigeria has multiple companies in the top 10 and leads the rankings overall with 27 of the top 50 firms:

🇿🇦 South Africa

South Africa dominates in IT and energy, with companies like Deimos, TymeBank, and Paymenow posting strong numbers:

Broader Trends in the 2025 Ranking

• Fintech continues to dominate, making up 20% of all companies listed.
• E-commerce, logistics, and energy are also strongly represented, showing Africa’s growing appetite for digitisation and sustainable services.
• Most companies remain focused on single-country growth, as the fragmentation of Africa’s 54 marketscontinues to present regulatory, currency, and logistical challenges to cross-border expansion.
• Despite strong growth, many firms face a tough investment climate due to global interest rate hikes, currency depreciation (notably in Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt), and investor caution.

Still, the entrepreneurial resilience is clear — particularly from companies like Omniretail, Moniepoint, Roam, and Deimos, which are not only growing but helping to solve critical infrastructure and service challenges across the continent.

Final Word

For Kenyan companies like Roam and Serena, inclusion in the FT’s list is more than just recognition — it’s a validation of local innovation and resilience in a tough macroeconomic environment. Meanwhile, Deimos’ regional presence and continued success offer inspiration for Kenya’s emerging tech firms aiming for sustainable scale.

As the continent grapples with tough funding cycles and policy uncertainty, these companies show that real growth is still possible — if rooted in solving local problems with long-term thinking.