Sub-Saharan titans take on the world

While South African companies by and large continue to sit at home and wax lyrical about taking the plunge into Africa, within the sub-Saharan region there are already a large number of prominent home-grown enterprises simply getting on with business.

Dianna Games, the executive director of Africa @ Work and the author of Business in Africa, said that African companies that are big players in their own economies tend to be conglomerates with ­humble origins.

"Long before South African companies [were looking to Africa], there were so many market gaps. African entrepreneurs were the only ones willing to take the risk, and these companies gained critical mass.

"They grew in high-risk markets and so it was easy for them to expand into a wider range of markets," Games said.

They were then well positioned at a time of economic reform and growth. Financial services remain a big sector on the continent, a fact made clear by the Nigerian stock exchange, which is dominated by these kinds of companies, according to Games.

Typically, in lists of successful African companies, the top 10 is dominated by South African, Egyptian and Moroccan businesses. And although these rising stars may not yet necessarily be able to compete in size with multinationals, or even state-owned companies, they are capturing the attention of business in Africa. The Mail & Guardian takes a peek at some of the most notable movers and shakers.

The Dangote group
Founded by Africa's richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the Dangote group is one of many rags-to-riches enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa, and the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa.

Established in May 1981 as a trading business with a focus on cement, the group diversified into a conglo-merate that also trades in sugar, flour, salt and fish.

source: www.mg.co.za