Business & founders stories across Africa
Stories
Founded as Commercial Air Services in 1943, Comair launched South Africa’s first low-cost airline in 2001. It entered business rescue in 2020 and was liquidated in…
A chemistry graduate who found her calling in furniture, Ibukun Awosika rose to chair one of Nigeria’s oldest banks, and wrote books to bring other women…
South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria top the 2025 StartupBlink ranking for Africa. Here is what each market offers a fintech or software founder.
From his family’s hotels in Durban, Sol Kerzner built the Southern Sun group, Sun International and Sun City, then took the model to Mauritius and Connecticut.
Born to parents who were the children of slaves, John H. Johnson built the Johnson Publishing Company into one of the most influential Black-owned media businesses…
A salesman who repaired and sold gas cylinders, Chris Kirubi began buying run-down buildings in the early 1970s. He later chaired companies and held large stakes…
The Kenyan lawyer and blogger co-created the Ushahidi crisis-mapping platform and co-founded Mzalendo, a parliamentary watchdog site, before moving into venture investing.
From selling lace and soft drinks to leading the first Nigerian company to strike oil in commercial quantity, Mike Adenuga’s climb runs through oil and telecoms.
Founded by people who had worked on M-Pesa, M-KOPA built a pay-as-you-go model for households that earn income day by day.
Kigali Innovation City aims to combine universities, startups and large technology firms on a master-planned site in Rwanda’s capital.
A retail group founded in 1929 grew to ten brands, then carried heavy debt and too much leased floor space as shoppers moved to cheaper imports…
A Sudanese-born engineer, Mo Ibrahim founded Celtel when banks would not back African telecoms, and later set up a foundation focused on leadership and governance.
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