The value of Africa’s biggest companies has fallen again this year. But one company – Naspers – is mainly responsible. The total market capitalisation of the 250 biggest listed companies in Africa stood at $505bn on 31 March 2024, down 9% from the $556bn recorded one year earlier and even lower than the $597bn recorded in March 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. This continues the overall trend over the past decade, with the figure declining from the record $948bn set in 2015. Back then, it seemed likely that the $1 trillion barrier was on the verge of being broken.
