THE OWNERSHIP FILES
Who owns Africa?
A running index of who reallyowns the continent’s biggest brands — the short answer on each, with the sourcing behind it. Some stayed African-owned. Most, once you follow the cap table, did not.
STAYED AFRICAN-OWNED
The ones that kept their cap table at home.
OCP Group
The Moroccan State
Stayed African-ownedGlo
Mike Adenuga, Every Share
Stayed African-ownedAccess Bank
Nigerian, NGX-Listed
Stayed African-ownedChivita
Back in Nigerian Hands (UAC)
Stayed African-ownedShoprite
Publicly Listed in South Africa
Stayed African-ownedDangote
Aliko Dangote, Overwhelmingly
Stayed African-ownedMTN
Publicly Listed, No Single Owner
Stayed African-ownedNando's
The Enthoven Family, Privately
Stayed African-ownedFlutterwave
Still African-Founded
Stayed African-ownedOWNED ABROAD NOW
African-authored — foreign-owned once you follow the money.
Nestlé Nigeria
Switzerland's Nestlé S.A.
Owned abroad nowMaroc Telecom
The UAE's e& (Etisalat)
Owned abroad nowAirtel Africa
India's Bharti Airtel
Owned abroad nowVodacom
The UK's Vodafone
Owned abroad nowSouth African Breweries (SAB)
AB InBev of Belgium
Owned abroad nowAnglo American
A London-Listed Miner
Owned abroad nowGuinness Nigeria
Tolaram, Since 2025
Owned abroad nowTusker
EABL — and Diageo's Selling
Owned abroad nowTecno
Transsion, a Chinese Firm
Owned abroad nowNigerian Breweries
Heineken, at ~73%
Owned abroad nowJumia
NYSE-Listed, Rocket-Internet-Born
Owned abroad nowAmarula
Heineken, via Distell
Owned abroad nowSafaricom
Vodacom's 55% Majority
Owned abroad nowMultiChoice and DStv
Canal+ Owns MultiChoice Now
Owned abroad nowOPay
Opera, SoftBank and Its Founder
Owned abroad nowIndomie
Tolaram & Salim, Not Nigeria
Owned abroad nowMavin Records
Universal Music Owns It
Owned abroad nowPaystack
Stripe Owns the Nigerian Fintech
Owned abroad nowTHE BIGGER QUESTIONS
Beyond single brands — who owns whole economies.
Who Owns Black Beauty? The Diaspora Built It, Giants Own It
Short answer: mostly the global giants. Mielle went to P&G, SheaMoisture to Unilever, Fenty is 50/50 with LVMH — the diaspora authored Black beauty, and the value keeps getting sold. Here's the map.
Who Owns Africa's Telecoms? A Split Sector, Mapped
Short answer: it's split. Of 11 operators on the Ownership 100, six are African-owned and five are controlled abroad — the foreign majors took the crown jewels, the founders and states kept the national networks.
Who Owns Africa's Banks? Mostly Africans — the Full Map
Short answer: overwhelmingly Africans. Of the 18 banks on the Ownership 100, 17 are African-owned — the opposite of the continent's consumer and culture brands. Here's the full map.
Who Owns the Springboks? Keeping It South African
The best team in world rugby is one of its most under-monetised brands. SA Rugby rejected a $75m US private-equity deal for a fifth of the Springbok's commercial future — and South African capital moved in. The All Blacks already sold their slice to Silicon Valley.
Who Owns African Football's Betting Economy?
As England bans gambling shirt sponsors, betting money is flooding African football — into leagues, clubs and shirts. African fans supply the stakes and the attention; a foreign-owned industry keeps the margin.
Who Owns Africa's Premium Spirits Going Global?
African-owned houses are finally building premium spirits with the authorship the French have to rent — but the foreign buyout (Pernod Ricard just bought Inverroche) is the fork in the road. Build and keep, or build and sell?
Who Owns Hennessy & Martell? Nigeria's Cognac Economy
Cognac is the status pour of the African festive season, and Afrobeats' biggest stars are its loudest salesmen. But every major label is French-owned. Who authors the culture of the luxury pour — and who owns the bottle?
Who Owns the Value in African Sneaker Culture?
The continent runs faster, styles harder and buys more sneakers than ever — but the margin still ships to Herzogenaurach and Beaverton. A look at the brands trying to keep it home.
Who Owns the Cape? South African Wine's Black Founders and the Tariff That Rewrote the Map
A 30% US tariff has upended South Africa's most valuable wine market — and handed its Black-owned brands both a threat and a repositioning.
Who Owns the Aesthetic? Daily Paper, the Diaspora Streetwear Wave, and the Gap Between Authorship and Value
African-diaspora labels authored a global streetwear language — but the balance sheets that captured it mostly belong to someone else.
THE OWNERSHIP LEDGER · FREE
Every week: who bought which African brand — and who kept the value.
The deals that moved ownership of an African brand, each with its value-capture verdict. Free — and the fastest way to stay ahead of who owns Africa.
THE WEEKLY SIGNAL
Brand, culture and commercial intelligence for Africa and its diaspora.
Useful insight. Verified sourcing. No noise.
● AI-assisted discovery. Human-directed intelligence. Verified sourcing.
THE VALUE-CAPTURE DESK
Who's Buying Africa
The live deal tracker — every acquisition, with a value-capture verdict.
Value-Capture Scorecard
The quarterly verdict: how much value was retained vs exported.
The Coil Economy
Who authors Black hair — and who cashes the cheque.
Licence the data
The ownership dataset and Scorecard, for teams that track the field.