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.
Glo
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.
Guinness 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 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 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.