Deloitte’s Fast50 takes a swing at finding African tech’s best and brightest

Growing a successful business can be hard work, and sometimes you just wish you had some recognition for all the blood, sweat and tears you put into your venture. Well professional services firm Deloitte is handing up that opportunity with its Fast50 Africa Programme, designed to recognise technological innovation across the continent.

Focused solely on recognising technology companies that have achieved the fastest rates of revenue growth in Africa over the past five years, the Fast50 is looking for the best and brightest technology companies to enter.

There are a number of criteria Deloitte have defined in order to make sure that the companies being ranked are all comparable so read these carefully.

The ranking features technology companies who consistently demonstrate business growth but companies have to:

• Be run by and majority-owned by African citizens
• Have base operating revenues of at least US$750 000
• Have current year operating revenues of at least US$500 000
• The companies must be headquartered on the continent
• The companies must have been operational for at minimum of five years

In addition, companies who wish to enter have to meet the following definitions and requirements:

It must be a technology company that:

a. Develops or owns proprietary technology that contributes to a significant portion of the company’s operating revenues; or
b. Manufactures a technology-related product; or
c. Uses global or local technology to build an innovative and sustainable technology business.

Participants can be public or private– and encompass all technology industry segments including Biotech, Telecommunications, Hardware, Software, Media & Entertainment and Greentech.

“We at Deloitte want to reward companies who have achieved the status of high growth leaders because they have demonstrated innovative strategies, sound management and marketplace vision,” says Kamal Ramsingh, Technology Leader, Africa at Deloitte.

Winners of the Deloitte Fast50 Africa are eligible for the prestigious Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA which ranks the 500 fastest growing technology companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

This will be the second time the Fast50 has been in South Africa, the last time was in 2012 when ISP Afrihost won.

For more information and to enter check the Technology Fast50 website.