We rank the top 10 energy companies in Africa

From the newsletter

As of August, the top 10 renewables companies have added at least 804 senior employees in the past 12 months. Sun King, an off-grid solar company, led the pack by adding over 180 senior staff, boosting its senior workforce by 14%. The company also recently secured a $156 million financing deal, the largest of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa.

• BBOXX ranks second among leading energy companies, having added 12 senior employees over the past twelve months. The company operates in 11 African countries, and its workforce has an average of 7.8 years of experience.

• The Renewables Rising ranking is based on LinkedIn data for senior staff and combines several metrics, including staff size, growth, sales teams, experience, tenure, and education, to provide company workforce and recruitment insights.

More details

• d.light, third on our list, shows strong and steady progress with 735 employees spread over six countries. The company grew its overall staff by 27. With an average industry experience of almost 9 years and solid postgraduate credentials, the company combines expertise with targeted growth to sustain its market relevance.

• With the widest geographical reach across 30 African countries, Engie Africa has on-boarded 221 new staff, including 27 in sales. This aggressive growth strategy is supported by an experienced team, with senior employees averaging over 11 years in the industry. The ongoing acquisition of Engie's subsidiary, ENGIE Energy Access, by Ignite Power is poised to create Africa's largest distributed renewable energy provider, further accelerating market expansion and clean energy access.

• Meanwhile, ZOLA Electric operates with a leaner team of 489 employees but maintains a 201-strong sales force. Its sales staff grew steadily, showing a clear commercial focus. The company’s workforce enjoys high stability with an average tenure nearing 9 years, and a quarter of its employees hold master’s degrees

• EDF Renewables is rapidly expanding, adding 145 employees to its 565-strong team, including 12 in sales. The company has a highly qualified workforce, with nearly 60% of employees holding master’s degrees. As part of the EDF Group's "Ambitions 2035" plan, the company recently merged with the EDF International Division to form a new entity, EDF Power Solutions, aiming to strengthen its global delivery of low-carbon energy solutions.

• After its successful operations in Kenya, Solar Panda is now expanding into new territories, including Zambia and Senegal. This expansion is supported by recent hires, which include 18 new team members, with 14 of those being salespeople, reflecting a push to scale commercial operations. 

• This contrasts with Jinko Solar, which recently added 8 new staff, a majority of whom are in technical roles. Meanwhile, Scatec has dominated hiring, adding 172 staff. Its workforce is heavily focused on operational support, with a small sales team of just four employees, highlighting its strategic emphasis on technical expertise for delivering complex solar and battery projects, particularly in South Africa and Egypt. 

• Lastly, JA Solar has increased its small team of 52 employees by adding 17 more people, growing its sales team to 21 members. The company’s recent partnerships, like the one with South Africa’s Juwi, are helping it hire more staff to support local manufacturing and manage projects.

Our take

• The competition for senior expertise is still going to intensify as more companies look to secure stakes in a crowded sector. Small companies will struggle for survival and might take the available opportunities for mergers and acquisitions.

• The hiring strategies of solar home system companies and IPPs are set to remain distinct. Solar home system providers will prioritise expanding their sales teams to drive market growth, while IPPs will focus more on technical roles as their project pipelines move into development.

• Local companies will likely do well in smaller and off-grid markets because of their flexibility and local knowledge, while global players will lead thanks to bigger resources and larger projects. Deals like Ignite Power buying Engie’s subsidiary show a growing trend of mixing local know-how with international funding, changing how the market looks.