Sundry Markets, the parent company of the popular Nigerian retail chain MarketSquare, has been ranked Africa’s fastest-growing retail company and 47th overall on the 2025 Financial Times/Statista list of the continent’s fastest-growing firms.
Headquartered in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State in Nigeria’s South-South region, Sundry Markets is now drawing continental attention for its rapid growth and retail dominance. The company, founded in 2015 by entrepreneur Ebele Enunwa, started with a single outlet in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, and has grown to operate 36 stores across 15 Nigerian cities in just under a decade.
Between 2020 and 2023, Sundry Markets recorded a staggering Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 59.2% and an Absolute Growth Rate of 303.6%, positioning it as one of the top-performing companies on the list, posting the third-highest revenue among all ranked firms across Africa.
The FT/Statista ranking is widely regarded as one of the most credible barometers for business growth on the continent, spotlighting companies with proven revenue performance, scalability, and strategic execution.
While the numbers are remarkable, the recognition goes beyond just Sundry Markets; it is a broader signal about where innovation, resilience, and high-growth ventures are emerging in Africa.
For startup founders and entrepreneurs, the Port Harcourt-born company’s rise is proof that world-class businesses can be built outside the traditional economic centres. Sundry’s growth story reinforces a growing trend of successful ventures scaling from secondary cities, backed by strong local insight, disciplined execution, and long-term vision.
“This kind of recognition changes the narrative,” said one retail analyst familiar with the Nigerian market. “It tells us that talent and ambition are not confined to any single geography. MarketSquare’s growth is evidence that execution and customer focus matter more than location.
Sundry’s placement on the FT/Statista list also challenges long-held assumptions about what constitutes an “emerging market.” For too long, business watchers and investors have framed cities like Port Harcourt, Yenagoa, Aba, and Enugu as peripheral. That perception is proving to no longer be tenable.
The next wave of African high-growth companies are emerging boldly from cities often ignored by the mainstream spotlight. And in doing so, they’re not just building businesses, they are redefining the map of possibility across the continent.
The success of Sundry Markets serves as a wake-up call to policymakers, investors, and ecosystem enablers across Nigeria and beyond. Infrastructure, investment incentives, and policy support must extend beyond major metros to tap into the entrepreneurial momentum already building in overlooked regions.
As one founder in the South-South put it, “The frontier is no longer a location, it’s a mindset. And across the country, especially in the East and South-South, that mindset is gaining momentum.”
For Ebele Enunwa and the Sundry Markets team, this achievement is more than a business milestone; it’s a moment of validation. In less than 10 years, they’ve built one of Africa’s most dynamic retail businesses, anchored in operational excellence and community-driven expansion.
From its early days serving neighbourhoods in Yenagoa to becoming a trusted retail destination in cities like Port Harcourt, Owerri, Calabar, and Enugu, MarketSquare has become a household name across Nigeria’s East and South.
While Sundry Markets has kept a relatively low profile in the media, its impact is now impossible to ignore. This FT/Statista ranking is likely to draw more investor attention and inspire other regional businesses to scale confidently.
In many ways, this recognition is a collective win. It is a win for regional entrepreneurship, for grit over gloss, and for the quiet builders who have stayed committed to building businesses deeply rooted in their communities.
As Africa’s innovation map continues to expand, stories like Sundry Markets show us that the future is distributed.
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