25 Best Companies To Work For In South Africa (2024)

Young professionals will find this presentation of the best companies to work for in South Africa an invaluable resource when it comes to choosing an employer. The most important consideration for young people of today is money; therefore, the best employers are those who offer the best salaries.

Understanding this, some South African companies have set the bar high; they offer very attractive remunerations, and other packages to their employees, and as a result they have the liberty to choose and retain the best talent in the country.

With so much money spent on recruiting the best employees, these companies are able to build efficient work environments, which means their organizations grow in profits and in structure.

Best Companies To Work For In South Africa

1. ABSA

ABSA is a financial giant. Amalgamated Banks Of South Africa is the full name of this banking conglomerate which was founded in 1986, and which has now become a monument in the financial landscape of South Africa, with products in retail banking, insurance, investment services, and so on.

The bank also has several subsidiaries in many countries of sub Saharan Africa; including Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia.

With assets of US$91 billion, ABSA is not short of funds with which to pay or motivate its employees. It is therefore no surprise that this is rated as the best place to work in South Africa.

2. Ernst & Young (EY)

Ernst & Young (EY) is a global financial accounting and reporting company. They are also called upon by top organizations like the World Bank and the UN to assess economies, or to provide projections as to how some major economic factors may affect countries.

Mostly, this company does accounting, auditing, tax consulting, and supervisory services. To carry out this business adequately, EY is always looking for suitably qualified accountants, business development managers, supervisors, and investor relations managers.

Ernst & Young has no problem recruiting the most talented professionals because it has gained a reputation as one of the best paying companies in South Africa.

3. FNB South Africa

FNB South Africa is one of the biggest banks on the continent. FNB is well established banking institution; it was established as far back as 1838, and has cornered a large chunk of the south African market, as well as spreading its wings to other countries such as Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Namibia, Zambia, India, Ghana, Lesotho and Guernsey.

FNB is known for hiring the most talented employees; and no doubt the reason it can do that is because it pays so well. This company is always on the look out for suitably qualified bankers, accountants, business development managers, and customer relations managers.

Software engineers and developers are also highly valued in this company; and they are among the highest paid workers at this renown banking institution.

4. KPMG

KPMG is a global financial accounting and reporting company. This company is headquartered in the Netherlands, and has operations almost in every country in the world; including South Africa.

KPMG is one of the most lucrative places for professionals to work in South Africa; the company knows the value of talent, and constantly aims to hire the most talented young people it can find.

KPMG is always looking for accountants, auditors, supervisors, and business development managers. The company is also a great place to make connections and to get information about what companies are doing well, and good to invest in.

5. Sasol

Sasol is a great example of South African ingenuity; it is a great company built with a vision and the development of new technology. This company was established in 1950, and is involved in Oil and Gas, chemical processing, and energy. The company is one of southern Africa’s biggest producers of natural gas, coal, synthetic fuels, and electricity.

SASOL was built on the development of technology. As a result, the company needs plenty of talent to sustain that momentum.

SASOL is the most attractive company for engineers, foremen, supervisors, business development managers, and so on. This is a legendary company; a place where one’s future is assured.

6. Mukuru

Mukuru is an online banking app that closes the gap between people and those they want to send money to. This money remittance company is one of the biggest in South Africa, and this is because it has a clear and dynamic business strategy. This platform helps South Africans send money locally, and also helps foreign nationals send money home to business partners and loved ones.

Mukuru thus dynamic business strategy is only possible because the company has some of the most talented professionals in the country among its staff. It is one of the best place for customer relations professionals, business development managers, and accountants to work.

7. Deloitte

Deloitte is a world famous accounting company; its headquarters is in London, and the company was founded in 1845. This company has business in almost every country of the world, including South Africa.

Deloitte specializes in accounting, tax accounting, and auditing. However, the company has also expanded into supervisory and strategy consulting services.

Deloitte is a great place for accountants, business development managers, general managers, human resources managers, and customer relations managers to work.

8. Capital

Capital is one of the biggest banks in South Africa; and it is also one of the fastest growing financial institutions in the country. Capital is a success story because since its founding in 2001, the vision has been clear; to help the people grow, and to grow with the people.

Capital provides retail banking services to individuals and businesses, and now also offers investment services as well.

Capital is one of the most lucrative places to work in South Africa; and this is because it places a high value on talent. The company pays well so as to attract the best business development strategists, consultants, sales representatives, customer care attendants, and customer relations managers.

9. Vodacom

Vodacom is a South African mobile communications company; although a significant part of the company is owned by the British. This is a well known brand; a good representative of South African resilience.

Vodacom has business operations in South Africa, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, and Lesotho, Nigeria, Zambia, Angola, Kenya, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon.

Vodacom has for a long time placed a high value on talent; engineers, business development managers, software developers and engineers, and customer relations professionals will find this a great place to work.

10. MTN

MTN is the most recognized South African brand. It is a mobile communications company, but has also branched out to financial services. This company was established in 1994; and has been a mercurial success story ever since.

This is the 7^th largest mobile communications company in the world; it has operations in 30 countries including Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, and Jordan. This company has over 280 million subscribers.

MTN also has a mobile money transfer business called MOMO; which is arguably the biggest on the continent with a value of over $5 billion. It is therefore no surprise that this company pays so well; it has the money to spend.

11. Deutsche Post (DHL Group)

Deutsche Post (DHL Group) is a multinational courier service; one that prides itself in quick delivery of post and items to the farthest corners of the world. DHL’s parcel delivery service is established in 250 countries of the world.

Deutsche Post pays very well for two major reasons; it needs to retain the best talent, and it needs to keep its staff motivated so that they can maintain its reputation as a world leader in courier and freight delivery.

However, some of the people who earn the highest at DHL are not whom most people may expect; here a high value is placed on sales executives, drivers, operations managers, supervisors, and customer support staff.

12. Mazars

Mazars is an international auditing and accounting company. It is quite well-established; with business in 95 countries through partnerships. This company is headquartered in Paris, France, and was established in 1945.

Mazars is a huge establishment; its worldwide turnover is more than 1.089 billion euros; which explains why the company pays so well. Mazars is known to be one of best companies to work in South Africa.

The company especially values the services of accountants, auditors, audit supervisors, and customer relations managers.

13. PepsiCo

As the company behind the famous Pepsi brand, PepsiCo needs no introductions.  This is a company that is well established throughout the world, and which is still expanding at a rapid pace. Aside from its well established Pepsi; which is its flagship brand, the company is constantly producing and introducing new products into the market.

As a result of this, the company is constantly looking for talented marketers, sales people, operations managers and the likes. There is very little doubt about the company’s ability to pay; PepsiCo is a very profitable company.

14. Bayer

Bayer is a pharmaceutical giant; it is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and at the same time it is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Bayer is a multibillion dollar company; its revenue alone is more than 44 billion euros.

This is a well-recognized company; known to be exceptionally generous to talent so as to attract the best across the world.

Some of the highly paid members of staff in this company include biologists, biochemists, researchers, engineers, and marketers. This company also has a network of agencies to spread its sales network.

15. Tata Consulting Services

Tata Consulting Services is actually an Indian multinational company; it is part of the famous Tata Group. The company is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company has operations in 150 locations across 46 countries including South Africa.

Tata Consulting Services offers services like business, engineering and technology services and solutions. In the area of technology; the core of their business is product design, digital engineering, cognitive business operations, data and analytics, cybersecurity, and sustainability service.

This is a great place to work as an engineer, a software engineer, information technology analyst, systems engineer, or business development manager.

16. Discovery Limited

Discovery Limited is a South African financial services company; its core business is investments, banking and insurance services. This is a multinational company; it has operations in several countries such as Australia, China, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States.

To maintain its status as one of South Africa’s biggest and fastest growing companies, it needs to attract and retain the best available talent, which is exactly what it does by paying one of the best salaries in South Africa.

17. Nampak

National Amalgamated Packaging (Nampak) is a South African company that is involved in designing and manufacturing packaging materials. While that may not seem like much; it is in fact a multimillion dollar business; it supplies food and beverage industries, cosmetics and toiletries, household products, as well as industrial products packing.

This company pays well because it needs to attract the best talent such as product designers, marketers, software designers, mechanical technicians, electricians, and so on.

18. Toyota Motor Corporation

Toyota is the world’s largest automaker; its vehicles are known for their beauty, practicality, and durability. South Africans have taken a special liking to Toyota vehicles; this is the most popular vehicle brand in the country.

In order to keep this pride of place; the company needs to attract the best sales executives in the land, as well as the best mechanical technicians, engineers, advertisers, and business development managers.

To attract the best, you have to be the best payer; this is something that the company understands, which is why it pays so well.

19. Standard Bank

Standard Bank is a South African bank; in fact, it is a major force in global finance; with operations in Africa, Asia, South America, North America, and Europe. This is the biggest bank in Africa by assets. Standard Bank is involved in financial services such as banking, investing, saving, lending, insurance and wealth management.

Standard Bank is perhaps the most solid financial establishment that one could hope to work with, and as such it offers more than just money. Nevertheless, this is still one of the highest paying banks in the country.

20. Sibanye-Stillwater

Sibanye-Stillwater is a South African mining company that has operations in more than 5 continents. This is a giant of a company; the scope is huge in terms of diversity and structure. Sibanye Stillwater is one of the world’s biggest producers of platinum, palladium, and rhodium, as well as gold, iridium, ruthenium, chrome, and copper.

This is a great company to work; especially for geologists, electricians, engineers, human resources managers, and operations managers.

21. Unilever

Unilever is a British multinational company that is concerned with manufacturing and packaging household goods. This is a company that was founded in 1929. Some of its products include baby food, bottled water, breakfast cereals, beauty products, cleaning agents, condiments, energy drinks, healthcare and hygiene products, instant coffee, pet food, pharmaceutical products, soft drinks, tea, and toothpaste.

Unilever is a multibillion dollar company which is why it is one of the best places to work in terms of salary. The company needs more marketing professionals, sales executives, human resources managers and so on.

22. Woolworths

Woolworths is an African retail giant; it is a chain of retail stores as well as an online retail business which sell clothing, home ware, beauty, food, and other items. This is a huge conglomerate; it operates in several countries including Botswana, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. The group also has operations in Australia, although by a different name.

Woolworths is a great place for business development managers, store managers, software developers, cashiers, sales representatives, and human resources managers to work.

23. SGS

SGS means Société Générale de Surveillance; and it is a Swiss multinational company which is engaged in inspection, verification, testing and certification services. This is a huge business; it is worth over 7 billion Swiss Francs, and has branches all over the world.

SGS needs more lab technicians, engineers, analysts, chemists, and business development managers. The company usually gets the best hands because it pays well.

24. Maersk

Maersk is one of the biggest names in shipping; it is a Danish shipping and logistics company which was founded in 1904 by the Maersk brothers. This company is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has subsidiaries in 130 countries, including the one in South Africa.

Maersk is one place that most people would eagerly work; it pays so well, and also offers other attractive add ons which is why it gets some of the brightest minds in the country.

25. Roche

Roche is a company that is involved in healthcare. It is a Swiss company, and has multinational status with operations in several countries. This company is involved in pharmaceutical research for the development of several human ailments including cancer.

A company like this will do anything to attract the biggest talents it can find because human resources is at the heart of its business. It is a people centered business; the brains behind the research are the ones that give it the value it has.

Roche is recognized as one of the best places to work; researchers, biochemists, geneticists and pharmacists all rank among its highest earners.

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Closing

That is all about the best companies to work in South Africa; but what one must recognize is that companies always pay workers who are involved in its core operations better than those in the fringes. Therefore, it is important to consider ones particular discipline and how it ranks in importance to the operations of each company.

Disclaimer:

The information presented in this article is for leisure only; it does not substitute for professional advice. Please contact a professional before advice before taking any steps.