Super Group positions itself as ‘DraftKings in Africa’
Super Group CEO Neal Menashe has revealed the operator plans to expand into more countries in Africa to build on its already-strong market position on the continent, and to capitalise on what he described as a “super profitable” region.
Menashe was speaking on a post-Q1 analysts call after Super Group published its quarterly results last week. Headline figures included group revenue rising 25% to $517 million, while EBITDA climbed 46.6% to $107 million, and net profit 105.4% to $76 million.
However, the stand-out revelation from Q1 was that Africa and Middle East overtook North America as the group’s largest revenue market. Middle East revenue was actually lower year-on-year, with Africa driving growth within this reporting region.
Africa and Middle East drew 39% of all Q1 group revenue, up from 37% last year. In contrast, North America’s revenue share dipped from 37% to 35%, after the company disposed of part of its US business in 2024.
Efficiency is the answer to competing in Africa
Such has been Super Group’s swift success in Africa that it has a strong presence within the markets where it is active. While CEO Neal Menashe acknowledges this growth will continue to attract other operators and offer some competition, he is confident on the group’s position
“I think there is always new entrants coming in all the markets we operate in,” he said.
“But again, in the markets where we have got podium positions, you probably have to think of us like what FanDuel and DraftKings are to the US, especially from the sports side of things, right. It’s bringing the customers and it’s about brand resonance, and you have got this customer base that you are building on.”
On competition, the CEO said efficiency was the answer. “It is not about driving down costs, but becoming efficient with the costs that you are utilising, whether it’s in CRM, risk management, or processing fees.
“The big one is how do you become efficient on your funnel of marketing. If you are open to actors or converting at a certain percentage in each market, how do you make that better, what new products can we do, how do we scale?” Menashe added.
‘Africa is super profitable’
While Super Group did not publish a full breakdown of its performance in each country in Africa, Menashe said all its markets on the continent are currently profitable. As such, he said it is important for the group to maintain this momentum and open in more countries.
“The secret for Africa is that every bit of extra revenue is super, super, super profitable,” he said. “If we grow revenue by 30% or 40%, you could almost double your profits there. This is the beautiful part of it.”
“So, what we must do is maintain where we are and grow and open the new markets. For us, it’s not only about the revenue, but also the profitable revenue. Extra revenue is really flying down to the bottom line, so, we have to keep enhancing the product and getting all the new features.”
Chief Financial Officer Alinda Van Wyk also picked up on this, highlighting how Africa is home to 13 of the 20 fastest-growing economies in the world at present. This, paired with growing populations, presents opportunities to Super Group.
“It just gives us that scale for expansion as well,” Van Wyk said. “And with processing and the regulation, it’s also a much friendlier regulation than, for example, the US. For the last 15 years, we’ve been dealing with every country’s regulation side-by-side, and that’s been helping a lot with expansion.”
New Africa markets to follow for Super Group
Menashe fielded several questions on growth in Africa during the earnings call, some of which focused on Super Group’s future plans on the continent. The CEO made clear that the group is committed to further expansion, revealing it could soon go live in more countries.
“Botswana was only launched in February … but I think it’s off to a great start and that’s what we need to see,” Menashe said.
“We are looking at Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Angola. We have got a lot in the pipeline, but we have just got to make sure we can first deliver all of them correctly, and most importantly, that the taxes and the repatriation of the money out of those countries works for us.
“We’ve got other countries we are looking at as well. But we have just got to make sure that it makes profitable sense to do it. We have still got lots of pipeline there and we are not even in most countries in North Africa or the West Coast. So, there is a lot of opportunity everywhere.”
Easier tech launches in Africa
Also on this, Menashe said the tech stack in Africa makes it easy for Super Group to roll out new features in all its African markets. This is despite the differing regulations present across the continent.
He added that the operator has around 150 different integrations of banking products across Africa to support its ongoing expansion.
“We have got brilliant features that we roll out, but the tech stack there allows us,” he said. “If we roll out a feature in South Africa or Ghana, we can roll it out in Tanzania. So, that’s helping a lot.”