From the newsletter
South Africa offers the highest salaries for finance leaders in healthcare across four major African countries, according to a new salary benchmarking by Healthcare Rising in collaboration with recruiter Shortlist. Senior finance leaders start at $91,000 annually in South Africa, ahead of Kenya at $70,000, Nigeria at $63,000 and Egypt at $59,500.
In the “retention benchmark”, pay deemed to keep the finance professionals in a mid-size organisation from being poached, South Africa tops at $156,000. Kenya comes second at $120,000, Nigeria at $108,000 and Egypt at $102,000.
As for sales leaders and marketing and communications leaders in healthcare, compensation differs widely depending on organisational maturity and sector, says Shortlist. More in the rest of this article.
More details
Early-stage clinic or franchise businesses typically offer lower packages than larger pharmaceutical companies with international pay scales and stronger global talent pipelines. Traditional healthcare organisations, such as hospitals, also pay comparatively less due to a larger supply of qualified talent and more stable, lower-growth business models.
Sales leaders in South Africa earn $52,000 at the threshold level, which is $12,000 more than in Kenya, $16,000 more than in Nigeria and $18,000 more than in Egypt.
The retention benchmark widens this margin. South Africa’s $84,500 outpaces Kenya’s $65,000 by $19,500, Nigeria’s $58,500 by $26,000 and Egypt’s $55,250 by $29,250. In order to keep rare talent, South Africa pays $117,000.
Kenya offers competitive pay for marketing and communications leaders, starting at $60,000, rising to a retention benchmark of $90,000 and reaching a premium of $120,000. Nigeria follows closely with $54,000, $81,000 and $108,000 across the same levels, while Egypt trails slightly at $51,000, $76,500 and $102,000.
South Africa remains the highest-paying market, with salaries progressing from $78,000 at entry to $117,000 at retention and peaking at $156,000.
Our take
South Africa’s consistent lead, tens of thousands of dollars higher at every level, shows that deeper private-sector health markets directly translate into higher salaries.
In a 2025 healthcare index in Africa, South Africa topped the list. It could be argued that its investments in terms of high salaries translate into better quality care.