Merger and acquisition activity in African startups surged in 2025, with 67 deals recorded, representing a 72% increase from the 39 deals seen in 2024, the highest annual total ever.
This is according to the State of Tech in Africa (SOTIA) report by TechCabal.
The report notes that African startups raised $3.4 billion in 2025, bringing total funding over seven years to $20.16 billion.
According to the report, established players are aggressively buying other startups to grow, get licenses, and take more of the market.
“This surge signals a definitive shift from a fragmented ecosystem to one defined by strategic consolidation and the emergence of deeper, more integrated platform businesses,” the report stated
Lexi Novitske, Partner at Norrsken22, said most mergers and acquisitions in 2025 were strategic, driven by companies acquiring startups to expand geographically or enhance product and technology capabilities.
“While we are still seeing some exits out of necessity where companies can no longer raise capital, scale, or are running into licensing issues, I think this year the majority of exits have actually been strategic.
“We have seen more traditional players, including banks, acquiring technology companies, plus broader consolidation in the space. Some of this has been for geographic expansion, and in other cases technology-led acquisitions to add product capabilities,” said Novitske
Fintech led the M&A wave, accounting for 31 deals or nearly 46% of total activity. Companies like Moniepoint, Stitch, and Rank executed multiple acquisitions to strengthen banking licenses and expand infrastructure.
According to the SOTIA report, the total deal count in 2025 was 67, reflecting the highest annual activity in the continent’s tech ecosystem to date.
Tier 1 markets dominated acquisitions, accounting for 75% of acquired startups in 2025. South Africa topped the leaderboard with 16 acquisitions, driven by exits including digital bank Bank Zero, TaxTim, and Namola.
Kenya followed with 14 deals, including transactions linked to Mobius Motors and other strategic companies. Egypt recorded 11 acquisitions, while Nigeria remained robust with nine deals, including Fatura and Pensions Alliance Limited.
The surge in M&A activity shows a maturing African tech ecosystem, where strategic consolidation, cross-border expansion, and vertical integration are becoming key growth strategies. The concentration of deals in tier 1 markets highlights South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria as the primary engines of liquidity and value creation.
According to Novitske, looking ahead to 2026, M&A activity is expected to continue in Africa’s major markets. She noted that AI tools, which may not yet be commercially viable on their own, are likely to become attractive targets as add-ons that improve internal efficiency and reduce costs for acquirers.
Consolidation is also expected to persist in microfinance and other highly competitive fintech segments, where acquiring user bases and datasets remains valuable for geographic expansion. Given ongoing global market volatility, Novitske added that international acquirers are unlikely to be very active in Africa next year, as most will focus on managing risk.
Nigeria’s tech and financial sectors have seen a number of noteworthy mergers and acquisitions in 2026.
Nigeria’s tech and financial sectors have seen a number of noteworthy mergers and acquisitions in 2026.
One of the most significant deals this year saw Flutterwave, Africa’s largest fintech company, acquire Nigerian open banking startup Mono in an all‑stock transaction valued between $25 million and $40 million.
The acquisition brings together Flutterwave’s extensive payments network with Mono’s API‑based bank data infrastructure, enabling secure access to financial information, identity verification, and direct bank payments across multiple markets.
In another high‑profile move, Nigerian payments company Paystack acquired Ladder Microfinance Bank, marking a strategic expansion beyond its core payments business into regulated financial services. Paystack now holds deposits and issues loans through the newly created Paystack Microfinance Bank.
Trove Finance, a Nigerian fintech platform, acquired UCML Securities Limited to become a SEC‑licensed broker.