After years of fragmented growth, Africa’s fintech sector has entered an era of increased consolidation, with the continent’s tech ecosystem having recorded 67 reported M&A transactions in 2025, a 72% surge from 2024, and comfortably surpassing the previous record of 40 deals set in 20221. Fintech led the charge, accounting for 31 of those deals — roughly 46% of the total — as cash-rich platforms moved decisively to acquire market share, banking licences and infrastructure, rather than waiting on organic growth.
The shift is structural, not cyclical. The “growth at all costs” model that defined African tech’s venture-fuelled boom has given way to a harder-nosed calculus: profitability, regulatory moats, and scale. With African startups raising US$3,42 billion in 2025 — a healthy rebound from $2,24 billion in 2024, but concentrated in fewer hands — well-capitalised incumbents are well positioned. Increased partnerships and expansions also complemented M&A, as firms like Nigeria’s Rank (ex-Moni) snapped up AjoMoney and Zazzau Microfinance Bank for savings and credit services, and South African payments specialist, Stitch Group2 similarly acquired ExiPay and Efficacy Payments to bolster its infrastructure.
THE DEALS DRIVING THE NARRATIVE
Two transactions encapsulate the moment. In Nigeria, Moniepoint completed its acquisition of a 78% stake in Kenya’s Sumac Microfinance Bank. Sumac, a licensed deposit-taking lender, gives Moniepoint instant access to Kenya’s $67,3 billion mobile payments market, bypassing a lengthy regulatory process. After an earlier attempt to acquire payments firm KopoKopo fell apart, Moniepoint pivoted to Sumac and secured this East African foothold (retaining Sumac’s infrastructure and staff)34, while also grabbing UK’s Bancom Europe for broader capabilities.5
In South Africa, Lesaka Technologies sealed a transformative $61 million (R1,1 billion) deal for Bank Zero in 2025.6 Bank Zero brought more than R400 million ($22 million) in deposits and over 40,000 funded accounts to the transaction, embedding a zero-fee neobank into Lesaka’s platform for consumers, merchants and enterprises. Chairman Michael Jordaan, the former FNB CEO who co-founded Bank Zero, joined Lesaka’s board post-deal, signalling governance depth.7
Both deals follow the same playbook: acquire a licence, retain the team, accelerate the model.
VC-TO-PE SHIFT FUELS EXIT STRATEGIES
The M&A wave is inseparable from a broader shift in how capital flows in and out of African tech. With global IPO markets subdued, the traditional venture-to-public-markets exit path has narrowed, and Private equity (PE) is filling the gap. The African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA) noted 63 exits in 2024 – up 50% year-on-year – with secondary transactions now accounting for a third of all exits. PE suits the new African tech reality: predictable recurring revenues in payments application programming interfaces, software as a service infrastructure, and lending platforms translate more cleanly into PE return models than into volatile public market multiples.
GEOGRAPHY, REGULATION, AND THE ROAD AHEAD
Three-quarters of Africa’s 2025 tech M&A activity was concentrated in Africa’s “Big Four” markets — South Africa (16 deals), Kenya (14), Egypt (11) and Nigeria (9) — the same markets that attracted the lion’s share of 2025 funding: $933 million, $811 million, $548 million, and $438 million respectively. The correlation is not coincidental. More mature ecosystems attract capital, which breeds acquirers, which deepens ecosystems further. The flywheel is turning.
The regulatory dimension is equally important. Across the continent, buying a licensed institution compresses years of compliance into a single transaction, as illustrated by Moniepoint’s Sumac play. In markets where regulatory frameworks are tightening, licence acquisition will continue to gain strategic importance.
Looking to the remainder of 2026, it is likely that the above trends will continue, although the current global economic uncertainty may have an impact – not least on the continued appetite of Gulf sovereign wealth funds for African fintech assets – while regulatory delays, valuation gaps between founders and buyers, and currency volatility will remain challenges. That said, the direction of travel is clear, with consolidation in Africa’s fintech sector set to continue.
Konrad Fleischhauer and Kayla Jackson are Corporate Financiers | PSG Capital
This article first appeared in DealMakers AFRICA, the continent’s quarterly M&A publication.
DealMakers AFRICA is a quarterly M&A publication
www.dealmakersafrica.com
- https://www.ecofinagency.com/news/3001-52458-african-startup-m-a-hits-record-67-deals-in-2025-led-by-fintech ↩︎
- Efficacy Payments has been acquired by Stitch Group, enabling the Group to offer card acquiring services ↩︎
- https://dabafinance.com/en/news/kenya-clears-nigeria-fintech-moniepoint-to-acquire-sumac-microfinance ↩︎
- https://techcabal.com/2025/06/02/moniepoint-kenya-sumac-78-kopokopo/ ↩︎
- https://www.ecofinagency.com/news/3001-52458-african-startup-m-a-hits-record-67-deals-in-2025-led-by-fintech ↩︎
- https://www.finasa.org.za/post/south-african-fintech-ecosystem-30-day-summary-feb-march-2026-funding-regulation-key-deals ↩︎
- https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/LESAKA-TECHNOLOGIES-INC-10275/news/South-African-fintech-group-Lesaka-acquires-Bank-Zero-for-61mn-50411637/ ↩︎
