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Africa’s fintech sector is seeing a surge in deal-making as firms race to dominate the continent’s booming cash transfer and digital payments market, projected to hit US$1.5 trillion by 2030
Fierce competition in Africa’s digital and cross-border payment sector is fuelling a wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), as fintech giants, banks, and telcos pursue strategic tie-ups to expand their market share.
As rivalry heats up, companies are betting on consolidation to outmanoeuvre competition in an increasingly fractured market, where innovation and expansion determine survival.
The push reflects soaring demand for faster, cheaper, and more inclusive financial services in Africa, where Mastercard’s report anticipates digital transactions to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030.
According to PwC’s Global M&A Trends 2023, deal volume in Africa’s tech and fintech sectors increased 22% year over year in 2023, driven by cross-border payment inefficiencies and investor appetite for scalable solutions.
Disrupt Africa’s analysis showed that 26 African fintech startups were acquired between June 2021 and July 2023, a 271% surge compared to just seven deals in the preceding two-year period.
McKinsey’s analysis further suggests that, with these tailwinds, fintech revenues could reach up to $47 billion by 2028, representing a fivefold increase from their value of $10 billion in 2023.
Photo: African Fintech Summit
Africa’s digital payments sector has long been a battleground between mobile money operators like M-PESA, agile fintech startups, and traditional banks. Landmark deals like WorldRemit’s $500 million acquisition of Sendwave in 2020 have also paved the way, streamlining remittances between Africa and the diaspora.
Africa’s remittance flows hit $100 billion in 2024, while intra-African trade remains hamstrung by costly and inefficient payment systems. Fintechs like Flutterwave, Chipper Cash, and Wave have capitalised on this gap, but mounting competition is forcing even market leaders to consolidate.
As cross-border trade and remittances surge, companies are turning to M&A to rapidly scale infrastructure, acquire technical expertise, and secure regulatory approvals across markets.
“The future of African fintech hinges on interoperability and ecosystem partnerships,” notes a 2024 McKinsey report, Redefining Success: A New Playbook for African Fintech Leaders.
“Very often, these deals are prompted by investors looking to consolidate start-ups to create bigger and more profitable entities.”
For instance, last year in Nigeria, Ventures Platform facilitated the acquisition of Traction Apps, a payment and inventory solution for small businesses, by B2B e-commerce startup OmniRetail.
Nigerian payments unicorn Flutterwave has acquired Disha and joined forces with payment processing specialist Acquired.com.
In 2021, the firm also partnered with MTN, integrating its payment infrastructure with MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) to deliver cash directly to mobile wallets across Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia.
This alliance, part of MTN’s pan-African expansion strategy, aimed to deepen financial access for unbanked populations while positioning both firms as key players in the remittance race. By 2023, MTN reported a 40% increase in mobile money users across these markets, highlighting the partnership’s role in driving adoption.
Similarly, South Africa’s MFS Africa bought US-based Global Technology Partners for $34 million, gaining access to 180 million mobile wallets (White & Case M&A Explorer).
Telecom giants are also joining the fray, with Airtel Money’s partnership with Standard Chartered now enabling real-time transfers across 14 African countries. McKinsey describes this strategy as combining “scale, localised solutions, and seamless integration across channels.”
Once sidelined by mobile money’s explosive growth, traditional banks counterattack through strategic acquisitions.
Kenya’s Equity Bank, for instance, expanded its footprint in Central Africa by acquiring Congolese lender ProCredit in 2022, aiming to integrate its EazzyNet digital platform with mobile money ecosystems.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Access Bank has aggressively acquired smaller lenders in Zambia, Mozambique, and Angola, explicitly citing cross-border payment synergies. This mirrors Kenya’s PesaLink strategy, where banks pooled resources to launch a bulk-transaction platform rivalling M-PESA. Now, similar alliances are emerging regionally.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has further galvanised efforts, with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) aiming to cut transaction costs by $5 billion annually.
Still, momentum is building. With AfCFTA promising a US$3.5 trillion continental market, the rush to merge, acquire, and ally shows no sign of slowing.
Credit: Seth Onyango, Bird Story Agency
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