Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) played a role in shaping Africa’s private capital market in the first quarter of 2026, reinforcing a shift toward consolidation, scale, and strategic expansion across key sectors.
- +7 M&A transactions that shaped Africa’s economy in Q1
- +Varun Beverages acquires Twizza
According to the Q1 2026 Private Capital in Africa Activity Report by Stears, M&A activity remained a significant component of deal flow, accounting for nearly a quarter of all transactions during the period.
According to the Q1 2026 Private Capital in Africa Activity Report by Stears, M&A activity remained a significant component of deal flow, accounting for nearly a quarter of all transactions during the period.
This sustained level of activity highlights how African companies are increasingly turning to acquisitions to deepen market presence, expand capabilities, and unlock new growth opportunities.
Here are the M&A transitions that took place in Q1 MTN acquires IHS Towers MTN Group Limited has acquired IHS Towers in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $6.2 billion, marking one of the largest digital infrastructure deals in Africa and effectively reversing years of tower divestments by the continent’s biggest mobile operator.
Under the merger agreement, shareholders of IHS Holding Limited will receive $8.50 per ordinary share in cash. The transaction will see MTN, Africa’s largest mobile network operator by subscribers, transition from being a major tenant and minority shareholder in IHS to full owner. Upon completion, IHS will delist from the New York Stock Exchange and become a wholly owned subsidiary of MTN.
Varun Beverages acquires Twizza
Varun Beverages Ltd. has completed the $125 million acquisition of South Africa’s Twizza, following all necessary regulatory approvals.
The deal gives Varun control of Twizza’s manufacturing facilities and distribution network across Southern Africa, integrating it into its African portfolio. Varun, PepsiCo’s largest bottling partner outside the US, is focusing on African markets for growth as its Indian sales face weather-related challenges.
Twizza will now operate under BevCo, Varun’s South African subsidiary, and founder Ken Clark and his family no longer own the company.
Flutterwave acquires Mono Africa’s largest fintech company, Flutterwave, has acquired Nigerian open banking startup Mono in an all-stock transaction valued between $25 million and $40 million.
The acquisition brings together two of Africa’s most prominent fintech infrastructure players. Flutterwave operates one of the continent’s broadest payment networks, enabling local and cross-border transactions across more than 30 African countries. Mono, often described as the Plaid for Africa, provides APIs that allow businesses to access bank data, verify customers, initiate payments, and assess financial behaviour with user consent.
Moniepoint acquires Orda Moniepoint Inc. has acquired restaurant management startup Orda Africa in a move aimed at expanding its reach into Africa’s fast-growing food service industry, a sector estimated to be worth about $50 billion across the continent.
The deal integrates Orda’s cloud-based restaurant software into Moniepoint’s business management platform, Moniebook, allowing food vendors and restaurants to manage orders, payments, inventory, and accounting from a single system.
The acquisition highlights a wider shift among African fintech firms that are moving beyond payments to offer operational tools and credit to small businesses, especially those in the informal economy.
Trove acquires UCML Securities Limited Nigerian fintech Trove Finance has acquired UCML Securities Limited in a move to internalise its brokerage operations and gain greater control over trade execution, compliance, and customer experience. The acquired firm has been rebranded as Innova Securities Limited and will now operate as Trove’s SEC-licensed broker-dealer. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Trove says the acquisition reflects its growth and the need to own more of its trading infrastructure as its user base and product offerings expand. By bringing brokerage services in-house, the company aims to improve service quality, strengthen regulatory oversight, and better meet rising demand from Nigerian investors seeking access to local and global markets.
Paystack acquires Ladder Microfinance Bank Paystack has taken a major step beyond its traditional payment services by acquiring Ladder Microfinance Bank, gaining a regulated banking licence in Nigeria.
The newly acquired institution will be rebranded as ‘Paystack Microfinance Bank (Paystack MFB)’ and operate as a separate regulated entity within the Paystack group.
The deal allows the fintech company to hold customer deposits and provide loans, which are capabilities it previously lacked under its payments-only licence.
Dawar acquires stake in BekyaPay Dawar by Environ Adapt, the Cairo-based circular economy platform, has acquired a strategic stake in BekyaPay, a consumer-facing application that enables households to exchange sorted recyclable materials for cash.
The acquisition extends Dawar’s digital infrastructure beyond aggregation and trade layers to the point of waste generation. By integrating BekyaPay, Dawar captures source-level data before materials enter informal trade networks, strengthening traceability across the recycling value chain.
Founded to formalize fragmented waste recovery flows, Dawar operates as a digital infrastructure layer that records and verifies recyclable material movements across collection points, aggregators, and traders. Over the past three years, the company has reported documenting more than 90,000 verified tons of recyclables across 22 governorates.
