The start of 2026 has marked a definitive shift from the “growth at all costs” era to a season of strategic consolidation.
This M&A analysis explores the total M&A landscape in Nigeria and Africa from December 2025 to February 2026. Get a month-by-month breakdown of Flutterwave’s Mono acquisition, Paystack’s move into banking, and the multi-billion dollar energy shifts at Seplat.
The Month-by-Month Deal Flow
The first quarter of 2026 has been defined by three distinct phases: the “Strategic Finish” of 2025, the “License Land-grab” of January, and the “Infrastructure Megadeals” of February.
December 2025: The Strategic Finish
While the year ended with a record 67 M&A deals across Africa, December was the month of quiet finalization. This made the year end with a 72% increase from 2024
| Acquirer | Target | Deal Type | Estimated Value | Strategic Intent |
| MTN Group | IHS Towers | Infrastructure | $6.2 Billion | Reintegrating 28,700+ towers to cut lease costs and improve network uptime. |
| Flutterwave | Mono | Data / Open Banking | $25M – $40M | Owning the open-banking “pipes” for identity and bank-to-bank payments. |
| Paystack | Ladder MFB | Regulatory / License | Undisclosed | Securing a banking license to offer direct lending and deposit-taking. |
| AXIAN Telecom | Wananchi / Jumia | Telecom / Digital | Strategic | Consolidating digital services and connectivity across East and West Africa. |
| Andela | Woven | Talent Tech | Undisclosed | Strengthening “assessment-as-a-service” for the global remote-work market. |
Nigeria: Rank (formerly Moni) finalized its acquisition of Zazzau Microfinance Bank and AjoMoney. This move allowed the credit-led startup to secure a banking license and a community-savings layer simultaneously.
Africa: Stitch (South Africa) closed its acquisition of ExiPay, cementing its dominance in the payment orchestration space as it prepared for a 2026 expansion into West Africa.
January 2026: The “Infrastructure & License” Surge
January saw the public unveiling of two of the most significant deals in Nigerian fintech history.
The Flutterwave-Mono Deal ($25M–$40M): Announced on January 5, this all-stock acquisition of Mono allows Flutterwave to own the “Open Banking” pipeline. Instead of paying third parties for bank verification and data, Flutterwave now owns the source.
Paystack-Ladder MFB: Just a week later, Paystack acquired Ladder Microfinance Bank. This wasn’t just a business expansion; it was a regulatory pivot. By becoming Paystack MFB, the company can now hold deposits and issue loans directly, moving into a space previously dominated by traditional banks and neo-banks like Kuda.
February 2026: The Infrastructure Megadeals
The current month has seen a transition from “software” to “heavy hardware” and telecommunications infrastructure.
MTN’s $6.2 Billion IHS Towers Bid: On February 17, MTN Group announced a proposed deal to take full ownership of IHS Towers. If finalized, this will reintegrate over 28,700 towers back into MTN’s control across Nigeria, South Africa, and Cameroon, drastically reducing lease costs and improving service reliability.
BUILD TO SELL: an intentional or unintentional approach to growth
in this new approach to business scaling, those building in certain ecosystems need to rethink their approach
The “Middlemen”: Startups that solely provide a layer between banks and customers are losing. If you don’t own the license (like Paystack now does) or the data (like Flutterwave/Mono), your margins are being squeezed by the very giants you rely on.
E-commerce & Pure Retail: This sector recorded the most significant closures between 2022 and 2025 (46 startups). Without a massive logistics or credit play, pure marketplace models are struggling to find acquirers.
Unit-Economics Deniers: The market is no longer subsidizing customer acquisition. Startups that cannot prove a path to profitability are being acquired for “acqui-hire” prices (often less than the capital they raised) or simply shutting down.
Startups that exist as a “feature” rather than a full product are the biggest losers.
The Reason: If your entire business model is just “API for bank data” or “Agency banking app,” you are now a target for acquisition at a discount—or worse, your customers (the big fintechs) are now your competitors. Many of these startups are facing “Acqui-hires”—where the bigger company buys them just for the talent and shuts down the product.
Strategic Analysis for Investors
For the rest of 2026, expect “The Great Roll-up.” We will likely see mid-sized startups in logistics and healthtech merge with each other to create enough “mass” to survive, while the Fintech giants continue to buy anything that lowers their cost of doing business.
Whether you’re ready to sell your legacy or scale through acquisition, let DealPartners.Africa handle the valuation and due diligence—book your strategy session today
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