As the startup ecosystem in Africa continues to gain momentum and mature, a lot of acquisitions of tech startups and established companies are taking place, in leaps and bounds. The country with the most acquired tech startups in Africa is still South Africa. While other African countries are catching up, particularly with the recent multimillion-dollar acquisitions in Nigeria, South Africa has seen a bigger number of acquisitions over the years. The table below provides some insight into how acquisitions have been made on the continent during the last few years. This data is updated on a half-yearly basis.
| S/N | NAME OF STARTUP | SECTOR OF STARTUP | PRIMARY COUNTRY OF OPERATIONS | YEAR FOUNDED | YEAR ACQUIRED | NAME OF ACQUIROR | PRIMARY COUNTRY OF ACQUIROR | NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACQUISITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GetSmarter | Edtech | South Africa | 2007 | 2017 | 2U | United States | Sold for $103-million plus $20-million in cash. |
| 2 | Kapa Biosystems | Life Science | South Africa | 2006 | 2016 | Roche | Switzerland | Acquired for for $445-million |
| 3 | Fundamo City | Fintech (Mobile financial services) | South Africa | 1999 | 2011 | Visa | United States | Acquired for $110 million |
| 4 | Nimbula | Enterprise (Cloud computing) | South Africa | 2008 | 2013 | Oracle | United States | Acquired for $110 million |
| 5 | Gyft | Mobile Gift Card | South Africa | 2012 | 2014 | FirstData | United States | Acquired for $54m |
| 6 | WooCommerce | Open source ecommerce plugin | South Africa | 2011 | 2015 | WordPress | United States | Acquisition estimated to be worth over $30 million |
| 7 | Quirk (Mirum) | Digital agency | South Africa | 1999 | 2016 | WPP | London, United Kingdom | Acquired for a reported R350 million to R400-million ($35million to $39 million) at the time of the sale. |
| 8 | Buni.tv | Entertainment | Kenya | 2009 | 2016 | Trace Tv | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 9 | Baxi | Fintech (Digital agent network) | Nigeria | 2014 | 2021 | MFS Africa | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 10 | Devcorp | Enterprise | Morocco | 2014 | 2021 | ABA Technology Group | Morocco | Undisclosed |
| 11 | Picup | Logistics | South Africa | 2014 | 2021 | Karooooo | Singapore | Acquired for $4.8m |
| 12 | FwRun | Ecommerce | Egypt | 2019 | 2021 | Diggipacks | Saudi Arabia | Undisclosed |
| 13 | WaystoCap | B2B Ecommerce | Morocco | 2017 | 2021 | MaxAB | Egypt | Undisclosed |
| 14 | CallPay | Fintech | South Africa | 2014 | 2021 | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Acquired at a valuation of ($6.8m) |
| 15 | Eventtus | Events management | Egypt | 2012 | 2021 | Bevy | United States | Undisclosed |
| 16 | Cars45 | Car-listing marketplace | Nigeria | 2016 | 2017;2020; 2021 | Frontier Car Group; OLX Group; JIJI | Germany; Netherlands; Nigeria (respectively) | Undisclosed |
| 17 | Giraffe | Recruitment | South Africa | 2015 | 2021 | Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 18 | WizzPass | Visitor Management | South Africa | 2015 | 2021 | FM:Systems | United States | Undisclosed |
| 19 | Tareeqi | Bus tracking | Egypt | 2018 | 2021 | eMushrif | Oman | Undisclosed |
| 20 | Digiduka | Fintech | Kenya | 2019 | 2021 | MarketForce | Kenya | Undisclosed |
| 21 | DabaDoc | e-Health | Morocco | 2014 | 2021 | Orange MEA; AXA CIMA | Morocco | Undisclosed |
| 22 | WayaWaya | AI and Machine Learning | Kenya | 2016 | 2021 | Ajua | Kenya | Undisclosed |
| 23 | Lawtrust | IT security | South Africa | 2006 | 2021 | Altron | South Africa | Acquired for $17m |
| 24 | Ubusha Technologies | Identity Security Solutions | South Africa | 2003 | 2019 | Altron | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 25 | Mangwee | Fintech (Mobile payments) | Zambia | 2018 | 2021 | Zeepay | Ghana | Undisclosed |
| 26 | ParceNinja | Ecommerce logistics | South Africa | 2013 | 2021 | Imperial Logistics | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 27 | Surebet | Betting/Gaming | Kenya | 2019 | 2021 | TransAtlantic Capital | United States | Undisclosed |
| 28 | Delivroum | Food delivery | Togo | 2018 | 2020 | Gozem | Togo | Undisclosed |
| 29 | Luno | Blockchain | South Africa | 2013 | 2020 | Digital Currency Group (DCG) | United States | Undisclosed |
| 30 | DPO Group | Ecommerce | Kenya | 2006 | 2020 | Network International Holdings plc | United Arab Emirates | Undisclosed |
| 31 | Beyonic | Fintech (Payments) | Uganda | 2006 | 2020 | MFS Africa | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 32 | Conversio | Digital Marketing | South Africa | 2014 | 2020 | CM Group | United States | Undisclosed |
| 33 | Harmonica | Dating | Egypt | 2017 | 2020 | Match Group | United States | Undisclosed |
| 34 | Shago Payments | Ecommerce payments solutions | Nigeria | 2019 | 2021 | Alerzo | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 35 | Paystack | Fintech (Payments) | Nigeria | 2016 | 2020 | Stripe | United States | Acquired for over $200m |
| 36 | Sa3ar | Auto tech (car assessment) | Egypt | 2019 | 2021 | Contactcars.com | Egypt | Undisclosed |
| 37 | Cheki (Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya) | Auto tech | Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya | 2010 | 2021 | Autochek | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 38 | Savi.ng | Fintech (Wealth management) | Nigeria | 2018 | 2021 | PiggyVest | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 39 | Exchange4Free | Fintech (Cross-border payments) | South Africa | 2008 | 2021 | AZA Finance | Kenya | Undisclosed |
| 40 | eLimu | Edtech | Kenya | 2012 | 2020 | CcHub | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 41 | Bottles App | Logistics (on-demand Delivery) | South Africa | 2016 | 2020 | Pick n Pay | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 42 | Sendwave | Fintech (Cross-border payments) | Kenya | 2014 | 2020 | WorldRemit | United Kingdom | Acquired for $500m |
| 43 | Apposit | Enterprise (Software development) | Ethiopia | 2017 | 2020 | Paga | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 44 | StarterHub | Community | Egypt | 2015 | 2019 | RiseUp | Egypt | Undisclosed |
| 45 | Mobisol | Off-grid energy | Kenya | 2011 | 2019 | Engie | Kenya | Undisclosed |
| 46 | iHub | Innovation Hub | Kenya | 2010 | 2019 | CcHub | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 47 | Surf Kenya | Wi-fi | Kenya | 2015 | 2019 | BRCK | Kenya | Undisclosed |
| 48 | Amplify | Fintech | Nigeria | 2016 | 2019 | OneFi | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 49 | OLX Africa | Classifieds | Nigeria | 2012 | 2019 | JiJi | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 50 | Konga | Ecommerce | Nigeria | 2012 | 2018 | Zinox | Nigeria | $10m (Reportedly) |
| 51 | Kngine | AI | Egypt | 2008 | 2018 | Samsung Electronics | South Korea | Undisclosed |
| 52 | QuickHelp | AI (chatbot) | Nigeria | 2015 | 2018 | 1001 Squared Artificial Intelligence | Canada | Undisclosed |
| 53 | Cape Networks | SaaS | South Africa | 2013 | 2018 | HP | United States | Undisclosed |
| 54 | Wezart | Arts marketplace | South Africa | 2016 | 2020 | African Fashion International | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 55 | TopCheck | Ecommerce | Nigeria | 2015 | 2018 | Silvertree | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 56 | Stabus | Mobility | Ghana | 2019 | 2021 | Treepz (Formerly Plentywaka) | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 57 | Okuhle Media | Digital media | South Africa | 2003 | 2021 | Trace | France | Undisclosed |
| 58 | Fundall | Fintech | Nigeria | 2019 | 2021 | Emerging Africa Group | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 59 | QuickCash | Fintech | Côte d’ivoire | 2010 | 2021 | E-Settlement | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 60 | Disha | One no-code tool for content creator | Nigeria | 2019 | 2021 | Interswitch | Nigeria | Disha planned to shut down on December 31, 2021, save for the acquisition. Deal amount undisclosed. |
| 61 | Nafham | Social startup for free crowdsourced educational content | Egypt | 2012 | 2021 | Tyro | Egypt | Undisclosed |
| 62 | FarmTrust | Blockchain-enabled ecommerce | Tunisia | 2018 | 2021 | LAMMA | Tunisia | Undisclosed |
| 63 | Quench | Ecommerce and last-mile delivery service | South Africa | 2016 | 2021 | The Foschini Group | South Africa | Undisclosed. |
| 64 | SwitchPay | Fintech providing alternative payments options to merchants and retailers. | South Africa | 2018 | 2021 | Adumo | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 65 | Crossfin | Card and mobile-enabled payment transactions | South Africa | 2017 | 2021 | The EMMF I and ARC consortium | South Africa | $94.3m |
| 66 | MainOne | Data center infrastructure | Nigeria | 2010 | 2021 | Equinix | United States | $320m |
| 67 | Filkhedma | Homes services | Egypt | 2014 | 2021 | SweepSouth | Egypt | Undisclosed |
| 68 | Thawte | SSL and code signing certificates | South Africa | 1995 | 1999 | Verisign | United States | US $575 million |
| 69 | ClaimSync | End-to-end claims processing platform | Ghana | 2011 | 2013 | GenKey Solutions | Netherlands | Undisclosed |
| 70 | Saya | Developer of mobile messaging apps for feature phones | Ghana | 2011 | 2014 | Kirusa | United States | Undisclosed |
| 71 | Paynet Group | Multi-institutional payments provider. | Kenya | 2003 | 2014 | Interswitch | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 72 | Jobberman | Recruitment | Nigeria | 2009 | 2015 | Ringier One Africa Media (ROAM) | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 73 | NgCareers.com | Recruitment | Nigeria | 2009 | 2020 | Jobberman | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 74 | Weza Tele | Financial products, including mobile loans and retail credit cards. | Kenya | 2011 | 2015 | AFB | Ghana | $1.7 million |
| 75 | Fawry | Financial services backed by tech | Egypt | 2008 | 2015 | Egyptian-American Enterprise fund, Helios Investment Partners and the MENA Long-Term Value Fund | Egypt; United Kingdom | $100m |
| 76 | Vanso | Mobile and security-focused financial technology provider | Nigeria | 2005 | 2016 | Interswitch | Nigeria | Undisclosed |
| 77 | One Africa Media | Online marketplaces in the employment, auto, property and travel sectors. | South Africa | 2012 | 2016 | Ringier | Switzerland | Undisclosed |
| 78 | Popcorn Training | Cybersecurity awareness training provider | South Africa | 2012 | 2018 | KnowBe4 | United States | Undisclosed |
| 79 | 3elagi | On-demand Pharmacy delivery | Egypt | 2017 | 2020 | Ibnsina Pharma | Egypt | Undisclosed |
| 80 | Oltio (formally MTN Mobile Money South Africa) | Pioneered and patented several mobile payments and banking solutions, | South Africa | 2004 | 2018 | Mastercard | United States | Undisclosed |
| 81 | Teacha! | Online media hub for teachers | South Africa | 2016 | 2020 | Snapplify | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 82 | Simulation Engineering Technologies | Creating computer simulation models of complex systems. | South Africa | 2004 | 2018 | 4Sight Holdings | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 83 | RetailTower | Ecommerce product that helps online merchants sell across multiple shopping engines | Ghana | 2010 | 2018 | Kudobuzz | Ghana | Undisclosed |
| 84 | AccTech Systems | A professional services firm specializing in Microsoft ERP & CRM and Sage ERP & CRM business solutions. | South Africa | 1994 | 2018 | 4Sight | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 85 | Dynamics Africa Services | An ISV Partner focusing on Microsoft Dynamics NAV and GP Enterprise solutions. | South Africa | 2014 | 2018 | 4Sight | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 86 | Media Works | Online-based Adult Education and Training (AET) provider | South Africa | 1996 | 2018 | FutureLearn Pty Ltd. | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 87 | Teranga Solutions | A mobile and cloud-based platform for hospitality firms | Senegal | 2013 | 2018 | HotelOnline | Kenya | Undisclosed |
| 88 | Mubawab | A free to use real estate ad site in arab countries | Morocco | 2013 | 2018 | Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG) | Dubai, UAE | Undisclosed |
| 89 | OrderTalk | Develops online ordering software and solutions for the restaurant, takeout, and hospitality industry. | South Africa | 1998 | 2018 | Uber Eats | United States | Undisclosed |
| 90 | VTN Communications | A provider of voice solutions | South Africa | 2011 | 2018 | HeroTel | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 91 | Smart Integration | An integrated automation company. | South Africa | 2004 | 2018 | Ulwembu Business Services | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 92 | iSPartners | Business intelligence | South Africa | 2001 | 2018 | Altron | South Africa | $16 million |
| 93 | Takealot.com | Online shopping | South Africa | 2010 | 2018 | Naspers | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 94 | PropSys | Property management solutions for the real estate industry on hosted and on-premises platforms | South Africa | 2003 | 2018 | MRI Software | United States | Undisclosed |
| 95 | MacroLan | Internet Service Provider that delivers dedicated fibre broadband connectivity. | South Africa | 1997 | 2018 | SEACOM | Mauritius | Undisclosed |
| 96 | Eazi.com | Proptech | South Africa | 2017 | 2018 | Pam Golding Property group | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 97 | Bamba Group | A real-time data gathering platform that engages and access the 1.5B people in the emerging markets via mobile feature phonesa | Kenya | 2013 | 2018 | Maximeyes Group | United Kingdom | Undisclosed |
| 98 | Clarotech Consulting | An Information and Communications Technology (ICT for short) company offering consulting, products and support services | South Africa | 2001 | 2018 | Logicalis | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 99 | Open Connect | Provider of carrier, redundant light and last mile dark fibre services to leading Mobile Operators, ISP’s | Malawi | 2016 | 2018 | Harith General Partners | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 100 | Steeple | Low-commission digital agency for property sales | South Africa | 2012 | 2018 | PropertyFox | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 101 | TPAY MOBILE | End to end mobile payments platform that maximizes conversions and minimizes risk | Egypt | 2014 | 2018 | Helios Investment Partners | United Kingdom | Undisclosed |
| 102 | DCBEgypt | Direct carrier billing service provider | Egypt | 2014 | 2017 | TPay Mobile | Egypt | Undisclosed |
| 103 | WeBuyCars | Offers free online valuations and sale of cars | South Africa | 2001 | 2018 | Transaction Capital | South Africa | $116m |
| 104 | Crossgate | Payment solutions | South Africa | 2007 | 2018 | Crossfin | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 105 | Magnetic Software | Agency Management Platform | South Africa | 2012 | 2018 | Silversoft | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 106 | Conor Solutions | Customer solutions provider | South Africa | 2007 | 2018 | Adapt IT Holdings Limited (Adapt IT) | South Africa | |
| 107 | FibreCo | Open access dark fibre network, providing infrastructure, connectivity and services | South Africa | 2009 | 2018 | SEACOM | Mauritius | Undisclosed |
| 108 | Medco Plast | Packaging and containers company. | Egypt | 2011 | 2018 | Indorama Ventures | Thailand | Undisclosed |
| 109 | Simfy Africa | Music Streaming | South Africa | 2010 | 2018 | MTN | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 110 | Badr | Data solutions and web development company | Egypt | 2006 | 2018 | Incorta | United States | Undisclosed |
| 111 | Compuscan | Provides consumer and commercial credit information | South Africa | 1994 | 2018 | Experian SA | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 112 | Interpay Africa | A payment processor that connects merchants in Ghana to local and international payment | Ghana | 2014 | 2018 | Emergent Technology Holdings LP | United States | Undisclosed |
| 113 | Founa | Ecommerce | Tunisia | 2012 | 2018 | Magasin Général | Tunisia | Undisclosed |
| 114 | Fintec Lab | B2B technology provider to major banking and insurance enterprises in South Africa | South Africa | 2015 | 2018 | ABSA Bank | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 115 | Touchsides | Uses technology and big data insights to help brands and retailers win and retain loyal customers in high-growth markets | South Africa | 2014 | 2019 | Heineken | Netherlands | Undisclosed |
| 116 | Teraco Data Environments | A carrier, cloud and vendor neutral data centre provider | South Africa | 2008 | 2019 | Berkshire Partners | United States | Undisclosed |
| 117 | DotModus | Cloud computing, data analytics and machine learning. | South Africa | 2010 | 2019 | Dynamic Technologies | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 118 | TravelCar | Mobility solutions platform | Tunisia | 2012 | 2019 | PSA | France | Undisclosed |
| 119 | MediaMark | Information services solutions | South Africa | 1996 | 2019 | Kagiso Media | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 120 | ConnectMed | E-health | Kenya | 2016 | 2019 | Merck | Germany | Undisclosed |
| 121 | ArqamFC | Sports data | Egypt | 2017 | 2019 | StasBomb | England | Undisclosed |
| 122 | IoT.NXT | Internet of things | South Africa | 2015 | 2019 | Vodacom | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 123 | SureSwipe | Delivers a simple, accessible and secure solution to payment acceptance | South Africa | 2008 | 2019 | Crossfin, Apis Growth Fund I | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 124 | CompareGuru | Independent insurance comparison platform | South Africa | 2013 | 2019 | SureStart | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 125 | Heartbeat Adventures | Travel | Kenya | 2014 | 2019 | Cloud9xP | Kenya | Undisclosed |
| 126 | Empty Trips | Digital freight marketplace | South Africa | 2002 | 2019 | RCL Foods | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 127 | ROK Film Studios | Production studio | Nigeria | 2013 | 2019 | Canal+ Group | France | Undisclosed |
| 128 | eClat Healthcare | Hospital management solutions | Nigeria | 2012 | 2019 | Gulf Capital | Dubai, UAE | Undisclosed |
| 129 | Yuppiechef | Online retailer of kitchen and homeware products | South Africa | 2006 | 2021 | Mr. Price Group | South Africa | Undisclosed |
| 130 | MENABytes | Media | Egypt | 2017 | 2019 | RiseUp | Egypt | Undisclosed |
| 131 | Daily Dish | Delivery | South Africa | 2012 | 2019 | TCapital | Norway | Undisclosed |
| 132 | Platform One | Healthcare marketplace linking pharmaceutical suppliers and pharmacies | Egypt | 2018 | 2021 | Aumet | United States | Undisclosed |
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Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer