Africa’s Acquisitions Environment Booms Despite Pandemic

Over the course of the year, news of multi-million dollar acquisitions have made headlines across African tech ecosystems, including the $288 million purchase of DPO Group, a payments services provider for African businesses, by Network International, a Dubai-headquartered payments giant. Four of these deals which have seen full or partial acquisitions of African startups are collectively valued at over $900 million. But the overall figure is likely much higher given that the value of some deals—such as the acquisition of Tanzania-based Beyonic by MFS Africa in June—remain undisclosed. Even though big-ticket exits via acquisitions are more likely to dominate headlines, several early-day angel and seed stage investors in African startups have likely gotten proftable trade exits when bought out by larger venture capital firms. For instance, early investors in iROKOtv, the online streaming service that’s often dubbed the ‘Netflix of Africa’, made a staggering 3,000% profit on their investment when they sold their stake to later-stage VCs.

SOURCE: QUARTZ AFRICA