Why Investors Are Looking At African...

Two landmark listings late last year have reignited investor attention in African fintech: South Africa’s Optasia listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange at a valuation of roughly $1.4 billion after raising approximately $345 million, while Morocco’s Cash Plus raised approximately $82.5 million through its Casablanca listing at a valuation near $550 million. Those deals — the region’s first notable fintech IPOs since before the pandemic-era funding boom — come as market watchers eye potential public listings for Airtel Africa’s mobile money business and OPay later in 2026 and as private-market activity shows early signs of recovery.

"Some market analysts now estimate that African fintech startups raised roughly $187 million across 21 deals during the first quarter of 2026 alone, representing quarter-on-quarter growth of almost 400% in deal value and just over 30% in deal count," wrote Adesoji Solanke, Head of Fintech & Banks Investment Banking Origination at Absa CIB, in an analysis published on May 18, 2026.

Context and detail

• Africa’s fintech sector is projected to expand significantly over the next decade, with sector revenues forecast to rise roughly thirteenfold to about $65 billion by 2030.
• Payments and lending businesses now account for more than half of African fintech firms and captured the majority of equity funding in recent years, driven by higher smartphone penetration and a young, urbanising population.
• Fintech investment on the continent crossed the $1 billion mark in both 2021 and 2022, but the post-pandemic interest rate reset materially altered the economics for growth-stage technology companies and cooled investor appetite.
• Despite that pullback, larger fintech firms that received heavy venture backing during the boom are maturing, prompting early investors to explore exit pathways — particularly public listings for platforms able to meet institutional scrutiny.
• Merger and acquisition activity has increased as banks, retailers and fintechs seek scale and distribution. In South Africa, banks have been acquiring fintech capabilities, retailers have expanded into embedded financial services, and fintechs have consolidated with one another.
• Notably, a greater share of recent M&A is taking place between African players themselves rather than being driven primarily by international acquirers, signalling local market maturation.
• Absa is among the institutions advising investors and businesses on the commercial and regulatory complexity of fintech transactions across different African markets, underscoring the importance of strong domestic partnerships and local market knowledge.
• Mobile money remains a defining feature of several African fintech markets: many consumers entered digital financial systems via mobile wallets and USSD-based services long before traditional banking infrastructure achieved broad penetration.

Looking ahead, the combination of successful IPOs such as Optasia and Cash Plus, a pickup in quarterly funding activity, and increased intra-African M&A suggests parts of the sector are shifting from venture-led growth narratives toward businesses capable of supporting longer-term institutional capital. As Solanke warns, the shape of that next phase will depend on local context: "The businesses and investors likely to perform best may ultimately be those that understand how deeply African fintech is tied to the continent’s underlying financial realities," a perspective that highlights where the sector’s largest opportunities are still likely to sit.