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Happy midweek.

Africa’s tech ecosystem saw 67 M&A deals in 2025, split almost evenly between H1 (33) and H2 (34). The infographic below shows the acquired companies, but the real questions are: who bought them, why now, and what does it say about where the ecosystem is headed? We tracked every deal, mapped the sectors driving consolidation, broke down deal structures, and analysed what each move signals for the future.

It’s all in the Stateof Tech in Africa 2025: Year in Review Report. Join the waitlist to get early access.

• Chipper Cash stops burning cash
• Nigeria is betting on mini-grids
• South Africa’s Nedbank to take over Kenya’s NCBA
• Worldcoin deletes Kenyan citizens’ data
• World Wide Web 3
• Opportunities

Fintech

Chipper Cash stops burning cash

Meme; Image Source: Tenor

After years of restructuring, Chipper Cash has reached a crucial milestone for any fintech in today’s climate: it stopped burning cash.

Why it matters: In the final quarter of 2025, the pan-African payments firm finally generated enough from operations to cover its day-to-day costs. This signals a hard-won shift, according to its CEO Ham Serunjogi, from prioritising growth-at-all-costs to sustainable cash discipline. Serunjogi shared the feat on LinkedIn, crediting tough decisions, including team restructurings. The move to profitability leans on core markets like Nigeria and Uganda, plus strong demand for US dollar virtual cards.

Not just Chipper. The company’s profit-focused strategy mirrors the broader reset in African fintech, as volatile FX and tighter venture funding force companies to slash costs and focus on core markets. For Chipper, once valued at $2 billion, the goal now is building a durable institution for the long haul.

Your 2026 demands disciplined financial operations

Fincra powers the payments infrastructure businesses rely on to collect, pay, and settle across local and major African currencies with confidence. Get started.

power

Nigeria is betting on mini-grids as the national grid falters

Image source: Getty

Nigeria has entered 2026 with a power sector on the edge. After at least 16 grid collapses in the last two years, including a total blackout on December 29, generation is currently hovering at a measly 4,140 megawatts. In response, the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is fast-tracking 28 new mini-grids for completion by the end of Q1 2026.

For the Nigerian tech ecosystem, the grid is no longer a reliable partner. Constant failures drive up operational costs, forcing startups and SMEs into the “generator trap.” Decentralised mini-grids, which combine solar and battery storage, offer a faster, more stable alternative for tech hubs and rural businesses.

Nigeria currently has about 170 solar-powered mini-grids. The goal is to push past 1,000 this year through projects like the World Bank-funded DARES initiative.

The catch: Making power affordable remains a hurdle. Mini-grid power is often cost-reflective (more expensive than subsidised grid power), meaning its success depends on powering businesses that can generate enough income to pay the bills.

Get access to logistics providers across Africa

The Logistics Marketplace connects health buyers – governments, partners, humanitarian organisations & manufacturers with logistics providers across Africa. Backed by Global Fund & Gates Foundation, join for free with Access Code WELCOME2026!

banking

South Africa’s Nedbank bids for Kenya’s NCBA

Image Source: TechCabal

NCBA Bank, a Kenyan commercial bank, has confirmed that it received a proposal from South Africa’s Nedbank, a financial services group, to acquire a 66% stake in the group, a move that could turn NCBA into Nedbank’s East African foothold.

In a cash-and-stock deal worth R13.9 billion ($855.5 million), Nedbank wants about two-thirds of NCBA, leaving the remaining 34% of NCBA’s shares trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). If the deal goes through, NCBA doesn’t just disappear. The brand and management stay the same, but the balance sheet behind it gets a serious upgrade.

But there is a backstory. In October 2025, there was chatter that NCBA Group was in merger talks with Standard Bank’s local subsidiary, Stanbic IBTC Kenya. There’s been no further updates since then, but it seems Nedbank was quietly preparing a ring and has now swooped in with a $855.5 million proposal to acquire a majority stake.

The same Nedbank that dumped its 21% stake (worth $100 million) in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) specifically because it was refocusing its strategy towards core markets in Southern and Eastern Africa. 

Zoom out: Flush with cash after their own profits surged by 8% in 2024, it looks like Nedbank is finally spending that Ecobank money with this recent acquisition. The lender is shifting from passive investor to active operator, and planting its flag firmly in East Africa.

policy

Kenya confirms citizens’ biometric data have been deleted from Worldcoin

Image Source: Odhiambo Ogola (@PhilipOgola on Twitter)

Kenyans who lined up to scan their eyes for Worldcoin, a blockchain company founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, can finally breathe a sigh of relief. The government says that the data is gone. Deleted. Wiped. Zilch.

Here’s what happened: Kenya’s Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC), the regulatory body overseeing its data protection act, confirmed that Tools for Humanity, the company behind Worldcoin, has permanently deleted all biometric data it collected from Kenyans.

What was it doing with this data in the first place? In 2023, Worldcoin started offering tokens worth about $54 or KES 7,000 for the iris scans of Kenyans. Queues formed on WordCoin’s stand, and the government didn’t love what it saw. Questions around informed consent and data storage quickly turned into a government suspension, seizures of equipment by the police, and eventually a court ruling declaring the entire exercise unlawful. 

In May 2025, after a long and uncomfortable national conversation about consent, privacy, and how much your iris is really worth, the High Court ordered that the data collected be deleted. Now, the chapter is officially closed, at least on the data side.

A possible return? Worldcoin says it wants back into Kenya, but with better safeguards. Will Kenyans trust it again? That’s hard to say, but other digital ID and fintech players are watching closely. It’s okay to innovate, but don’t experiment recklessly.

CRYPTO TRACKER

The World Wide Web3

Source:

Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$89,896	+ 0.20%	+ 2.50%
Ether	$3,016	+ 0.87%	+ 1.54%
BNB	$890	+ 1.03%	+ 4.48%
XRP	$1.94	+ 2.04%	+ 3.49%

* Data as of 06.38 AM WAT, January 22, 2026.

Opportunities

• Detty December is getting more expensive, but young Africans are not backing down from the vibes. A 2025 Accrue report surveyed 631 people across Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya—86% of them Gen Zs and late millennials aged 18–34—most living in moderately sized households with at least one income source, yet only 4% earn above $5,000 in total monthly household income. Yet, 60% say they planned to spend more in 2025, with outdoor events, concerts, house parties, travel, dining out, and leisure activities taking the biggest share of their budgets as Detty December cements itself as both culture and economic force. Many rely on money from abroad, receiving funds via mobile money, bank transfers, and virtual USD accounts, while navigating fees and delays. They plan ahead, stretch budgets, borrow, or sell assets just to keep the Detty December tradition alive. Download the report.
• Over 50 companies in Africa have transformed their team members into business growth operators with alGROWithm’s
Growth Talent Accelerator Programme
• . Nominate your team members for the February cohort today.
• TechCabal is conducting a short survey to help audit Africa’s tech ecosystem performance, capital conditions, choices, and trade-offs we made in 2025. You can also share this poll with anyone that works in African tech. We would appreciate your participation; fill the form here.

• My Life In Tech: Ugi Augustine’s 20-year tech journey started with a secondary school conversation
• How a campus experiment became a business that lets you price your own internet
SASSA confirms February 2026 grant payment schedule amid misinformation

Written by: Kenn Abuya, Zia Yusuf, and Opeyemi Kareem

Edited by: Ganiu Oloruntade

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