MONOKROMATIK · THE TRACKER
A sourced record of who is acquiring African & diaspora brands — fintech, music, beauty, banking — and the one question that decides it: does the ownership and the upside stay on the continent, or get exported?
African tech M&A alone crossed 84 deals worth ~$11.4bn disclosed in 2026 so far (TechCabal) — the fastest year on record. This tracker follows where the ownership lands.
Nigeria · Undisclosed
Paystack's third Nigerian-fintech tuck-in in 18 months (after Ladder MFB and Brass). The card-issuer Allawee folds into a Stripe subsidiary — another homegrown brand absorbed into a foreign-owned rail.
Kenya · ~$855m
The marquee cross-border bank deal of 2026 — and a rare intra-African one. Value moves from Kenyan to South African hands: consolidation on the continent, but not local ownership retained.
Nigeria · Undisclosed
A licence play: Paystack absorbs a microfinance bank to move into banking. The Ladder brand disappears into the acquirer.
Nigeria · $25–40m (reported, all-stock)
The counter-example: an African champion buying an African open-banking firm. Ownership and the upside stay on the continent — consolidation that keeps the value home.
South Africa · Undisclosed (full acquisition)
Warner invested from 2020, took a majority in 2022, and completed the full buyout in 2025 — Africa's biggest music distributor now sits inside a global major.
Nigeria · $150–200m (reported)
A majority buy of Afrobeats' crown-jewel label (Rema, Ayra Starr). The founders kept operating control, but the masters and equity now route through a global major.
US / diaspora · Nine-figure (reported)
A historic exit for a Black-founded natural-hair brand — and a clean illustration of the thesis: Black women authored the category, a multinational owns the margin.
US / diaspora · ~$1.6bn (reported, undisclosed)
The landmark Black-hair-economy deal. A West-African-rooted brand built on shea butter, absorbed by a European FMCG giant — the value line moved off-continent.
A living tracker — new deals are added as they land. See a deal we’ve missed? Tell us →
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