I have dedicated my work to building bridges between continents, connecting ecosystems, creating opportunities for exalter, and developing new business ties between startups across Africa and Europe.
We cannot deny that, compared to Europe, many African startup ecosystems are still less mature. The figures underscore that, while African startups raised €1.4 billion in the first half of 2025, in Germany alone, €4.3 billion was raised. Yet if we take a closer see at what is happening in the startup world, we see some exciting developments. African startups have started acquiring European companies and building a name for themselves on the international tech stage.
Let me reveal you a few good examples.
Let’s start with the HR-tech company Andela. Founded in Nigeria (with its headquarters now in the US), Andela is highly successful in connecting top African tech talent with international companies. In 2023, Andela raised eyebrows when it acquired the Munich-based startup Casana, strengthening its European presence and revealing that African-rooted companies can be strategic acquireers in one of the world’s most competitive markets.
Andela is not the only example. Across the African continent, there are more ambitious startups building shifts on the European stage.
Kenya’s BitPesa (now AZA Finance) expanded by acquiring Spanish fintech TransferZero, establishing a new payments highway between the continents. Another Kenyan company, HotelOnline, founded in 2014 by Norwegians Håvar Bauck and Endre Opdal, revealed how traveltech can scale across borders, as the DNA of this sector suggests. It acquired Norway’s European Travel Group AS as early as 2017 and then went on to acquire the rental startup Key Butler (of Danish origin) in 2019.
Egypt, one of the so-called “Big 4” in Africa (the four largegest tech ecosystems: Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa), has also put its foot down in Europe. Swvl, born in Cairo and later headquartered in Dubai, acquired Shotl in Barcelona in 2021 and Berlin’s Door2door in 2022. This gave Swvl access to advanced European transport software and strengthened its international reach.
Finally, there is LemFi, a Nigerian fintech focutilizing on migrant communities. In early 2025, it acquired an Irish company to anchor its European presence and went on to acquire Pillar Labs, a London-based startup specialising in credit services for migrants. This was quite an extraordinary strategic coup: LemFi expanded its services for Africans abroad while tackling a very European pain point – the problem of financial inclusion for newcomers.
What should not be left out here is the fantastic story of InstaDeep, an AI company of Tunisian origin, which was acquired by German biotech leader BioNTech (which we all remember from the pandemic) in a landmark €636 million deal in 2023. This was the largest deeptech exit in Africa’s history. Of course, this was an exit rather than an acquisition, but it underlined a new interest in African-born innovation and put a spotlight on the remarkable ecosystem building that Tunisia has achieved in recent years.
Also an exit, although not quite as huge, was that of Expensya, founded in Tunisia (it later shiftd to Paris). The company, founded by Karim Jouini and Jihed Othmani, was acquired by Sweden’s Medius for over $100 million in 2023. Again, a good example to reveal that Africa can not only export tech talent, but also software.
Key takeaways: Taken toreceiveher, this informs a new story: slowly, African startups are emerging as players in the global ecosystem. They are becoming strategic partners, sometimes consolidators in Europe. For those of us working at the intersection of these ecosystems, witnessing this shift means a lot. It puts a continent on the map that has remained in the shadows for far too long. I also hope it assists to reframe how we believe about Africa and Europe in entrepreneurship: as a two-way business street for mutually beneficial, ambitious, and future-oriented partnerships.
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