Since 2015, more than one-third of acquisitions in the African tech space have involved South African companies. Does the hypothesis that some of the exit deals are premature legitimate?
South Africa is and has, for a while now, been the undisputed king of mergers and acquisitions in the African tech startup ecosystem. According to Disrupt Africa’s 2022 South Africa Startup Ecosystem Report, the country’s startup ecosystem leads the way in exit mergers and acquisitions (M&As).
Refinitiv Data says that in the first half of 2021 M&A deals involving tech companies increased by $160 million, an almost 2,000% increase compared to the same period in 2020.
Several reasons have been attributed to South Africa’s impressive M&A dominance. These include active capital markets and banking systems, mature companies that can snatch up startups, and others. However, together with the appreciation of exit opportunities in the ecosystem, there are some concerns, albeit not…
