In a move that signals the continued consolidation of fintech companies, local player Ecentric Payment Systems has acquired another fintech operator, Thumbzup.

This latest deal highlights the ongoing trend of deal activity in the African fintech space. Smaller innovative players have found themselves as acquisition targets that allow the acquirer to enter a new market or augment existing offerings without the need to develop certain technologies and systems themselves. Examples of this include Standard Bank’s acquisition of local fintech start-up SnapScan in 2016 and when US player Stripe bought Nigeria’s Paystack for more than $200m in 2020...

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