Local Bourses Miss IPO Wave As Africa’s Fintech Unicorns Take Listings Abroad

Africa’s fintech champions are preparing for a landmark moment. By the end of 2026, as many as four of the continent’s largest digital financial services companies could be publicly traded. Yet only one of them is listing at home.

OPay, the Nigerian payments platform backed by SoftBank, has hired Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase for a US initial public offering targeting a USD 4 B valuation. PalmPay, its Nigerian rival backed by Transsion and MediaTek, is preparing for a Hong Kong IPO that could raise about USD 200 M at a valuation above USD 1 B. Airtel Money, the mobile money arm of Airtel Africa, has chosen the London Stock Exchange for a listing expected to value the business at roughly USD 10 B. All three are targeting listings between September and November this year.

The outlier is MNT-Halan, the Egyptian fintech unicorn, which is planning an IPO on the Egyptian Exchange with an expected valuation of between USD 900 M and USD 1 B. It is working with Citigroup and EFG Hermes. That makes it the only one of the four choosing a local bourse.

The contrast raises a question that should worry policymakers across the continent. Why are Africa’s most successful fintech companies, built on African consumers and African transaction volumes, taking their equity stories to New York, London and Hong Kong instead of Lagos, Nairobi or Johannesburg?

The answer lies in a combination of structural barriers that African exchanges have yet to overcome. The Nigerian Exchange has recorded zero startup IPOs as high-growth firms founded on local innovation have other ideas. A survey found that 76.5% of Nigeria-funded startups hold dollar capital, making exchange rate instability a critical factor in listing decisions. Companies generating revenue in naira but seeking dollar-denominated exits face a currency mismatch that local markets cannot easily resolve.

Liquidity is another obstacle. African stock exchanges face low market depth and limited participation, which constrains their role in capital mobilisation. The NGX, for instance, does not have the liquidity to support a major fintech listing. Private valuations, meanwhile, are often disconnected from what public markets will pay. For a company like OPay targeting USD 4 B, the gap between what global investors might offer and what the NGX could support is substantial.

Governance requirements also play a role. The NGX requires cumulative pre-tax profits of NGN 600 M (~USD 440 K) over one to three fiscal years. For fintechs that have prioritised scale and market share over near-term profitability, this presents a significant hurdle.

Adesoji Solanke, head of fintech investment banking origination at Absa Securities UK, has noted that listing locally can offer advantages such as familiarity with local investors and less stringent listing requirements. But for companies with global ambitions and dollar-denominated capital structures, the pull of deeper pools of capital, higher valuations and more established regulatory frameworks for technology firms has proven stronger.

Other experts have argued that foreign listings often shift valuation and that major fintech listings on the NGX could attract new categories of investors. The argument is persuasive. But it has not been enough to keep OPay, PalmPay or Airtel Money at home.

The irony is that these companies are not abandoning Africa but rather doubling down across the continent. OPay serves more than 50 million users and processes over USD 12 B in monthly transactions. PalmPay has more than 35 million registered users and became profitable in 2025. Airtel Money serves more than 54 million customers across 14 African markets. Their growth has been driven by African demand. Their IPOs will be powered by foreign capital.

MNT-Halan’s decision to list in Cairo offers a potential template. If successful, it could demonstrate that local exchanges can host fintech unicorns. But one listing hardly solves the underlying problems of currency risk, liquidity constraints and governance frameworks.

The consequence is that African investors, including the millions of ordinary people who use these platforms every day, may not get the chance to own a piece of them as the wealth being created in Africa’s digital economy is increasingly realised on foreign exchanges.