African startup funding: Paymenow/PayCurve merger, Sycamore $5M, and multiple acquisitions

Africa's startup ecosystem saw notable activity including the Paymenow/PayCurve merger creating South Africa's first fully integrated employee financial wellness platform serving 750,000+ employees, Nigerian fintech Sycamore's ₦6.89 billion ($5M) oversubscribed commercial paper issuance (2.3x oversubscribed), Egyptian Edtech iSchool's acquisition of software engineering firm Rubikal, and Egyptian waste recycling startup Cyclex's acquisition by Saudi-Egyptian investment firm Edafa Venture. African startups raised $110M in April 2026, the lowest monthly total in 13 months, with funding down 13% YoY for January-April.