Mr Price acquires German retailer NKD for R9.6 billion, adding 2,156 stores across Europe. Airtel Money plans London IPO amid improving market conditions.
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The Big Picture
South African retailer Mr Price completed its acquisition of German value retailer NKD, adding 2,156 stores across seven European countries. The R9.6 billion ($569 million) deal, approved in March 2026, boosted Mr Price's Q1 sales by 45.3% to R13.1 billion, with NKD contributing R3.8 billion in cash sales. This expansion hedges against South Africa's stagnant economy, leveraging Europe's predictable consumer demand. Separately, Airtel Money revived its IPO plans, targeting the London Stock Exchange after pausing in May due to geopolitical tensions. The mobile money unit, serving 56.5 million customers and generating $404 million in Q2 revenue, could be valued at around $10 billion. The article also features an interview with Bitoshi CEO Zubair Timilehin on building trust in digital assets, and notes funding rounds for Egyptian startups Mylerz ($2 million) and Reme-D ($1.45 million).
Why It Matters
Mr Price's acquisition of NKD shows how South African retailers are using European expansion to hedge against domestic economic stagnation, proving that value retail is resilient even in mature markets. Meanwhile, Airtel Money's planned London IPO signals that African fintechs are seeking global capital markets to fund growth, but must navigate volatile geopolitics and investor skepticism about the continent's digital finance story.
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Image: Zubair Timilehin, chief executive officer of Bitoshi
Zubair Habib Timilehin is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Bitoshi, a fintech startup building the infrastructure that makes digital assets and stablecoins practical for everyday payments across Africa. Under his leadership, Bitoshi has grown to serve nearly 100,000 users, delivering financial solutions that bridge traditional finance and blockchain technology while enabling individuals and businesses to transact in Africa’s digital economy.
Explain your job to a five-year-old.
Imagine you have two toys. One is really fun, but every time you want to play with it, you have to read a big instruction manual first. The other is so simple that you can pick it up, start playing straight away, and discover all the fun things it can do on your own.
My job is to help build money tools that feel like the second toy.
I want people to be able to send, save, and use their money—whether it’s cash or digital—without needing to think about the technology behind it. If we’ve done our job well, people won’t think about how it works; they’ll simply know it works.
What’s the hardest part of being a founder in the digital asset space that people outside crypto don’t understand?
I think the hardest part is building in an industry that’s evolving in real time.
The technology moves incredibly fast. New blockchain networks and upgrades, security standards, and infrastructure are constantly emerging, so you’re always learning. What was considered best practice a year ago may no longer be the best approach today.
But the bigger challenge is trust. Digital assets have unfortunately been associated with scams and bad actors over the years. As a result, legitimate businesses have to work twice as hard to earn customer trust and maintain regulatory compliance.
You’re not just building a great product. You’re building a secure, compliant, and trustworthy business in an industry that’s still maturing. That’s a challenge most people outside the space don’t fully appreciate.
You said Bitoshi bridges traditional finance and blockchain for nearly 100,000 users. What was your hack for achieving that scale?
The biggest driver of our growth has been word of mouth. We never set out to build a product that people would talk about; we simply set out to solve the complication and fragmentation of cryptocurrency transactions.
By staying focused on solving a real problem and delivering a seamless user experience, people naturally began recommending Bitoshi to their friends, family, and colleagues. That organic advocacy has been our biggest growth hack.
If being a crypto startup founder was a warning label, what would it read?
Don’t get too comfortable. Expect the best, but always prepare for the worst.
Getting paid in cedis just got easier for African businesses operating in Ghana.
South African retailer Mr Price takes control of NKD’s European operations
Image Source: Tenor
Imagine going on holiday and deciding, on a whim, to buy the local bakery and stay forever. That’s essentially what Mr Price has done with its latest European expansion.
The South African retailer has taken control of NKD, a German retail company it agreed to acquire in 2025. The deal adds 2,156 stores across seven European countries to Mr Price’s portfolio, previously operated by NKD under its parent company, Pegasus Holding Group, which was also part of the acquisition.
What happened? Mr Price announced the R9.6 billion ($569 million) acquisition in December 2025, but it only became the owner of NKD in March 2026, after securing approvals from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and European regulators.
From that point, NKD became part of the Mr Price Group. In Q1 2026, the South African retailer’s sales jumped 45.3% to R13.1 billion ($776 million), with NKD contributing R3.8 billion ($225 million) in cash sales, helping offset a much slower 3.2% sales increase in Mr Price’s South African business.
Explain like I’m new here: For years, South African retailers have sought other growth avenues outside their core clothing and grocery businesses. Several companies in the same—or adjacent—bracket as Mr Price, such as Shoprite, Pepkor, Pick n Pay, Woolworths, and SPAR, have all tried other businesses, including telecoms (mobile virtual network operator), mobile phones, and even scaled-down banks.
Another pattern is continental expansion. While the likes of Shoprite and SPAR have pulled back from certain foreign markets, Mr Price thinks there’s value in Europe’s retail economy. The continent offers something South Africa has struggled to provide in recent years: relatively predictable consumer demand.
While economic growth across the Euro area has remained modest, inflation has eased from the highs seen after the 2021-2022 energy crisis, and unemployment has remained relatively low, giving retailers a more predictable environment to operate in. For value retailers, that makes planning inventory, pricing, and margins a lot easier.
South Africa, on the other hand, has spent the past few years contending with uneven growth rates, high unemployment, elevated borrowing costs, and electricity shortages that have weighed on household spending.
Why now? The maths of the deal is starting to make sense. WhileSouth African sales grew a modest 3.2%, the inclusion of NKD has supercharged the group’s overall growth. The acquisition is a hedge against a stagnating home market. Unlike previous South African retail ‘vacations’ that ended in retreat, Mr Price is betting that the value market is universal; people may stop buying luxury during inflation, but they never stop buying affordable socks.
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Airtel Money is targeting a public listing in London
Image Source: Tenor
Airtel Money, the mobile money business of Airtel Africa that operates in 14 countries, was supposed to go public this year. In May, it suddenly hit the brakes. Well, the company has dusted itself off, picked the London Stock Exchange, and says it’s ready to try again.
Explain like I’m new here: An initial public offering (IPO) is when a private business sells shares to the public for the first time, allowing anyone to own a piece of the company. Airtel Money initially planned to list in the first half of 2026, but it held off in May.
Why did it press pause? Airtel Money blamed unfavourable market conditions and geopolitical shocks, particularly the conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States that pushed oil prices higher and disrupted supply chains.
When markets are shaky, companies often delay IPOs because a weak debut can mean raising less money than expected. Several companies, including Digi and Turkish Airlines, delayed their IPOs as investors became more cautious. Now, geopolitical tensions have eased somewhat and global IPO activity has picked up.
Why did Airtel Money choose London? You must be wondering why an African company is seeking to list in London. The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is home to several companies with African roots, including Airtel Africa, Seplat Energy, and Helios Towers. London’s stock market is showing early signs of recovery. In H1 2026, seven IPOs raised £577 million ($656 million), about a threefold increase in proceeds compared to the previous year.
Here’s what we know (and don’t know) about the IPO: Airtel, the telecom giant, hasn’t confirmed its valuation, how much it hopes to raise, how many shares it plans to sell, or even the exact listing date. The IPO could value Airtel Money at around $10 billion and raise about $1.5 billion, but those figures remain estimates.
What Airtel has confirmed is that the business keeps getting bigger. Airtel Money now serves 56.5 million customers and generated $404 million in revenue in Q2 2026. Now comes the part where it has to convince global investors that Africa’s mobile money story is worth buying into.
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insights
Funding tracker
Image Source: TechCabal Insights
Mylerz, an Egyptian logistics startup, raised $2 million in debt and equity funding. The round was led by Lorax Capital Partners, with participation from Fawry and existing investors. (Jul 21)
Here is the other deal for the week:
Reme-D, an Egyptian healthtech startup, raised $1.45 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Anara Impact Capital, with participation from Global Innovation Fund, Africa Health Ventures and several other investors. (Jul 20)
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