Beltone Holding completed its largest transaction to date with the EUR 197.6 mn acquisition of 100% of Baobab Group through its subsidiary Beltone Capital, the financial services provider said in a statementyesterday(pdf). The acquisition marks Beltone’s first major cross-border expansion and sets the foundation for its evolution into a Pan-African financial services platform. The transaction came following a share purchase agreement in February 2025 to acquire the stake from UK-based private equity firm Apis Partners.

The assets in question: Baobab is a leading financial service provider offering financial access to small African businesses and micro entrepreneurs. Baobab operates across seven African nations, including Senegal, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Burkina Faso, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria. It serves approximately 1.6 mn customers, and manages a gross loan book of EUR 848.8 mn.

Deployment of dry powder: The acquisition puts part of Beltone’s recent capital raises to work. After lifting a combined EGP 21.4 bn through two capital increases in 2023 and 2025, the company is deploying that liquidity beyond Egypt.

Why it matters: Through a single transaction, Beltone gains an operational presence across some of the largest and fastest-growing African markets. Baobab brings immediate scale and infrastructure, with around 50% of its lending already disbursed digitally through automated credit-decision systems. By combining capital strength with a data-driven approach to lending, the group is targeting underpenetrated credit markets where access to finance remains structurally constrained and demand for scalable solutions is rising.

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