Africa’s public tech companies are sending a clear message with their 2025 earnings: the growth-at-all-costs era may be ending. In its latest results, Egyptian fintech pioneer Fawry revealed that AI now writes 20% of its new code, reflecting a broader continental shift toward efficiency and smarter operations.

We analysed recent earnings from players like Nigerian e-commerce giant Jumia and Fawry to identify the common themes shaping the continent’s tech trajectory. What emerged is a new playbook: one where breakneck expansion is giving way to operational discipline, sustainable unit economics, and a deeper reliance on advanced technology.

The AI Efficiency Drive

The global AI integration wave isn’t just talk in Africa. A closer look at Fawry’s latest reports suggests the fintech giant is preparing for a major cost-cutting push. With 20% of its code already generated by AI, the company’s broader automation strategy is the real story. The platform, which handles more than 6 million transactions per day, disclosed it is rolling out a proprietary large language model (LLM) chatbot and deploying AI across “personalization, retention, support, and customer acquisition”.

The results are already tangible. Fawry’s revenue for the nine months to September hit EGP 6.06bn ($122m), up 58% year-on-year, while its EBITDA margin reached 57.1% — the highest in its 17-year history.

Jumia is on the same track. The e-commerce platform, which now operates in eight African countries, reported that AI-driven workflows in customer service, marketing, and tech are “contributing to ongoing reductions in total operating expenses.”

This efficiency helped narrow Jumia’s operating losses to $17.4m in Q3 2025 from $20.1m a year earlier, even as revenue grew 25%. Management stated the company has reached “an inflection point” and is on track to hit breakeven in late 2026.

Even mobility platform Swvl credits “advanced technology” and automation for a 28.3% quarterly jump in gross margin. The company posted a net profit of $0.2m in Q3 2025, demonstrating that profitability is possible in the tough African mobility sector.

The Profitability Question is Finally Being Answered

For years, African tech followed the Silicon Valley mantra: prioritise growth, worry about profits later. That model appears dead.

Fawry is the standout, posting sustained, high-margin profitability. Its net profit margin of 33.6% for the first nine months of the year (net profit of EGP 2.04bn, or $41m) puts it on par with established global fintechs.

Jumia’s path has been rockier. The company, which trades around $4 per share — a fraction of its 2019 IPO price of $14.50 — has burned through cash. But the numbers are finally moving in the right direction. Net cash used in operating activities fell to $12.4m in Q3 2025, less than half the $26.8m burned in the same period last year.

“We are on track to reach breakeven… in Q4 2026 and achieve full-year profitability in 2027,” stated CEO Francis Dufay.

Swvl, after years of losses, has maintained profitability year-to-date in 2025. Its 46% year-on-year revenue growth in Q3, combined with positive net income, suggests a stable footing.

Chasing Predictable, Recurring Revenue

We also spotted a clear strategic shift toward more predictable income. Across the board, these companies are moving from volatile, transaction-based income toward recurring, contract-based revenue streams.

Swvl is the clearest example. Recurring revenue from multi-year enterprise and government contracts now makes up 78% of its total revenue, up from 68% a year ago. The company expects this to exceed 90% at a steady state.

Fawry is deliberately diversifying from payments to financial services. This segment — which includes SME lending, consumer finance, and prepaid cards — surged 153% year-on-year and now accounts for 27.4% of all revenue.

Jumia, too, is leaning into its marketplace model. This revenue, composed of third-party sales, marketing, and value-added services, offers far better unit economics in African markets than first-party sales, where the company must hold inventory.

The Enterprise Turn

This pivot to recurring revenue goes hand-in-hand with another major trend: the enterprise turn. It’s no secret that consumer-facing tech in Africa is hard. Fragmented markets, high logistics costs, and currency instability are persistent challenges.

In response, all three companies are increasingly selling to businesses and governments.

• Fawry launched a corporate card programme, digital payroll services, and “Sehetak Fawry” medical insurance, which now covers over 300,000 lives.
• Swvl’s entire model has pivoted. Once a consumer bus-booking app, it now generates 78% of its revenue from contracts with schools, corporations, factories, and government transit authorities.
• Jumia’s first-party sales, which grew 54% year-on-year, are primarily driven by international brand partnerships, signalling a stronger focus on corporate clients. 

Managing the Map and the Currency

Geographic strategy is another area where these firms are showing a new discipline. The three firms are making very different bets to de-risk their operations.

• Jumia is trimming. After exiting Tunisia and South Africa in late 2024, it is focusing resources on its strongest markets. Within those markets, it’s finding growth in secondary cities, with “upcountry” regions now driving 60% of total orders.
• Swvl is expanding in stable markets. The company is pushing hard into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets, where revenue grew 81% year-on-year. It also plans to enter the US and UK to “reduce exposure to fluctuations in foreign currencies.”
• Fawry is doubling down on Egypt. Rather than expanding geographically, it is deepening its domestic infrastructure. Its network of 386,000 POS terminals creates a formidable local moat.

What This Means for 2026

So, what does this all mean for the continent’s tech future?

First, the new playbook is lean. These strategic shifts are underpinned by basic operational discipline. All three companies are growing revenue while either reducing or holding headcount — a sign of improving leverage. Jumia’s total headcount is down 7% since the end of 2024. Swvl has reduced staff while expanding high-margin verticals. Fawry reported “strict cost management” alongside its 58% revenue growth.

The big question, as we head into 2026, is whether this is a sustainable shift or just a temporary belt-tightening in response to a tough funding environment. African tech funding, after all, fell 22% year-on-year in 2024.

But the operational improvements are real. Fawry’s 57.1% EBITDA margin is world-class. Jumia’s path to breakeven, if achieved, would be a first for a major pan-African e-commerce player.

From our analysis, these aren’t scattered strategies. They are a sector-wide response to the new realities of building a tech business in Africa. The new playbook — driven by AI, enterprise focus, and a non-negotiable path to profit — is now the standard. Fawry’s AI-generated code may just not be a novelty any longer; it could constitute a symbol of this new, leaner, and perhaps more durable, chapter for African tech.