European messaging solutions firm Link Mobility announced its acquisition of South Africa’s SMSPortal, marking a strategic expansion into African markets including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and other Southern and Eastern African nations .
SMSPortal, founded in 2001, has become a leading provider of application-to-person (A2P) messaging solutions for telecommunications, banks, and government services. It serves over 2,000 corporate clients and maintains strong mobile billing and compliance infrastructure .
Link Mobility, headquartered in Norway and listed on the Oslo stock exchange, plans to integrate SMSPortal into its global messaging network. The company expects the acquisition to add roughly €15 million in annual revenue and substantially lower SMS delivery costs for African clients .
The acquisition addresses Africa’s growing mobile penetration—estimated at 60%—and the increasing demand for digital banking, two-factor authentication, and transactional messaging. “Link Mobility’s platform together with SMSPortal’s local expertise creates a powerful messaging ecosystem,” said Mark Thomas, SMSPortal CEO .
Market analysts expect this acquisition to heighten competition, lower price points, and improve service reliability for telcos, fintechs, and public sector clients across Africa.
Yet challenges lie ahead. Integration of platforms, harmonisation of regulatory compliance across countries, and infrastructure stability—particularly in rural areas—are key hurdles. Link Mobility has committed to retaining the existing leadership team and investing in product development and network scalability .
Economically, the deal is projected to generate up to 200 new tech-sector jobs across Southern Africa and stimulate further investment in digital communication infrastructure. It also builds operational capacity that supports multinational African expansion by European companies.
The acquisition reinforces global investment trends in Africa’s tech ecosystem—one that sees mobile-first consumers and businesses leapfrogging toward digital solutions for banking, healthcare, agriculture, and governance.
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