The Short Version

  • HOSTAFRICA announced the acquisition of Zanode on May 14, 2026, nine days after acquiring Evoweb’s hosting division on May 5
  • Zanode is a South African application hosting platform with GitHub-based deployments, managed PostgreSQL, and pricing in South African Rands, targeting developers and agencies
  • Evoweb, originally founded in 2008 as Web Guru, was acquired for its hosting customers only; the company continues independently as a WordPress web design business
  • Both 2026 acquisitions are South African, departing from the company’s 2024-2025 pattern of entering new African countries
  • HOSTAFRICA has completed more than 18 acquisitions across five African countries since 2019
  • No financial terms were disclosed for either deal

HOSTAFRICA announced the acquisition of Zanode on May 14, 2026, nine days after completing the purchase of Evoweb’s hosting division. The two deals make 2026 notable in HOSTAFRICA’s acquisition history for a specific reason: both targets are South African companies, and neither opens a new country for the group. That contrasts with the geographic expansion that defined the company’s 2024 and 2025 transactions.

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Zanode: Git-Driven Deployment and Local Infrastructure

Zanode is a South African application hosting platform built around Git-driven deployment workflows. The service connects directly to GitHub repositories, supports framework auto-detection and Dockerfile-based deployments, includes managed PostgreSQL databases, and issues automated SSL certificates for custom domains. Pricing is denominated in South African Rands, which Zanode positioned as an advantage for local developers and agencies who would otherwise depend on offshore platforms priced in US dollars.

The customer profile Zanode serves differs from the shared hosting buyer at the center of most of HOSTAFRICA’s existing portfolio. HOSTAFRICA described the intended beneficiaries as agencies and software development companies in South Africa, developers who need a reliable git-to-production pipeline on local infrastructure. That positioning extends HOSTAFRICA’s product range into developer-first application hosting, a category distinct from the shared hosting, reseller hosting, and domain registration that have driven most of its prior acquisitions.

Michael Osterloh, HOSTAFRICA’s CEO, said: “Zanode adds a modern, git-driven deployment experience on top of that foundation, which is exactly what agencies and software development companies in South Africa have been asking for.”

No financial terms were disclosed.

EvoWeb Splits Its Business in Two. HostAfrica Gets the Hosting Half.

The Evoweb Acquisition Nine Days Earlier

The Evoweb deal, announced on May 5, covered Evoweb’s hosting division only. Evoweb was originally founded in 2008 under the name Web Guru and rebranded in January 2025. After the sale, Evoweb continues to operate independently as a WordPress web design and development company, retaining its client relationships in that segment.

Osterloh described the acquisition as strengthening HOSTAFRICA’s South African presence and bringing more customers onto the HOSTAFRICA platform. Evoweb co-founder Martin Bester framed it as a division of focus: “HOSTAFRICA will take the hosting platform to the next level, while Evoweb continues to grow as a specialised WordPress web design provider.”

Customer counts for Evoweb’s transferred hosting business were not disclosed.

A South Africa Focus in 2026

For most of HOSTAFRICA’s acquisition history, entering new countries was the primary driver. The company entered Nigeria in 2021, Kenya in 2022, and Tanzania in September 2025. Its largest single transaction, the GO54 acquisition completed in January 2025, added more than 100,000 domains and more than 20% of the Nigerian domain market in one deal. By September 2025, after the Zesha acquisition in Tanzania, HOSTAFRICA had completed more than 18 acquisitions and was operating across South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania.

The two 2026 transactions follow a different logic. Neither Evoweb nor Zanode opens a new geography. Both add South African customers and capacity. The Zanode acquisition adds a product type that HOSTAFRICA has not previously offered at scale: managed application hosting with Git-based workflows and PostgreSQL, aimed at the developer and agency market rather than the SMB buyer that has anchored most of the group’s growth.