I can't specifically advise about africanum, but hardy cyclamen grow darn slowly.

i've sprouted florist cyclamen from seed. don't know how they compare in size/growth to africanum. they are quite large when mature, but the seedlings were tiny.
i kept them tented for a year in egg-carton 'propagator' in very shallow medium, since i was afraid to dry them up.
they grew ultra slow.
at one year with a few leaves the clump was not larger then a quarter. and out of a dozen plants only 2 survived the 2nd yr.
by 3rd yr they were the size of small african violet and they bloomed. after that they finally started putting on growth.
i never let them go dormant. i bring them indoors for winter and very hot summer months. i still have both plants - about 5yrs old by now and huge. tubers may be 5" in diameter.

The linked site suggests you could expect flowers 2 years after sowing. There may be people over on the Bulbs Forum who have grown this species from seed and can add further advice.

Here is a link that might be useful: C africanum

i CANT EVEN KEEP FLORIST CYCLAMEN ALIVE FOR LONG... cant even imagine growing C. africanum

Thank you all for the input and links. They seem to be getting closer to unfurling their first leaf, so I think I will keep doing as I have been and watch their progress.

Matt

You might be interested to browse this site. There is information on propagation there.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Cyclamen Society