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No Free Lunch Podcast – The Future of Auto Financing
Vehicle Finance in a Rapidly Changing Market In This episode of No Free Lunch, Greg Stewart chats with Wesbank CEO, Robert Gwerengwe, about the major shifts in the Automotive industry today and what this means for vehicle financing and ownership costs. The vehicle and asset finance industry is undergoing a major transformation, and Robert Gwerengwe,
Eight African Ventures Selected as ASME ISHOW Regional Finalists
Eight African social ventures have been selected as regional finalists for the 2026 ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW), an international hardware accelerator supporting technologies that address social and environmental challenges. These ventures will compete for three places in the 2026 global ISHOW cohort. Successful finalists will receive grant funding, technical support and access to ASME’s engineering
Breaking News Today – Wednesday 12 August 2026
African Start-up News Headlines: Business News Today Unemployment Crises in South Africa Deepens South Africa’s unemployment rate climbed to 33.6% in the second quarter (Q2) of 2026. Indicating that just over one in every three people who want to work cannot find a job. This also aligns with the Manufacturing Production and sales data for
Moove’s $250m funding round puts autonomous vehicles in focus
Moove has raised $250 million in a Series C funding round led by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala, putting the mobility startup’s valuation at $2.1 billion. The company started in Lagos in 2020 with a simple model. Moove financed cars for ride-hailing drivers, who used their earnings from platforms such as Uber to repay the vehicles. Six
Moroccan Startup WATT.MA Launches EV Charging Management Platform
Moroccan climate-tech startup WATT.MA has launched its Charge Point Management System, giving charging operators, site owners and fleet managers a platform to manage and generate revenue from electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. The platform went live on 10 August 2026 and is now onboarding customers and charging partners as the company expands its presence in
Africa50 Secures US$50 Million for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Investment
Africa50 has secured US$50 million from international development finance institutions to support early-stage investment in climate-resilient infrastructure projects across Africa. The funding will strengthen the platform’s ability to develop and prepare infrastructure projects for financing. Africa50 works with governments and investors to de-risk projects and move them towards implementation. In addition, the platform has 38
Business School – Messy Middle Market Opportunity in Africa
Build for the Messy Middle of African Markets African markets are often wrongly framed as a binary: a thin layer of premium consumers at the top and a vast base of survival mode spending at the bottom. However, the more durable opportunity sits squarely in-between. Call it the messy middle, this is a large, heterogeneous
Sonangol Confirms Major Gas Potential at Angola's Katambi Field
Sonangol and Angola's oil regulator have confirmed significant gas and condensate potential at the Katambi field, following successful testing of the Katambi-2 appraisal well on Block 24. The well recorded a stabilised flow rate of 41 million cubic feet of gas per day and 1,160 barrels of condensates per day, while preliminary results indicate that
Weekly AI Tools: How Cursor Is Helping Startups and SMEs With Software Development
For a small software team, there is usually no shortage of work. Developers have to build new features, fix bugs, review code and keep existing applications running. When there are only a few people handling all of that, even simple development tasks can take up a large part of the week. Cursor is one of
DRC Keeps Digital Tax Framework in Place, Exempts Startups
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will keep its new tax framework for digital businesses in place, while startups will be exempt from the fees and charges introduced under the measures. The clarification came on 6 August, when Digital Economy Minister Augustin Kibassa Maliba met representatives of the country's digital sector in Kinshasa to discuss
Dangote Targets October Groundbreaking for $16 Billion Kenya Refinery
East Africa could move a step closer to producing more of its own refined fuels after Aliko Dangote confirmed plans to begin construction of a US$16 billion oil refinery in Lamu, Kenya, in October 2026. The proposed refinery is designed to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, supplying Kenya and neighbouring markets including
HSBC helps arrange $1.36 billion for Angola’s Luena–Saurimo railway
Angola is working with HSBC to arrange up to $1.36 billion in financing for the Luena–Saurimo railway, a 260 kilometre line that will connect parts of eastern Angola to the country’s existing rail network. HSBC will act as the agent and coordinating arranger for the financing. Export credit agencies will also take part in the
Breaking News Today – Tuesday 11 August 2026
African Start-up News Headlines: Business News Today Forex Reserves in South Africa Hit 8-Month Low Gross foreign exchange reserves in South Africa reduced to USD 73.45 billion in July 2026 from USD 74.11 billion in June 2026, marking the lowest level of foreign reserve holdings since November 2025. The decline was mainly driven by lower
Nigeria Pushes for More Cloud Workloads to Be Hosted Locally
About 85% of Nigerian workloads now run on public cloud services, but most of the infrastructure supporting them sits outside the country. Kashifu Inuwa, director general of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), says Nigeria needs to increase its local cloud capacity. Only 22% of the country's 1,000 most accessed websites are hosted locally.
African Bank joins GEC+Africa 2026 as official partner
African Bank has joined the Global Entrepreneurship Congress Africa (GEC+Africa) as an official partner ahead of the event in Cape Town in September. GEC+Africa will take place on 16 and 17 September at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). Organisers expect more than 2,000 delegates from over 43 African countries. The event will bring
Naira-backed cNGN launches on Celo for cross-border payments
Naira-backed stablecoin cNGN has launched on the Celo blockchain, giving Nigerian fintechs and payment companies another option for cross border transactions. WrappedCBDC, a Nigerian company, issues cNGN and has been working with regulators on its digital asset offering. The launch allows users to swap cNGN for dollar-backed stablecoins such as Tether’s USDT through Textile FX,
500 Meters launches R250 plan to build 20,000 community-owned spaza shops
A new initiative wants South Africans to put R250 each towards building community owned spaza shops across the country. The OWN SPAZA SHOP initiative was shared by entrepreneur Nthabeleng Likotsi on Instagram, with a target of raising R500 million. The plan is to use the money to establish 20,000 spaza shops and create more than
Vaalco Steps Up Gabon Drilling as Etame Field Faces Production Decline
Vaalco Energy has brought a new gas well online and drilled an appraisal well at its offshore Etame field in Gabon, as the U.S.-based oil producer works to extend the life of the mature asset. The company announced the results of the two operations on 5 August, as part of a drilling campaign launched late
South African Learners Win NASA Space Design Competition
Seven South African high school learners won the International Space Settlement Design Competition as members of the winning Rockdonnell team, with one learner also receiving individual recognition at the global finals held in Florida. The international finals of the world's longest-running space engineering competition were held at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and the Walt Disney
SafeSip Uses Smart Water Stations to Tackle Rural Water Supply in Tanzania
Water projects across Africa often struggle long after construction is complete. Equipment breaks down, maintenance budgets disappear and communities return to unsafe water sources. Tanzanian startup SafeSip is trying a different model. The company has built a network of solar-powered water stations that sell treated drinking water while generating enough income to pay for maintenance