Breaking News Today – Friday 10 April 2026

African Start-up News Headlines:

• Moroccan fintech players Inwi Money and Wafacash, have announced a strategic partnership on the final day of GITEX to expand digital financial services and boost financial inclusion across the region. The tie-up aims to broaden access to mobile money, payments, and banking services across Morocco, with clear ripple effects for fintech startups and SMEs.
• The Moroccan government has signed a historic agreement for the Nexus AI Factory, Africa’s first sovereign AI infrastructure platform. The initial $1.2 billion investment will deliver 500 MW of capacity, powered by Nvidia technology. It positions Morocco as the AI gateway for Northern Africa, Europe, and beyond. This is a major ecosystem play, anticipated to create new opportunities for African AI startups, data-centre innovation, and local talent development. U.S. Ambassador Duke Buchan was present at the signing alongside Moroccan officials.

Business News Today 

African Startups Raise $705m in Q1 2026

Fresh Q1 2026 funding data, from Condia’s funding tracker, released today, indicates that African startups secured $705 million across 59 deals in 14 countries in the first quarter of 2026. This amounts to an encouraging 26.5% year-on-year increase. Egypt led the funding stakes with $190m raised, followed by South Africa at a$157m raise total. Debt financing dominated the funding with a $490m total, signalling maturity, while clean-tech pulled in $102m. Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria drove activity, but a broader geographic spread which included Morocco and Ethiopia, highlights increasing geographic diversification. Investors have noted a shift toward positive revenue-generating companies with hard assets.

South Africa Manufacturing Output Contracts Further – Q1 Weakness Confirmed

Manufacturing activity in South Africa slipped by -2.8% year-on-year in February 2026, following a downwardly revised -0.1% fall in January and far worse than the anticipated -0.3% decrease for the month. This marks the fourth consecutive month of downturn in industrial activity in Africa’s largest economy, and the most pronounced since April 2025. The decline was mainly on account of food & beverage production down by -4.5%; wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing contracting by -9.7%, and basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery declining by -3.6%.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, output fell by -2.2%, after an upwardly revised 1.9% rise in the previous month. Manufacturing production decreased by -2% in the three months ended February 2026 compared with the previous three month period. Rising input costs, weak demand, and global headwind all had an impact on the decline, and economists warn this could pressure GDP growth forecasts and delay recovery in the auto and mining-linked sectors.

Kenya Court Clears Diageo’s $2.3bn Sale of East African Breweries to Asahi

A Kenyan court today dismissed a last-minute challenge, by Kenyan distributor Bia Tosha, paving the way for Diageo’s $2.3 billion sale of its stake in East African Breweries Limited (EABL) to Japan’s Asahi Group. The ruling removes a major hurdle and is seen as a boost for foreign investment confidence in Kenya’s consumer sector. The transaction is one of East Africa’s largest consumer deals in years. The court ruling removes the last significant hurdle, and the deal is now firmly on track. It is widely viewed as a net positive for Kenya’s investment climate and economic stability.

Diageo had agreed to sell its 65% controlling stake in East African Breweries Limited (EABL) — East Africa’s largest brewer, which includes -Tusker, Serengeti, Senator beers, plus spirits, to Asahi Group Holdings in December 2025. Diageo will retain long-term licensing agreements to continue producing and distributing Guinness, local spirits, ready-to-drink brands, and its international spirits portfolio in the region. Closure of the deal is still targeted for the second half of 2026, subject to any remaining regulatory approvals in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:  

• Telecom giant Orange Maroc and Ericsson have renewed and expanded their strategic partnership at GITEX 2026, focusing on growing 5G Advanced, secure connectivity, and digital transformation across Morocco and broader Africa. This move aims to strengthen the underlying infrastructure that many African startups rely on for scaling.
• The fragile US / Iran ceasefire has eased immediate oil price spikes, however, Africa’s refining deficits and import dependence remain exposed. Nigeria’s Dangote refinery continues ramping up exports to African states, yet broader calls are growing for energy independence and more local refining investment.
• Global trader Trafigura Group (Singapore) has signed a landmark agreement yesterday, with Ghanaian miner Heath Goldfields for 700,000 ounces of gold from the Bogoso-Prestea mine, plus debt financing. The deal strengthens Ghana’s position as a key gold producer and signals renewed commodity trader interest in West African mining amid global supply concerns.
• Gold futures have steadied above $4,700 per ounce this morning, and remain on course for a third consecutive weekly gain, as the US-Iran ceasefire triggered a sharp decline in oil prices and eased concerns over renewed inflation and potential interest rate hikes. 

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar strengthening against major currencies today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.16909 while trading against the Pound at 1.34211. The Yen is currently trading at 159.20 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR), is currently trading around the 16.41 mark against the US dollar this morning.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are trading fairly level this morning, and currently at around $4761.55 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are trending upwards today, with prices currently around $5.7631 per pound
• Silver futures are around 0.8% higher today, and currently trading at around $75.920 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are around -1.5% lower this morning, and currently trading at $2079.40, While Palladium prices are down marginally this morning, and currently trading around $1564.00 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices are moving upwards today, with prices up by around 0.7% and currently trading at $96.66. WTI is trading over 0.5% higher at $98.37 currently
• Cocoa futures are trending 0.7% higher this morning, with prices currently trading around $3184.26 per ton. 
• Coffee futures are flat today, and currently trading at around $2.997 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are trending higher this morning, and trading at around $72 059 per coin currently 
• Ether prices are up slightly today, and currently trading around $2194.04
• $Trumpcoin are currently trading lower at around $2.884

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H15 Central African Time) 

African General News Briefs:

• East Africa’s Djibouti is set to vote for a president on Friday, with current president, Ismael Omar Guelleh, expected to extend his 27-year rule after the country’s parliament removed constitutional age limits that would have barred him from standing for election again. The country, a small Island nation situated at the entrance to the Red Sea and hosts U.S., ​Chinese, French, Italian and Japanese military bases. Djibouti has been governed by the now ​78-year-old Guelleh, since 1999.
• Crowds of workers, union members and opposition supporters, marched in Senegal’s capital Dakar this week to protest what they say are broken government promises and a a growing debt crises The protest was organised by the country’s main labor unions and the Front for the Defense of Democracy and the Republic, also known as FDR, opposition coalition. The country’s government, led by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, came to power in April 2024, on the promise of ambitious financial reforms, which included fighting corruption, creating jobs for young people and maximising the country’s natural resource benefits.
• Pope Leo will begin a tour of African states next Monday (April 13), and is set to visit four countries in Africa, in an ambitious tour that will urge global leaders ​to address the needs of the continent where more than a fifth of the world’s Catholics live. This is his first major overseas trip of ‌2026. Over 10 days from April 13-23, Leo will travel nearly 18,000 km (11,185 miles) to visit 11 cities and towns in Algeria, Cameroon, Angola as well as Equatorial Guinea.