Breaking News Today – Friday 26 June 2026

African Start-up News Headlines:

• Tunisian startup RoboCare, specialising in precision agriculture and artificial intelligence applications in the agricultural sector, has received a six-figure investment from 216 Capital. RoboCare has developed an agricultural management platform that helps farmers make better decisions through the intelligent use of multiple data sources – satellite imagery, drone data, IoT sensors, weather data, and field expertise. The company intends to use the capital to support its next growth phase and expansion into African and Middle Eastern markets.
• Tala, the venture-backed digital fintech, with operations in Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines, and India, is cutting jobs across its global workforce. The company announced the job cuts in an official statement yesterday, indicating the purpose was “streamlining our functions and centralising operations to align with our strategic roadmap.” This follows staff reductions around a year ago, supposedly driven by lower client interaction and support requirements.

Business News Today 

Producer Inflation in South Africa Spikes in May

South Africa’s producer inflation accelerated sharply to 7.8% year-on-year in May 2026, up from 4.8% in April, according to data released by Statistics South Africa yesterday. This represents the highest reading in over a year and marks a significant jump from recent trends. PPI had been moderating through late 2025 and early 2026 as global commodity pressures eased. The sudden spike in May reverses that disinflationary trend and brings producer prices close to levels last seen during the 2022–2023 inflationary surge.

The sharp increase was driven primarily by Electricity and utilities — Rising Eskom tariffs and generation challenges added significant upward pressure and increases in Fuel and energy costs — Continued high global oil prices and domestic fuel levy adjustments fed through strongly.

Bumper South Africa’s Maize Harvest Expected – 2025/2026 Season

South African farmers are projected to harvest 3.6% more maize in the 2025/2026 season compared to the previous year, according to the government’s Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) released on Thursday. The CEC forecasts total maize production at approximately 14.5 million tonnes, up from around 14 million tonnes in the 2024/2025 season. This marks the second consecutive year of improved output following the severe drought-impacted 2023/2024 season.

Key Context and Comparisons:

• 2025/2026 forecast: ~14.5 million tonnes (+3.6% YoY)
• 2024/2025 actual: ~14 million tonnes
• 2023/2024: Significantly lower due to drought conditions

The improvement is attributed to better rainfall patterns in key producing regions (Free State, Mpumalanga, and North West), higher planted area, and favourable growing conditions during the season. White maize (used mainly for human consumption) and yellow maize (for animal feed) are both expected to see gains.

Kenya’s Mobile Money Subscriptions Surge by 2 Million in Q1 2026

The Kenyan Communications Authority (CA) reported strong growth in the mobile money sector, with the country adding 2 million new accounts between January and March 2026. This increased total mobile money subscriptions from 51.4 million at the end of December 2025 to 53.4 million by the end of March — a quarterly growth rate of 3.9%.

The expansion reflects continued strong adoption of digital financial services across Kenya, driven by widespread mobile phone penetration, agent networks, and increasing use cases beyond basic transfers, including bill payments, merchant payments, and international remittances. The growth reinforces Kenya’s position as one of the world’s leading mobile money markets, with M-Pesa and competing platforms continuing to play a central role in financial inclusion.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:  

• Ferrari’s marketing boss, Enrico Galliera, has resigned after a 16 year stint as the luxury supercar automaker. This follows severe backlash over the launch of Ferrari’s first-ever electric car, the Luce. The Ferrari’s shares fell by 8% the day after the launch. The firm announced this week that Galliera would exit as chief marketing and commercial officer, and will be replaced by former BMW Italy head Massimiliano Di Silvestre, as of 1 July.
• Honda Motor’s Chief Executive, Toshihiro Mibe has been reappointed to the Japanese automaker’s board at its annual meeting ​today after apologising to shareholders for the company’s poor financial performance. The Automotive manufacturer is ‌looking to recover from costly strategic missteps after posting its first annual loss in seven decades last month,
• Global Tech giant Apple, has raised iPad and MacBook prices as of yesterday, indicating it could no longer shield customers from soaring memory and storage chip ​costs driven by the AI industry’s datacenter buildout. The increase however does not affect Apple’s consumer buy, the iPhone.
• African Bank has reported a significant loss for the latest financial period, according to results released yesterday. The bank cited challenging economic conditions, high impairment costs on its loan book, and pressure on margins as key factors contributing to the disappointing performance. They may be looking to shed staff as part of a restructuring process under new CEO Zweli Manyathi.

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar marginally softer today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.13784 while trading against the Pound at 1.32035 The Yen is currently trading at 161.60 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR), is currently trading around the 16.52 mark against the US dollar this morning.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are around -0.4% lower this morning, and currently trading at around $4009.58 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are around -1.5% lower today, with prices currently around $59.834 per pound
• Silver futures are around -2.3% lower today, after a steep drop yesterday, and currently trading at around $56.480 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are around -1.8% lower this morning, currently trading at $1572.80, While Palladium is around-1% lower today, currently trading around $1180.50 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices are trending -1.4% lower today, and currently trading around $74.15, with WTI trading at $70.74 currently
• Cocoa futures are continue to surge up by over 5% this morning, and currently trading at $5247 per ton. 
• Coffee futures are trending around -0.2% lower today, and currently trading at around $2.7640 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are lower today, and trading at around $59 674 per coin currently 
• Ether prices are -1.5% Lower this morning, and currently trading around $1541.60
• $Trumpcoin are currently trading at around $1.669

(All prices quoted at approximately 08H05 Central African Time) 

African General News Briefs:

• A French court has ordered that oil major, TotalEnergies, to report the environmental consequences of emissions from its oil and gas products and explain how it plans to address them. The ruling stems from a civil case brought by NGOs and French cities demanding that the company align its business with global warming targets under the 2015 Paris Agreement. Total is facing several lawsuits in this regard. The new case involves claims from NGOs and Ugandan residents over land and rights violations related to an oil drilling project in Tilenga. 
• Angola’s national airline, TAAG has re-launched a weekly service from the capital, Luanda, to the Chinese city of Guangzhou. The first flight touched down on Wednesday (24 June) marking the official inauguration of the direct passenger service. This airline route is currently the only direct non-stop flight between the two countries, with Luanda (Angola’s Capital) serving as a key node in China’s Belt and Road initiative.