Breaking News Today – Friday 7 August 2026

African Start-up News Headlines:

• EFG Finance, the non-banking financial services arm of EFG Holding, has outlined growth plans for Balad after acquiring a controlling (majority) stake in the Egyptian remittance infrastructure startup earlier in 2026. Balad, founded by CEO Adham Azzam, was the first Egyptian remittance aggregator to receive full Central Bank of Egypt approval and launch operations in February 2025 through a partnership with Banque du Caire. The company builds digital cross-border money transfer infrastructure aimed at making remittances more efficient, secure and inclusive. EFG Finance will support Balad’s next phase by leveraging its expertise, institutional network and scale to expand partnerships and strengthen Egypt’s digital remittance ecosystem.

Business News Today 

Intra Africa Trade Gets System Boost

The AfCFTA Secretariat has signed a 20-year, $3.1 billion concession agreement with Nigeria’s Bergmans Security Consultants and Supplies Ltd (via its subsidiary AfriTrade CMP Ltd) for the AfCFTA Customs Modernisation Project. Signed in Abuja, the private-sector-funded deal will deploy digital and physical infrastructure to digitise customs processes, standardise procedures, enable real-time goods tracking, and introduce non-intrusive inspection technology and multilingual portals across the 50 countries that have ratified the AfCFTA.It builds on Bergmans’ Nigerian customs modernisation work, which reportedly boosted that country’s customs revenue by around 90%.

The system aims to cut revenue leakages, corruption, under-/over-invoicing and border delays caused by manual processes; harmonise procedures; improve data for policy; and support the goal of doubling intra-African trade (currently ~$220 billion) by 2035. SMEs and informal traders are expected to benefit most from faster, cheaper, more transparent cross-border product movement.

Copper and Cobalt Concentrate Export Ban – DRC

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has introduced new legislation banning exports of copper concentrate (and cobalt concentrate) under a government order dated 29 June, reported by various news outlets on 6 August 2026. The ban is effective immediately, though the Mines Minister may grant one-year waivers in “strategic” cases. It replaces earlier (including 2023) rules and exemptions. The exact rationale behind the ban is not clear, however there have been reports of high Uranium content in exported copper concentrates.

The ban is expected to force greater domestic processing/refining of minerals, and to retain more economic value in the country, boost local industry and government revenue, and reduce exports of lower-value semi-processed concentrates. The DRC is the world’s largest cobalt producer and second-largest copper supplier. In a further twist, the Union of Chinese-Capital Mining Companies in the DRC, known by its French acronym USMCC, has rejected allegations that cobalt products from Chinese-operated mines contain excessive levels of uranium. In a statement posted on X on August 5, 2026, the association described the claims as “unfounded”

Market impact so far: Copper prices rose sharply on the news with the London Metal Exchange three-month copper climbing as much as 1.8% to around $14,369.50 per tonne, approaching recent record levels

Lobito Corridor Development in Zambia Gets ADB Group Funding Boost

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (ADB)Group has approved a $255 million loan from the African Development Fund and a $10 million grant from the Rome Process/Mattei Plan Financing Facility to support Zambia’s participation in the Lobito Corridor development initiative.  The Bank’s support forms part of a coordinated effort with multilateral and bilateral partners to advance an integrated economic corridor approach. The Lobito Integrated Economic Corridor Development Project is expected to be transformative and catalytic for industrial development and regional trade. By linking Zambia’s Copperbelt and other mineral-rich and agricultural regions such as the DRC to Angola’s Atlantic Port of Lobito, the corridor will provide a more efficient export route, reduce logistics costs, strengthen supply-chain reliability and unlock new investment opportunities across Zambia and the wider Southern African region. 

Under the project, which will see the development of a new railway line connecting Zambia to Angola and the Port of Lobito, approximately 550 km of railway infrastructure in Zambia will be constructed and 105 km of the Mwinilunga-Jimbe road will be upgraded. In addition, there will be trade facilitation measures, institutional support and capacity building. The Bank’s financing will be implemented in phases. The current approval represents the first tranche, amounting to approximately $255 million, with additional resource mobilisation envisaged to reach up to $500 million in subsequent phases.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:  

• The annual inflation rate in Ghana fell to 4.6% in July 2026 from a six-month high of 5.3% in June, marking the first monthly decline after three consecutive increases. Food inflation slowed to 3.1% from 3.9% the month before, while non-food inflation eased marginally to 6.1%, compared with 6.3% in June, as a more stable exchange rate helped curb imported inflation.
• China has introduced new trade countermeasures against the U.S., tightening export controls on drones bound for the U.S. and banning transactions with six American firms. The move, framed as retaliation for fresh U.S. restrictions, comes ahead of a planned September meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, despite recent signs of thaw between the US and Beijing. 
• The Dubai-based air-carrier Emirates, and South African Airways (SAA) have expanded their long-standing partnership into a reciprocal codeshare agreement, opening access to nine additional destinations across South Africa and neighbouring countries while strengthening Johannesburg’s position as one of Africa’s leading aviation hubs.
• Brent oil futures, rose above $83 per barrel today, extending gains from the previous session, as renewed tensions in the Strait of Hormuz unsettled markets and cast fresh doubt over efforts to fully reopen the vital shipping route. Reports indicated that Iran struck what it described as “hostile targets” in the strait after explosions were reported near Qeshm Island.
• African stocks keep an upward momentum with The JSE All Share Index lifting 1.01%, closing at 115,415.67 (up from 114,256.28 the previous day), while The NGX All-Share Index edged up 0.04% to close at 244,912.24 (from 244,802.83). Egypt’s benchmark EGX 30 rose 0.29% to 54,659.57, with the EGX 100 gaining 0.15%, while the EGX 70 (SMEs) edged down marginally by -0.16%.

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar strengthening today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.15214 while trading against the Pound at 1.34515 The Yen is currently trading at 158.38 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR), is currently trading around the 16.36 mark against the US dollar this morning.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are trading 0.48% higher this morning, and currently trading at around $4257.59 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are around 0.6% up this morning, with prices currently around $6.7284 per pound
• Silver futures are up by 1.1% today, and currently trading at around $62.210 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are up around 0.7% this morning, and currently trading at $1750.10 while Palladium is -0.4% lower today, and currently trading around $1372.00 per ounce.
• Lithium prices are trading 0.80% higher today and currently at CNY141 500
• Brent crude oil prices are trending over 1% higher today, and currently trading around $83.45 with WTI trading at $78.04 currently
• Cocoa futures are down by -1.8% today, and currently trading at $5776 per ton. 
• Coffee futures are down by around 1.72% today, and currently trading at around $3.0610 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are flat today, currently trading at around $64 277 per coin.
• Ether prices are trending lower by -0.16% this morning, and currently trading around $1899.08

(All prices as quoted at approximately 05H15 Central African Time) 

African General News Briefs:

• Tanzania and Uganda have signed an agreement with global energy trader Vitol to develop Tanga into a regional energy hub. The project aims to strengthen fuel storage, trading and logistics while creating jobs and attracting new investment. The agreement builds on major cross-border energy infrastructure linking the two countries, including the East African Crude Oil Pipeline. Uganda is set to begin commercial crude oil production this year, with crude oil exports to flow through the 1,443-kilometre East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to Tanzania’s Port of Tanga.
• The Migrant violence and anti immigrant protests that saw tens of thousands of immigrants exit South African recently, has left local clothing factories struggling to find skilled workers to fill their production staff roles. In the manufacturing hub of Newcastle, factory owners are reportedly facing major labour shortages, with some losing around 19% of their workforce. Employers say many of the departing workers had valuable sewing skills that are hard to replace rapidly, while locals are often unwilling to take the low-paying jobs.