Breaking News Today – Monday 20 July 2026

African Start-up News Headlines:

• Stakpak, an Egyptian-founded open-source AI agentic platform startup, has been acquired by Vercel for an undisclosed amount, marking the cloud platform’s third acquisition in a year following its purchase of Ethiopian-founded Better Auth. Before the acquisition, Stakpak raised USD 500 K in pre-seed funding in early 2025
• The US-based impact investment firm Acumen, describing itself as a global force of entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, and social innovators working together to scale impact, has secured an additional $90 million in commitments for its Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF) to expand climate-resilient agricultural investments across Africa. The fund has invested in 12 agribusinesses, reaching more than 3 million farmers, and plans to extend its footprint into North Africa
• Applications have opened for the second edition of the timbuktoo MineTech Accelerator programme, a transformative initiative of the timbuktoo MineTech Hub designed to drive innovation in mining technology, empower startups, and scale transformative technologies in the  African mining sector.

Business News Today 

Gold Production Volume Scrutiny Measures Introduced in Cameroon

Cameroon has launched a wide-scale operation aimed at recovering approximately $680 billion in tax and customs revenues from the production of some 17 tonnes of gold. The new measures are one of several components of the government plans to step up controls at mining sites and introduce minimum delivery thresholds. The measures will also see increased monitoring of the various stages of ore recovery and strengthen of production traceability. The crackdown comes amid growing discrepancies between the volumes of gold produced and the amounts declared by companies – potentially costing the state billions in lost tax revenue.

Presidential Website in Kenya Hacked

Hackers gained control of the official website of Kenyan President William Ruto (president.co.ke) on Saturday, July 18th, and defaced the president’s official website with demeaning messages. The unknown group responsible for the cyberattack targeted President Ruto, threatening to release ‘uncomfortable’ information if its ransom demand of five Bitcoins (approximately $317,215) wasn’t met. “This message is the third time for you; before we leak everything about you,” the message on the homepage read. “Do a payment of 5 bitcoins to the Bitcoin wallet…. If you want peace before 6 o’clock this evening.”  Via a response filed by the Information and Communication Technology Cabinet Secretary, William Kabogo, confirmed the attack but assured Kenyans that no official or sensitive data was compromised. Kabogo also clarified that emergency measures had been put in place to reverse the attack.

De Beers Buyer Identified

Anglo American has selected a preferred buyer for its stake in its Botswana diamond mining operation after the company ran a competitive process involving three shortlisted bidders. The preferred bidder, the ‘Global Diamond Consortium,” was announced by Botswana’s Minister for State President, Defence and Security Moeti Mohwasa told lawmakers. The consortium’s proposal included Angola and Namibia and was welcomed by the government, Mohwasa added. He however, did not disclose the consortium partners, but said it was urgent to secure an experienced operator backed by a stable, long-term ownership structure and a credible, well-funded turnaround plan.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:  

• Brent oil futures climbed more than 2.4% and above $90 per barrel this morning, extending last week’s gains as escalating hostilities between the US and Iran raised fears of further disruptions to oil flows from the Middle East. Iran declared that its ceasefire with the US had effectively collapsed
• India’s BSE Sensex fell about 0.8% to 77,504 at the open this morning, reversing the gains in the last session as investors turned cautious amid a rise in crude oil prices and escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
• Copper steadied around $6.25 per pound this morning after experiencing sharp volatility last week, as persistent supply concerns continued to offset demand-side uncertainties. 
• Platinum futures fell further below $1,600 an ounce, moving near late-November lows as escalating attacks in the Middle East kept inflation concerns in focus. The metal also remained supported by a tight supply outlook, with the World Platinum Investment Council continuing to forecast a fourth consecutive market deficit in 2026 
• South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index fell more than 3% to around 6,605 today, extending losses to its lowest level since late April, as weakness in global semiconductor stocks weighed on investor sentiment. The decline followed another week of losses on Wall Street

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar trading level today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.14370 while trading against the Pound at 1.34670 The Yen is currently trading at 162.39 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR), is currently trading around the 16.54 mark against the US dollar this morning.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are down around 0.2% this morning, and currently trading at around $4008.00 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are around 0.3% higher this morning, with prices currently around $6.2416 per pound
• Silver futures are around 1.2% higher today, and currently trading at around $56.608 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are around -1% lower this morning, currently trading at $1597.90, while Palladium is around -0.7% lower today, and currently trading around $1243.50 per ounce.
• Lithium continues prices are down around -0.3% today and trading at 151 500
• Brent crude oil prices are trending around 3.3% higher today, and currently trading around $90.91, with WTI trading at $84.77 currently
• Cocoa futures have jumped by around 3.3% today, currently trading at $5533 per ton. 
• Coffee futures are up by over 2.4% today, and currently trading at around $3.20 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are down -0.95% today, currently trading at around $64 093 per coin.
• Ether prices are trending -0.93% lower this morning, and currently trading around $1853.57

(All prices quoted at approximately 08H20 Central African Time) 

African General News Briefs:

• The United Nations Security Council has moved to impose sanctions on leaders of armed groups operating in eastern Congo including he Rwandan-backed AFC/M23 rebels and the Democratic Forces for the ​Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which fights alongside the Congolese army.The conflict in eastern Congo is rooted in the fallout from neighbouring Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.