Breaking News Today – Thursday 13 August 2026

African Start-up News Headlines:

• Tennsa, the South African AI software group, has closed a raise of just over ZAR1 million ($61,900) from Oakvale Invest, making it the first company to receive backing from the newly active, Africa-focused pre-seed fund. Tensa, founded by Rivar Maharaj builds AI Operating Systems tools built for small to medium sized back-office business operations rather than consumer-facing chatbots. Oakvale Invest’s pre-seed fund, Invests specifically in African AI startups exclusively at the pre-seed stage, and targets founders between 18 and 25 years old only. 
• South African fintech startup TurnStay, which facilitates easy African travel businesses getting paid on time by international guests, has processed more than ZAR1 billion (US$61.5 million) in transactions so far this year – a milestone reached in just six months, and only three years after the company was founded. Founded by Alon Stern and James Hedley,  TurnStay reduces the cost of getting paid for African merchants and platforms in travel and tourism by harnessing the same “tricks” used by the world’s biggest booking companies.  
  

Business News Today 

India Seeking a new SACU Trade Agreement for Automotive and Pharmaceuticals

India and the five-member Southern African Customs Union (SACU — South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini) signed Terms of Reference to formally launch negotiations on a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) yesterday. Further talks are expected to start within a month and aim for conclusion within a year. The deal will focus on specific goods (not a full free-trade agreement covering services or investment) and cover eight chapters, including market access, rules of origin, customs procedures, trade remedies, sanitary and technical standards, and dispute settlement. A deal would give SACU members preferential access to India’s large and fast-growing market for minerals, agricultural products and other goods. It could support value addition, manufacturing cooperation, pharmaceuticals and critical-minerals processing

India is seeking lower tariffs and better market access for key exports such as automobiles and auto parts, pharmaceuticals, industrial machinery, engineering goods, chemicals and textiles. The timing is notable because South Africa is curently considering raising import duties on cars from India and China from 25% to 50%. India also wants more reliable access to SACU’s critical minerals (including platinum-group metals, manganese and copper). For both sides, it forms part of a broader push to deepen economic ties after years of limited progress. Five rounds of negotiations between India and SACU, ran from 2002 to 2010 but ended without a PTA deal signed. The main sticking points then, were disagreements over the list of products eligible for tariff cuts and mutual sensitivities

Shoprite Group Revenue Surges

South African retail major group, Shoprite holdings has indicated that the company expects headline earnings per share from continuing operations to improve for the 52 weeks ending June 2026. In a regulatory filing on yesterday the company said revenue at its Sixty60 digital commerce and rapid delivery operation jumped by 35% to reach R25.5 billion ($1.6 billion) for the year. Shoprite Holdings that includes Checkers Hyper Checkers LiquorShop, Checkers Supermarkets, Shoprite, Usave, Shoprite LiquorShop and several retail chains outside of South Africa saw total earnings lifting by 14.7% with growth occurring in all its operations. Shoprite group shares saw an 8% spike yesterday ending on ZAR 307.85 ($19.01)

Kenya’s KCB Group Sees H1 Profits Surge

Leading Kenyan financing house, the KCB Group, yesterday reported that its first-half (H1) 2026 pretax profit grew by more than 20% on H1 in 2025. Pretax profit increased to 49.3 billion shillings ($381.87 million) from 40.8 billion shillings in the first six months of 2025. Its subsidiaries outside Kenya contributed 27.7% of the pretax profit, KCB said in an investor presentation announcing the financial results – the group operates in other African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Burundi. Net interest income rose to 74.0 billion shillings (around $572.5 million) from 69.1 billion shillings a year earlier, while non-funded income was up 15% to 34.1 billion shillings.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:  

• Ghana has widened its lead as Africa’s largest gold producer, with a record output of six million ounces for the 2025 period, lifting export earnings to about $20.2 billion and gold’s share of merchandise exports to 63.1%, amid stronger small-scale production and elevated global prices.
• There has been major backlash to a plan by Anthropic to start implementing an invisible watermark on text and images generated by the Claude AI model. Responses on social media intensified this week as users of the AI platform responded negatively against the idea of AI use being detectable in their work
• Brent oil futures fell toward $88 per barrel this morning, ending a six-day surge, as investors assessed the prospects of any deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump said the US had “total control” over the waterway amid escalating rhetoric between Washington and Tehran, with negotiations remaining deadlocked
• Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has approved a new deepwater oil and gas investment framework that the country says, could unlock as much as $50 billion in investment, as Africa’s top crude producer seeks to revive stalled offshore projects.
• Copper futures fell below $6.55 per pound today, reaching a one-week low as elevated prices weakened demand and discouraged buyers in top consumer China. The Yangshan premium, which reflects the premium paid above the benchmark LME copper price for refined copper imported into China, declined to $96 per ton after reaching $115 a ton last month

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar flat today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.15264 while trading against the Pound at 1.34966 The Yen is currently trading at 159.33 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR), is currently trading around the 16.14 mark against the US dollar this morning.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are trading -0.15% lower this morning, and currently trading at around $4402.15 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are around -0.78% lower this morning, with prices currently around $6.5460 per pound
• Silver futures are up marginally today, and currently trading at around $65.377 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are down -0.94% this morning, and currently trading at $1753.60 while Palladium is 0.04% up today, and currently trading around $1370.50 per ounce.
• Lithium prices have modulated by -0.34% today and currently at CNY147 500
• Brent crude oil prices are trending marginally lower today, and currently trading around $88.84 with WTI trading at $83.02 currently
• Cocoa futures are up by 1.2% today, and currently trading at $5725 per ton. 
• Coffee futures are up by around 1.35% today, and currently trading at around $3.1995 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are up by 0.8% today, currently trading at around $63 870 per coin.
• Ether prices are trending 0.9% higher this morning, and currently trading around $1895.53

(All prices as quoted at approximately 07H35 Central African Time) 

African General News Briefs:

• South Africa is pressing several African governments to reimburse it for the cost of repatriating tens of thousands of their citizens back home. The request follows mass deportations from South Africa with around 80,000 immigrants, Manny illegally in the country, returned to their home countries, following protests and violence against illegal immigration. According to the country’s Home Affairs department, the country has spent nearly $18 million accommodating and transporting immigrants who demanded to return to their home states.
• Two South African provincial regions now have more unemployed people than employed. According to the latest labour data released this week, the North West province recorded an expanded unemployment rate of 56.0%. This means the North West has overtaken the Eastern Cape as having the most people unemployed than working in South Africa. The Eastern Cape recorded an expanded unemployment rate of 54.1%.