Breaking News Today – Thursday 30 July 2026

African Start-up News Headlines:

• Kenyan B2B fintech Sevi has secured an undisclosed capital funding raise, from Oxano Capital, that is expected to accelerate product development, and support the company’s expansion beyond Kenya. This follows earlier funding from Renew Capital last year. the Nairobi-based startup operates an order-now, pay-later platform that enables micro and small retailers to buy inventory on credit through existing supplier and distributor networks.
• Afreximbank, the Pan-African multilateral financial institution, through its Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme, has partnered with Gebeya, an Addis Ababa-based technology company, to launch the CANEX Create-thon 2026, a competition for African creators across music, video, and gaming with a total prize pool of $50k. the Create-thon requires participants to build and submit working prototypes or completed creative projects during an intensive four-day creation sprint from 20 to 24 August 2026. Participants will have access to Gebeya’s Dala Studio platform, computing resources, and support from 30 to 40 ambassadors from Gebeya’s community network. The competition is open to amateur, emerging, and established creators across Africa, with no requirement for a production company, studio access, or existing audience.
  
  

Business News Today 

Africa’s Own Credit Rating Agency set for October 2026 Launch

The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is to launch the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) on 6 October 2026 in Port Louis, Mauritius. The agency is designed as a private-sector-led but continentally anchored institution that will provide credit ratings with a primary focus on African sovereigns and local-currency debt.

AfCRA aims to reduce Africa’s heavy reliance on the three dominant global rating agencies (S&P, Moody’s and Fitch). Many African governments and institutions have long argued that these agencies apply an “Africa premium,” resulting in higher borrowing costs than fundamentals alone would justify. By offering home-grown assessments that better reflect local economic conditions, governance reforms and regional context, AfCRA is intended to improve transparency, support deeper domestic debt markets and give African issuers an additional, more context-aware reference point.

The launch comes shortly after S&P Global’s acquisition of a majority stake in Nigeria-based Agusto & Co., an indication of growing international and continental interest in Africa’s credit assessment landscape. While AfCRA is positioned as complementary rather than a direct replacement for the global agencies, its success will depend on methodological credibility, independence and market acceptance.

Power Outage Across Ghana Brings Business to a Halt

Ghana experienced a widespread national power outage in the early hours of Wednesday, 29 July 2026. The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) confirmed a major disturbance on the National Interconnected Transmission System at approximately 3:11 a.m., which caused several generating plants to trip simultaneously. The blackout affected large parts of the country, including Accra, Kumasi and other regions, disrupting homes, businesses and essential services. Water supply was also interrupted in some areas as treatment plants and pumping stations lost power.

GRIDCo activated restoration procedures and said engineers were working with stakeholders to restore supply safely. A technical investigation has been launched to determine the exact cause. By later in the day, power had begun returning to some areas, though full recovery was still underway last night.

Cash Crunch Hurts Meta’s Share Price As AI Spend Grows

Meta’s cash flow has dropped sharply as the company accelerates spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure. In its second-quarter 2026 results, released yesterday, free cash flow numbers fell 91% year-on-year to just $784 million, down from $8.55 billion in the same period a year earlier. The decline was driven by a surge in capital expenditure. Capex rose sharply as Meta invested heavily in data centres, servers and networking equipment to support its AI ambitions. Operating cash flow remained strong, lifted by solid advertising revenue growth, but the scale of infrastructure spending almost entirely offset revenue growth.

Meta has also raised its full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance, indicating that AI-related investment will remain elevated. Meta’s share price fell sharply in after-hours trading following the release of its second-quarter 2026 results. Reports indicate a drop of around 9–10% in Meta’s share price, as investors reacted to the steep decline in free cash flow and the company’s higher capital expenditure guidance linked to its AI investments.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:  

• BMW is looking to cut around 8000 positions across its operations globally, equivalent to around 5% of its global staff complement. The core of job cuts is expected from its German operations. The group are offering voluntary severance packages to workers in Germany, as the carmaker seeks a more streamlined workforce to compete with Chinese Automakers in Europe.
• Ethiopian Airlines has cemented its position as Africa’s aviation powerhouse after growing annual revenue by 20% to $9.1 billion. This despite conflict in the Middle East and the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo which disrupted parts of its network. The airline’s 20.7 million passengers flown during the 2025/26 financial year, strengthens its position as Africa’s largest airline.
• The US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady for the fifth consecutive policy meeting this year, amid a rebound in oil prices driven by renewed tensions in the Middle East. The central bank voted in a split decision to hold its benchmark interest rate in the range of 3.5% to 3.75%
• Mozambique’s central bank left its policy rate unchanged yesterday for the third consecutive meeting. They indicated tighter money conditions were assisting in curbing inflation despite risks from the Middle East conflict and higher fuel prices.
• A new 25-year concession has been awarded by Mozambique, to two Chinese firms to build and operate a one-stop border post at Machipanda, which connects Mozambique to Zimbabwe. The public-private development project is expected to cost $30 million and will give Chinese companies a 75% stake, with Mozambique’s government holding 15%, and local businesspeople 10%.

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar marginally weaker today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.14576 while trading against the Pound at 1.33560 The Yen is currently trading at 163.43 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR), is currently trading around the 16.62 mark against the US dollar this morning.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are trading around 0.5% firmer this morning, and currently trading at around $4088.20 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are around 1.7% higher this morning, with prices currently around $6.3855 per pound
• Silver futures are up by 1.6% today, and currently trading at around $58.531 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are up around 1.45% this morning, and currently trading at $1625.80, while Palladium is up around 1.77% today, and currently trading around $1275.00 per ounce.
• Lithium prices are up by around 0.34% today and trading at CNY146 000
• Brent crude oil prices are trending over -1.3% lower today, after an earlier spike, and currently trading around $89.56 with WTI trading at $83.85 currently
• Cocoa futures are trading around -0.3% lower today, and currently trading at $5185 per ton. 
• Coffee futures have slipped by over -4% today, and currently trading at around $3.2580 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are up by around 0.4% today, currently trading at around $64 151 per coin.
• Ether prices are trending upwards by 0.38% this morning, and currently trading around $1914.84

(All prices as quoted at approximately 03H50 Central African Time) 

African General News Briefs:

• Ugandan opposition party leader, Kizza Besigye collapsed in court in the capital Kampala yesterday, where he is on trial ​for treason, a senior official in his party said. Besigye, Who is now 70, has ‌been in custody since November 2024 after he was detained together with his aide Obeid Lutale in neighbouring Kenya. Both men were repatriated to Uganda where they were subsequently charged with ​treason. Their lawyers have described ​the charges as politically motivated, with multiple attempts to seek a bail release, having been denied.
• China’s Zijin Gold has abandoned its C$5.5 billion takeover of African mining house Allied Gold, after the companies concluded that the remaining conditions could not be completed within a reasonable period. The deal, worth about US$3.9 billion when announced, would have transferred control of Allied’s African gold portfolio to the Chinese mining group. Allied owns producing mines and development projects in Mali, Côte d’Ivoire and Ethiopia.