Breaking News Today – Tuesday 23 June 2026

African Start-up News Headlines:

• A Leading African AI logistics startup, Lori Systems, has announced the close of an 18 million dollar Series A funding round. The round was led by a mix of African and international venture capital firms. Lori Systems specialises in solving last-mile delivery challenges using AI, route optimisation, and local driver networks. The company has been gaining traction by helping businesses navigate traffic, poor infrastructure, and fragmented logistics common across African cities. The company will use the funds to expand operations into additional African markets, enhance their AI-powered predictive analytics platform for last-mile delivery, strengthen partnerships with major e-commerce and retail players and Invest in technology development and fleet optimisation tools.
• Pan-African seed fund Launch Africa Ventures has made its first significant cash return to Limited Partners (LPs), distributing approximately $2.5 million. Tis equates to around 7% of paid-in invested capital, from its Launch Africa Seed Fund I. This distribution comes from 11 successful startup exits across Africa, marking a strong early performance for the fund, which focuses on early-stage tech companies. The returns stem from a combination of acquisitions, secondary sales, and strategic buyouts.The 11 exited companies span fintech, agritech, healthtech, and marketplace sectors. While Launch Africa has not publicly released the full list of all 11 companies, notable exits contributing to the return include companies in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt.
• Supascale AI has officially launched its decentralised cloud AI marketplace, a platform that connects businesses and developers with affordable AI computing power while enabling GPU owners to earn income from idle hardware. The South African Startup provides a platform where users can access leading AI models (LLMs, image/video generation, etc.) at prices significantly below traditional cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure. The model leverages a network of distributed GPUs from individuals and small data centres across Africa and globally. The production is particularly relevant for African startups and developers facing high cloud costs and unreliable infrastructure.

Business News Today 

Public-Private-Partnership Updates Positive for SA

The South African Treasury provided progress on several major public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives aimed at addressing infrastructure backlogs in energy, transport, and health sectors yesterday. Several new initiatives are expected to reach financial close in the coming months, potentially unlocking billions in investment. The statement was part of the Treasury’s regular update on the PPP pipeline and highlights cautious optimism around unlocking private investment.

Notable projects mentioned include:

• Energy Sector: Several renewable energy and battery storage PPPs expected to reach financial close in the next 6–12 months.
• Transport Infrastructure: Expansion and modernisation projects at key ports and logistics corridors.
• Health Infrastructure: New hospital and clinic developments under PPP models in various provinces.

The update emphasised that a number of these projects are advancing despite fiscal constraints, with the potential to unlock several billion rand in private investment over the coming years. The Treasury noted improved appetite from local and international investors for well-structured PPPs.

African Development Bank Announces Further Funding For LAPSET

Kenya secured additional financing from the African Development Bank for the next phase of the Lamu Port development project. The funding will support the construction of additional berths and associated road infrastructure. It forms part of the broader Lamu Port–South Sudan–Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) corridor project, which is one of East Africa’s most ambitious infrastructure initiatives. When fully completed, it is expected to have a transformative effect on regional trade.

The corridor includes a new railway, highway, oil pipeline, and fibre optic cable linking Lamu (Kenya) to South Sudan and Ethiopia. It is anticipated that the development will open up landlocked countries to efficient sea access reducing costs for moving goods between the Indian Ocean and the interior of East and Central Africa. Analysts estimate LAPSSET could boost intra-regional trade volumes by 20–30% in the long term and position Lamu as a major logistics hub for the Horn of Africa and Great Lakes region.

Angolan Energy Development Advances With New Oil Investments

Azule Energy (the BP-Eni joint venture) and its partners officially approved the $5.1 billion Greater PAJ offshore oil development in Angola yesterday. The signing ceremony marked a major milestone for one of the largest new oil investments in Africa this year. The project involves developing multiple deep-water oil fields in Block 14 and Block 15. The oilfield is expected to produce up to 150,000 barrels per day at peak. First oil production is targeted for 2029–2030.The development includes subsea infrastructure and tie-backs to existing facilities. This is one of the largest single investments in Angola’s oil sector in recent years. The development will create a significant number of new local jobs, boost government revenue, and help sustain Angola’s oil production levels.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:  

• Oracle has shed about 21,000 jobs globally in the last year as the US technology giant reshapes its business around artificial intelligence (AI), the firm’s latest annual report shows. The global software and cloud computing giant stated it had around 141,000 full-time employees as of end of May 2026, compared to roughly 162,000 workers in May last year.
• Copper futures fell to below $6.3 per pound this morning, extending their decline as easing supply concerns combined with softer demand conditions. Industry data showed that global shipments of copper concentrate have risen since April, pointing to ample raw material availability. At the same time, imports of concentrate by top consumer China have remained subdued
• EU passenger car registrations rose 3.2% y-o-y to 955,013 units in May 2026, marking the fourth straight month of growth but easing from a 5.1% gain in April. The market continued to benefit from robust consumer demand for a range of electrified technologies across key European markets
• Aluminium futures in the UK dropped to around $3,320 in early Asian trading, the lowest since the end of March, amid prospects for the resumption of metal exports from the Persian Gulf following progress in US-Iran talks.
• Gold fell below $4,150 an ounce this morning, giving back gains from the previous session as firm expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate hikes outweighed optimism surrounding ongoing US-Iran peace negotiations. Both Deutsche Bank and BofA Global Research have revised their forecasts to include a rate increase in September. 

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar stronger today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.14210 while trading against the Pound at 1.32359 The Yen is currently trading at 161.60 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR), is currently trading around the 16.45 mark against the US dollar this morning.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are around 1.5% lower this morning, and currently trading at around $41.26.95 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are around -1.63% lower today, with prices currently around $62.535 per pound
• Silver futures are around -3.6% lower today, and currently trading at around $62.717 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are around -1.7% lower this morning, and currently trading at $1642.10, While Palladium prices are around -2.32% lower today, and currently trading around $1241.50 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices are trending -0.43% lower today, and currently trading around $77.53, with WTI trading at $73.75 currently
• Cocoa futures have jumped by over 8.% this morning, and currently trading at $4621 per ton. 
• Coffee futures are trending around 04% higher today, and currently trading at around $2.67 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are -0.89% lower today, and trading at around $63 370 per coin currently 
• Ether prices are 0.9% lower this morning, and currently trading around $1709.63
• $Trumpcoin are currently trading at around $1.818

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H25 Central African Time) 

African General News Briefs:

• The International Monetary Fund stated yesterday that its staff had “open and constructive technical discussions” ​on a visit to Senegal, and would hold more talks over ‌the West African country’s request for a new support programme. Senegal and the IMF have been in talks to resolve a misreported debt issue since the country’s then-new leaders revealed the problem in ​2024.
• Egyptian security forces have detained hundreds of people, including foreigners, on the country’s border with Sudan, on allegations of involvement in illegal gold mining and smuggling activities, their military announced yesterday. The southern region of Egypt is a well known gold rich area with multiple mines. Government mining projects in the region includes the Sukari mega-project. The statement said the detainees included 87 Egyptians and 136 other foreigners, without specifying the countries of origin.