Breaking News Today – Tuesday 31 March 2026

African Start-up News Headlines:

• Moniepoint Acquires 78% Stake in Kenya’s Sumac Microfinance Bank – Nigerian fintech unicorn Moniepoint has completed its acquisition of a controlling 78% stake in Sumac Microfinance Bank, marking its long-awaited entry into Kenya’s market. The deal, finalised with a celebratory reception in Nairobi’s Westlands, gives Moniepoint immediate access to a deposit-taking license, bypassing the Central Bank of Kenya’s ongoing freeze on new banking licenses. This strategic move ends years of attempts to crack East Africa (a previous bid via payments firm Kopo Kopo stalled). Moniepoint plans to leverage Sumac’s 20-year-old infrastructure to scale SME lending, business banking, and credit products, directly competing with incumbents like Safaricom and Equity Group.
• Kenyan Fintech 4G Capital Secures $2 Million from GIF Growth – Kenya-based micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) lender 4G Capital has closed a $2 million strategic investment from GIF Growth, the dedicated growth-stage vehicle of the Global Innovation Fund. The capital will fuel 4G Capital’s expansion of its innovative lending model across East Africa, with a focus on deepening financial inclusion for underserved businesses.
• Kenyan startup Twiva secured an undisclosed investment from the Jobtech Alliance (led by Mercy Corps and BFA Global) to scale its influencer-powered social commerce platform. Twiva connects brands with creators (including micro and nano-influencers) through structured, performance-based opportunities, embedded payments, and business-skills training—replacing sporadic brand deals with reliable demand and earnings.The alliance has supported Twiva for over six months with venture assistance and user engagement.

Business News Today 

Citrus Crop Concerns Raised over Fuel Prices and Supply in South Africa

South African citrus farmers and industry bodies have reported limited diesel availability at certain stations, particularly affecting the agricultural sector as harvesting ramps up in the April harvesting season. While South Africa’s Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has said the country’s fuel supplies will remain stable ​in the near term, despite the war in the ​Middle East, major transport increases due to a 50%+ increase in the diesel price effective tomorrow, are causing market concern. Furthermore ⁠disrupted global shipping routes could add additional costs to the exports.

The Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA) issued an official statement yesterday, specifically addressing the fuel risks. In it, the CGA noted: “While official assurances indicate that national supply remains stable, industry participants have reported limited diesel availability at certain stations, seemingly caused by unusual buying patterns and controlled allocation by industry players.” The association warned that if controlled selling or limited availability persists, “it could directly affect the functioning of the citrus supply chain.” It highlighted that 95% of citrus exports are moved by road to ports, making the sector highly exposed to fuel supply and price shocks.

Ai Agentic Start-up Sycamore Raises $65 Million

Ai Agent building Start-up Sycamore Labs, has announced a $65 million seed funding round yesterday. The raise was led by Coatue and Lightspeed, with an extensive list of angel investors, including former OpenAI chief scientist Bob McGrew, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi, and more. Sycamore is led by Sri Viswanath, a former Coatue investor, who brings decades of experience to the venture including having previously built enterprise platforms at global scale at Sun Microsystems, VMware, Groupon, and also previously served as CTO of Atlassian. Sycamore enables organizations to build, deploy, and orchestrate AI agents with security, governance, and human oversight. The platform captures and compounds organisational intelligence over time, enabling systems that continuously improve, according to Viswanath.

Egypt Warns of Further Fuel Price Spikes Unless Conflict is Ended

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged US President Donald Trump, to stop the military conflict in Iran, saying that only he could do so, and warned that ‌fears of the oil price rising above $200 a barrel were not exaggerated. “I tell President Trump: nobody can stop the war in our region in the Gulf but you,” Sisi said at the Egypt Energy Show 2026 conference in Cairo. “Please, Mr. President, please. Please help us stop the ​war. You are capable of doing so,” he added. Egypt, long a recipient of U.S. military aid and support ​from wealthy Gulf countries, has also condemned Iranian attacks on Gulf Arab states and pushed diplomatic ⁠efforts to avoid a wider regional war.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:  

• China’s official NBS Manufacturing PMI rose to 50.4 in March 2026 from 49.0 in February and exceeded expectations of 50.1. This marked the strongest reading since March 2025, and a rebound after two months of contraction, supported by stronger government spending early in the year
• Brent crude futures fell to around $107 per barrel this morning, after reaching prices above $116 a barrel yesterday, following reports that President Donald Trump told aides he is willing to end the US military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed
• Copper prices have held steady near $5.5 per pound today, but remain on track for a -10% drop in March, marking its poorest monthly performance since July 2025. Copper and other industrial metals have been under sustained pressure this month as disruptions from the Iran conflict and surging energy prices raised concerns about inflation and slowing global industrial activity. 
• Gold rose toward $4,600 per ounce on Tuesday as oil prices eased, but was still poised for around a 13% drop in March for its worst monthly performance since October 2008. The precious metal faced sustained pressure this month from an oil-driven inflation shock 

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar gaining against major currencies today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.14685 while trading against the Pound at 1.32044. The Yen is currently trading at 159.59 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR), has remained above the 17.00 mark against the US dollar, and is currently trading at R17.12.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are trading around 1.6% higher this morning, and currently at around $4577.50 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are trending marginally higher today, with prices currently around $5.4802 per pound
• Silver futures have surged more than 3.3% higher today, and currently trading at around $72.265 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are trending around 0.8% higher this morning, and currently trading at $1921.00, While Palladium prices are up by around 0.2% this morning, and currently trading around $1437.00 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices are trending lower today, with prices currently trading at $107.20. WTI is trading at 102.96 currently
• Cocoa futures are trading slightly lower this morning, with prices currently trading around $3155 per ton. 
• Coffee futures have gained around 0.6% today, and currently trading at around $2.92 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are trending 1.5% higher this morning, and trading at around $67 611 per coin currently 
• Ether prices are up by almost 2% today, and currently trading around $2062.76
• $Trumpcoin are currently trading higher at around $2.997

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H40 Central African Time) 

African General News Briefs:

• Central African President Faustin-Archange Touadera, was sworn in for a third term yesterday where he pledged to strengthen security and peace in one of the world’s poorest and most volatile countries. Touadera has been in office since 2016, and was re-elected with 77.90 percent of the vote in a December ballot. His opposition and main rival Anicet George Dologuele, alleged massive fraud in the election.
• At least 73 people have been killed in a brutal attack on a gold mining site in South Sudan. The assault targeted the Khor Kaltan mining area, around 70 kilometres southwest of the capital Juba. According to Vice President James Wani Igga, at least 25 others were seriously injured.