Breaking News Today – Wednesday 1 April 2026

African Start-up News Headlines:

• Angolan transport and mobility startup ANDA (founded 2022 by Sergio Tati and Joerg Nuehrmann) secured US$1.2 million in new funding from BFA Asset Management (BFAAM) through its Kimbo Fund. The company operates a “drive-to-own” model that provides asset financing, training, and support to drivers of two-, three-, and four-wheeled vehicles while building an integrated mobility and logistics ecosystem with “safe stops.” The fresh capital will accelerate fleet modernisation and expansion (including electric vehicles) and scale logistics infrastructure to serve businesses and institutions nationwide.
• Viva Technology (VivaTech) announced the AfricaTech Award 2026 Top 30 yesterday — a curated cohort of high-potential startups selected from over 1,600 applications across 34 African countries. The list represents 11 countries and 7 industries (FinTech 40%, HealthTech 27%, HRTech 13%, plus edtech, agtech, climate, and mobility). Notable selections include ANDA (Angola – transport), 10mg Health, AgriEdge, Billboxx, Breedj, Bwell, Cure Bionics, DeepEcho, Eight Medical, and eShandi. The award provides global visibility, investor connections, and corporate exposure ahead of the June 2026 finale in Paris.

Business News Today 

Fuel Price Increase Day in South Africa

Welcome to April Fuels day in South Africa where last minute adjustments by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMRE) – only announced official adjustments yesterday have somewhat cushioned the potential impact of fuel price escalations. These took effect at midnight (00:01) today. The increases are driven by a sharp rise in international Brent Crude oil prices, which increased from around $77 to $104 per barrel, and a weaker rand which weakened from R16.00 to above R17 per USD in March, both linked to ongoing US-Iran tensions disrupting supply through the Strait of Hormuz, plus higher shipping costs. Pre-announcement forecasts from the Central Energy Fund mid-to-late March data, showed an expected petrol increase of over R5/l (R5.32–R5.82) and diesel up around R10/l (R10.13–R10.27), including a scheduled 21 c/l general fuel levy rise from the February 2026 Budget.

South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and Mineral & Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe issued a joint statement announcing a temporary R3.00 per litre reduction in the general fuel levy from 1 April to 5 May 2026 for one month, subject to monthly review. It is estimated to cost the fiscus ~R6 billion in foregone revenue for April but is designed to be fiscally neutral with recoupment mechanisms later in the 2026 Budget. The move was explicitly to cushion socio-economic impacts (food inflation, transport costs) amid the global oil shock. Without this last-minute levy cut, April would have delivered one of the largest single-month fuel shocks in South African history. The government has signalled it will monitor and potentially extend relief in May/June.

Equinix Accelerates African Data Centre Expansion

Equinix announced yesterday that it is accelerating its growth in South Africa as part of a larger R7.5 billion (approximately $438 million) investment plan to capitalise on Africa’s booming AI and digital economy. This builds on Equinix’s broader African strategy, which includes operations in West Africa and interest in future hubs like Nairobi. Managing Director for South Africa, Sandile Dube, highlighted the move as positioning Equinix to support the continent’s digital expansion.The company has purchased additional land in Johannesburg and Cape Town at a cost of around R900 million. Plans include building more facilities (potentially a second Johannesburg data center) to expand capacity significantly. The focus is on creating highly interconnected, AI-ready data centers that serve as key hubs for Southern Africa.

Salesforce Boosts its AI Capabilities

Yesterday saw CEO Marc Benioff unveil the latest AI development results, including an updated version of Slack, with a slew of new AI features. The most significant new feature, is a massive upgrade to its AI agent, Slackbot. Their are  30 new features, which will be gradually made available in coming months, and follows an update in January 2026 that gave Slackbot agentic capabilities, including the ability to draft emails, schedule meetings, and sift through your inbox for specific information. A notable feature announced yesterday is what the company calls reusable AI-skills – these allow users to define specific tasks for Slackbot that, once built, can be applied in a variety of different scenarios and contexts. Slackbot comes with a built-in library of AI-skills, however the new version allows for users to create their own custom versions.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:  

• Annual inflation rate in Kenya moved higher to 4.4% in March 2026 from a seven-month low of 4.3% in the prior month. Prices accelerated mostly for food & non-alcoholic beverages (7.7% vs 7.3% in February); housing & utilities (2% vs 1.8%) and health (2.7% vs 2.4%). 
• The National Bank of Ethiopia kept its key interest rate unchanged at 15% during its March 2026 meeting, emphasising that a tight monetary policy is required as the Middle East conflict has raised upside risks to the inflation outlook. The Committee noted that inflation stood at 9.7% in February, continuing its downward trend and remaining within the single-digit target since December 2025.
• China’s Shanghai Composite climbed 1.3% to 3,944 on Wednesday, while the Shenzhen Component gained 1.2% to 13,639, tracking gains across Asian peers as hopes grew for a near-term resolution to the Middle East war. President Trump said US forces would end operations in Iran in two to three weeks,
• Gold prices rose to around $4,700 per ounce this morning, with signs of de-escalation in Middle East tensions, which could lead to lower oil prices and ease concerns over further central bank rate hikes. President Donald Trump told aides he is willing to end the war against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar weakening against major currencies today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.15732 while trading against the Pound at 1.32562. The Yen is currently trading at 158.80 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR), has strengthened to below the 17.00 mark against the US dollar, and is currently trading at R16.89.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are trading around 0.3% higher this morning, and currently at around $4692.52 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are trending 0.5% higher today, with prices currently around $5.6201 per pound
• Silver futures have surged more than 3.3% higher today, and currently trading at around $74.616 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are trending around -0.3% lower this morning, and currently trading at $1964.00, While Palladium prices are down by around -0.3% this morning, and currently trading around $1482.50 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices are trending higher today, with prices currently trading at $104.19. WTI is trading at 102.07 currently
• Cocoa futures are surging – up by 4.6% this morning, with prices currently trading around $3300 per ton. 
• Coffee futures are marginally softer today, and currently trading at around $2.9787 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are trending higher this morning, and trading at around $68 498 per coin currently 
• Ether prices are up by 0.8% today, and currently trading around $2123.08
• $Trumpcoin are currently trading lower at around $3.016

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

African General News Briefs:

• Chinese Automaker Chery Automobile is aiming ‌to kick-off its first local African production by the end of 2027 at the South African plant it has acquired from Nissan Motors in South Africa. Here it plans to manufacture a range of electric vehicles (EV’s). Four years on from re-entering South Africa’s automotive market, Chery has become ​a consistent top 10 player in local sales, with an average ⁠of 50,000 units sold annually, along with a rapidly expanding network of 150 dealers ​nationwide.
• Somalia’s national army has taken control of the biggest city in Southwest state, prompting the ⁠regional leader to resign two weeks after his administration said it was severing ties with the federal government.The strategic city of ⁠Baidoa, the largest in Southwest state, is home to international peacekeepers and humanitarian agencies in an area affected by drought, conflict and displacement.