Breaking News Today – Wednesday 24 June 2026

African Start-up News Headlines:

• Startup Club ZA has officially opened ticket sales for its next Startup Day event which will be held in Johannesburg on 15 July 2026. This is a one-day gathering of founders, operators, investors and innovators, designed to help entrepreneurs build faster, scale smarter and avoid costly mistakes. This includes candid founder stories, practical masterclasses and unfiltered conversations covering fundraising, product, growth, AI, content, leadership with real-world lessons from people who are building and scaling high-growth businesses.
• 4G Capital, a West African fintech supporting the funding of small businesses in Africa, have announced they have now exceeded more than US$1 billion in loans disbursed to entrepreneurs across Kenya and Uganda. Since 2013, 4G Capital has supported around 800,000 customers through over 7.6 million working capital loans, assisting business owners access the finance and business skills they need to grow and scale their enterprises

Business News Today 

South Africa Achieves Major Rare Earth Beneficiation Milestone

South Africa has taken a significant step forward in its rare earth minerals beneficiation strategy. Through a partnership between Steenkampskraal Monazite Mine and Mintek (the national mineral research organisation), the country has successfully produced high-purity Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC) — making South Africa the first African nation to achieve commercial-scale refining of rare earths from monazite ore. Monazite ore was processed into high-purity Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate. This is a critical intermediate product used in magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics, and defence applications.

The Steenkampskraal mine has the capacity to produce several thousand tonnes of monazite concentrate per year. The partnership aims to scale refining capacity to meet both local and international demand, with initial production volumes in the low hundreds of tonnes per annum, with potential for significant expansion. This breakthrough supports South Africa’s industrialisation goals by moving it up the value chain from raw mineral export to refined products. It is set to reduce reliance on foreign refining (primarily China) and positions the country as a potential supplier in the global critical minerals supply chain.

Afrimat Construction Index Signals Stability in South African Construction Sector

The latest Afrimat Construction Index (ACI), released in recent days, indicates that South Africa’s construction sector has achieved a period of relative stability after several years of volatility. The construction industry has been under pressure due to slow economic growth, funding constraints, and infrastructure backlogs. However, recent government focus on public-private partnerships (PPPs) and energy infrastructure projects appears to be providing some support.

The index showed modest improvement or stabilisation in key metrics such as activity levels, order books, and profitability. Cement sales and building material volumes have remained relatively steady, supported by government infrastructure spending and private sector projects in renewable energy, logistics, and housing. While overall growth remains subdued, the sector has avoided the sharp contractions seen in previous years.

Oil Production and Tanker Volumes Begin to Normalise

Brent fell toward $76 per barrel today, moving towards levels last seen before the Middle East conflict began (March 2026). Brent Oils is now down by over 20% in the last month but still up around 25% Year-on-Year. This as a growing number of tankers resumed transit through the Strait of Hormuz amid advances in US-Iran peace negotiations. The International Maritime Organisation said it had received security assurances that should allow hundreds of vessels to leave the Persian Gulf via Hormuz, as efforts continue to evacuate thousands of seafarers. The IEA also reported that UAE oil exports in early June rebounded to nearly 85% of pre-conflict levels, supported by the use of pipelines, storage facilities, and alternative shipping routes. Adding to supply expectations, a new 60-day US waiver allows global buyers, including US refiners, to purchase Iranian crude and refined products.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:  

• Gold future prices have fallen below $4,090 an ounce this morning, heading toward a seven-month low as expectations of tighter Federal Reserve policy and declining demand from central banks, outweighed support from the interim US-Iran peace agreement, which helped ease inflation concerns.
• US technology stocks experienced a sharp sell-off yesterday, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping around 2.1–2.4% — one of the steeper one-day declines in recent months. Renewed concerns over high valuations in the AI sector impacted markets after several high-profile companies reported mixed earnings signals. Major names such as Nvidia, Tesla, Meta, and Amazon led the declines.
• European equity markets were set to open flat to slightly lower today as investors remained cautious following a global selloff in technology stocks driven by growing concerns over AI-related valuations, while awaiting the latest earnings results from Micron Technology.
• India’s BSE Sensex rose about 0.3% to 76,456 at the open today, recouping earlier losses as investors weighed the benefits of lower crude oil prices against growing expectations of further US interest-rate hikes. Market sentiment remained cautious after the benchmark fell roughly 1.2% in the previous session, pressured by weakness in information technology and metal stocks.
• Platinum futures fell to below $1,650 an ounce today, hitting the lowest level since November 2025, as a stronger US dollar outweighed progress in US-Iran talks that helped ease inflation concerns. 

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar stronger today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.13662 while trading against the Pound at 1.31958 The Yen is currently trading at 161.67 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR), is currently trading around the 16.55 mark against the US dollar this morning.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are around -0.5% lower this morning, and currently trading at around $4090.00 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are marginally lower today, with prices currently around $61.386 per pound
• Silver futures are around 0.7% higher today, and currently trading at around $62.043 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are around -0.7% lower this morning, and currently trading at $1650.20, While Palladium prices are around -0.6% lower today, and currently trading around $1236.00 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices are trending -0.94% lower today, and currently trading around $76.37, with WTI trading at $72.60 currently
• Cocoa futures are up 0.5.% this morning, and currently trading at $4645 per ton. 
• Coffee futures are trending around 3.3% higher today, and currently trading at around $2.7595 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are marginally higher today, and trading at around $62 758 per coin currently 
• Ether prices are 0.4% higher this morning, and currently trading around $1673.76
• $Trumpcoin are currently trading at around $1.752

(All prices quoted at approximately 08H35 Central African Time) 

African General News Briefs:

• Forty cities globally have signed a new agreement led by the C40 Cities network, aimed at establishing guidelines for how data centres are planned, built and operated. The initiative seeks to ensure that the growth of digital infrastructure benefits local communities while limiting pressure on energy, water and land resources. African cities who have signed the agreement are Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban (eThekwini), Nairobi, Lagos, and Accra. The goal is to develop conditions that allow the sector to grow sustainably while delivering value to local economies, communities and the environment.
• The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) new Africa chief, Zeine Zeidane, says conflict in the Middle East is creating fresh economic challenges for sub-Saharan Africa, but has confirmed that the IMF remains committed to supporting countries under pressure. The IMF has already approved additional financing support for Burkina Faso, The Gambia and São Tomé and Príncipe, while accelerating around $200 million in funding for Ethiopia. Zeidane has warned that disruptions to trade, energy and fertiliser supplies could persist for months.