African markets and business updates

ProvidusUnity Bank has convened over 200 exporters, industry associations and government institutions at the fifth edition of its Non-Oil Export Business Forum in Kano to strengthen export competitiveness and unlock opportunities for Nigerian businesses in international markets. The forum, themed “Driving Export Competitiveness, Trade Facilitation and Economic Facilitation,” brought together stakeholders across the export value […]

Top Ten Stockbrokers for the week Ended 16-10-2026

The Committee on Physical Infrastructure has directed the Auditor General Edward Akol to immediately conduct a preliminary audit of the Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS) and present findings by Tuesday next week, amid questions about the system’s operations, ownership and financial arrangements. The directive was given on Thursday, 15 October 2026 when Akol appeared before the committee to explain why his office had not audited the project involving a Russian company contracted to supply and install digital number plates for vehicle identification and tracking. The committee is chaired by Hon. Mwine Mpaka (NRM, Mbarara South Division).…

Parliament has hosted the first East African Community’s Children Summit for Climate Change, with legislators calling for children’s inclusion in issues pertaining climate change. The Chairperson of the Uganda Parliamentary Forum for Children (UPFC), Hon. Susan Abeja, said the summit aimed at urging East African governments to meaningfully involve children in developing policies and interventions to address climate change. Abeja who is also the Otuke District Woman MP, said children are among those most affected by climate change, despite contributing the least to the crisis.…

Europe’s Copernicus monitoring service detected a methane leak exceeding 40 tons per hour at Niger’s Agadem oil field, with emissions continuing since September 25. The leak followed a blowout at a well operated by China’s CNPC, damaging nearby wells and hospitalizing two workers. Niger’s ...

Only 4,000 km of the 30,200 km of new railway lines planned across Africa by 2040 had been built at the time of the Africa Finance Corporation’s 2024 assessment. In Ethiopia, a railway project halted by war in 2020 led to a $307.6 million arbitration ...

Six years after Stripe's historic acquisition, Paystack is pivoting from moving money to keeping deposits to survive currency devaluations. In October 2020, Stripe agreed to buy Paystack, a Lagos startup that helped businesses take payments online, for $200 million , the largest acquisition of a Nigerian startup. At the time, Paystack had 60,000 customers. Stripe said the deal would fund new products and help pull Africa’s scattered payments market together and that Paystack would keep running on its own. Shola Akinlade, its chief executive, promised more countries, more payment channels and more services. Six years after the acquisition, he has fulfilled that promise.…

Newly established Singapore-based carrier Jade Pacific Line (JPL) has launched a container service connecting the Indian Subcontinent with Egypt’s Red Sea coast. The carrier commenced operations on 1 October 2026, deploying the 1,100 TEU MEDKON SIA on the new India–Red Sea service. The service operates on an irregular schedule with the following rotation: Mundra – […] Newly established Singapore-based carrier Jade Pacific Line (JPL) has launched a container service connecting the Indian Subcontinent with Egypt’s Red Sea coast. The carrier commenced operations on 1 October 2026, deploying the 1,100 TEU MEDKON SIA on the new India–Red Sea service.…

Human Rights Watch says the military has killed an estimated 31 people since late August, with at least 50 other people at risk.

U.S.-based Quantum Leap Energy and South Africa’s state-owned Necsa signed an agreement on October 15 to develop a uranium enrichment facility near Pretoria, with an 80%-20% ownership split. The facility will produce advanced nuclear fuel known as HALEU, potentially marking South Africa’s return to ...