Breaking News Today - Friday 2 October 2026

African Start-up News Headlines:

PromiseLand Innovation launched its ProTaxi EV service in Abuja yesterday, according to a press release issued by the company. PromiseLand describes the app as an electric-vehicle e-hailing service and says it plans to onboard 1,000 drivers with Electric Vehicles (EV's). Chief executive Emmanuel Lawrence Oloche tied the launch to income for drivers’ households. Prince Adetokunbo Ade-John, senior special assistant to the president on transportation and mobility, attended the launch and said the project aligned with the administration’s transport agenda. The firm said it plans to scale the operation beyond Abuja.
Pan-African payments infrastructure firm Kora, has launched One Rail, a product that lets merchants collect, hold, convert and settle in stablecoins alongside fiat currencies. The new product was announced in Dubai. Initial assets are USDT and USDC, with further dollar-backed tokens to follow on demand and regulatory readiness. The feature sits on Kora’s existing APIs and dashboard
Safaricom and Kenyan payments firm Pesapal switched on contactless M-PESA at checkout. Customers with NFC Android phones or iPhones can tap a compatible Pesapal terminal to pay an M-PESA Till, or scan a QR code if the phone lacks NFC. Rollout starts with 30,000 Pesapal terminals in Kenya, mainly restaurants, hotels and selected supermarkets.

Headline News Today

MNT-Halan Egypt To Offer a 20% Share Holding

Egypt’s fintech Unicorn, MNT-Halan, plans to sell 20% of its shares on the Egyptian Exchange this month. The company announced the move yesterday, saying it will offer 320 million ordinary shares, a fifth of its issued capital, through a private placement for institutions and a public offer in Egypt. A further 24.3 million shares are set aside for senior staff, subject to approval. The listing still requires regulator approval, and will depend on market conditions. MNT-Halan, founded in 2018, provides a lending and payment service. It said it has disbursed about 178 billion Egyptian pounds in loans, which it put at about $6.1 billion on average historic exchange rates, and that it had 1.9 million active customers and a gross loan book of about 46.7 billion Egyptian pounds at the end of June. In June it said a funding round had taken its valuation to $1.4 billion. It also owns a bank in Pakistan and a micro-leasing firm in Turkey.

Zambia’s Central Bank Rate Cut to 10.75%

The Central Bank of Zambia slashed its key policy rate by 250 basis points to 10.75% at its meeting on September 30, 2026, marking the fourth consecutive cut, which it described as the biggest cut in more than a decade. The rate cut was supported by a sustained deflationary process underway since early 2025. Annual inflation eased further to 6.1% in September, reaching its lowest level since February 2018, down from 6.2% in August, and nearing the bottom of the central bank's target range. Inflation has been contained by Zambia’s suspension of fuel taxes, a zero-rated value-added tax and a resilient currency.

Kenyan Inflation Concerns

Kenya’s inflation rose for a third month in September, to a 32-month high. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said on 30 September that annual consumer prices rose 6.8%, from 6.6% in August. The monthly index rose 0.4%. Food and non-alcoholic drinks were up 9.5% on the year and added 2.8 points to the 6.8% rate. Transport rose 15.6%. Housing, water, electricity and fuel rose 3.2%. Core inflation was 4%. Non-core inflation was 14%. Economists polled by Bloomberg had expected 6.9%. The central bank’s policy committee had projected 6.5%. The print is above that projection, which makes an early rate cut harder to justify.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:

Copper futures steadied around $6.52 per pound this morning, but remain on track for a nearly -3% weekly price drop, as signs of weakening industrial activity in top consumer China weighed on the demand outlook. The metal also came under pressure from a stronger dollar, elevated bond yields and rising oil prices, as the risk of an escalation in the US-Iran conflict heightened concerns over inflation.

North-West University’s policy uncertainty index for South Africa, fell to 61.3 in the third quarter from 81.9 in the second. A reading above 50, means high uncertainty. The report, out on 1 October, tied the remaining pressure to the US-Iran war and oil

Heir Holdings chairman, Tony Elumelu, has purchased another 6 million Seplat Energy shares, lifting his combined stake in the Nigerian oil producer to 21.07%. The new 6 million shares cost about three times the original entry price when Heirs Energies and Heirs Holdings, bought the original block in December 2025
Sedima, the giant Senegalese poultry group founded by businessman Babacar Ngom, plans to invest 20.47 billion CFA francs, or around $35 million, in an integrated farming and poultry complex at Nkouo in the Republic of Congo. Once fully running, the complex is designed to produce 10,800 tonnes of corn, 6,600 tonnes of soybeans and 2,200 tonnes of broiler chicken a year
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunged -2.7%, or 667 points, to 23,943 today, marking its largest one-day decline since July 2026, as a renewed selloff in global risk assets weighed on Hong Kong shares following the National Day holiday. The decline came amid elevated US Treasury yields, with the 10-year yield hitting 5.34%, its highest since 2002

Markets by Numbers

Currencies:

Currency markets indicate the US dollar marginally weaker today after reaching a 17-month high against the Euro yesterday. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.12502 while trading against the Pound at 1.32090. The Yen is currently trading at 157.85 to the US dollar. The rand (ZAR), is currently trading at the 16.67 against the US dollar this morning.

Commodities:

Gold futures have gained around 0.2% this morning, and currently trading at around $4187.25 per ounce.
Copper prices are up 0.7% today, with prices currently around $6.5274 per pound
Silver futures are up by around 1.32%, and currently trading at around $61.291 per ounce.
Platinum futures are up around 1.6% this morning, and currently trading at $1750.30, While Palladium is up by around 0.5% today, and currently trading around $1187.00 per ounce.
Lithium is trading -0.49% lower today, and currently at CNY/T 122 800
Brent crude oil prices are trending -0.4% lower today, after a big price spike yesterday, and currently trading around $101.94, with WTI trading at $92.49 currently
Cocoa futures are up around 0.2% today, and currently trading at $5381 per ton.
Coffee futures are down around 0.8% today, and currently trading at around $2.8825 per pound

Crypto Currencies:

Bitcoin prices are up around 1.8% today, and trading at around $86 330 per coin currently
Ether prices are up over 0.8% this morning, and currently trading around $2727.43

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H30 Central African Time)

African General News Briefs:

Ethiopia and Eritrea have officially severed ties as fighting in Tigray spreads. Addis Ababa has closed its embassy in Asmara and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats out of the country within 48 hours. Ethiopia has accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of backing a Tigray People’s Liberation Front-led opposition alliance that have been fighting federal troops since last week. Eritrea responded by cutting all diplomatic ties. Overnight blasts were heard in Addis Ababa; an opposition-linked source claimed drone strikes, including on military headquarters according to various reports. Banking and communications have been disrupted, with tourists reported to be stranded in Lalibela. Both country's accuse the other of breaking the 2022 Pretoria peace deal. The Horn ceasefire is effectively over.
Nigeria marks 66 years of Independence as a public servant strike is set to begin. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, used Thursday’s Independence Day broadcast to put the cost of living at the centre of his message. Public servants were directed to begin a three-day nationwide warning strike from today through to Sunday.