Breaking News Today - Wednesday 11 November 2026

African Start-up News Headlines:

Cascador and Nigerian Youth Academy award ₦49 million to 17 young founders - Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Youth Development, through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), and Cascador have awarded a combined ₦49 million in non-dilutive grants at a Pitch Day in Abuja on 10 November. Eight founders each received ₦5 million and nine others received ₦1 million. More than 19,000 applications were received for the four-week pilot accelerator launched in August.
South African fintech Lumepay discloses $6 million pre-seed. Cape Town-based Lumepay, founded in 2025 by Harry Huang, Luc Varejes and Tatenda Nhemachena, have disclosed a $6 million pre-seed round from founder-led angels and South African fintech investors. The round closed early in 2026 and was accompanied by roughly $10 million in capital float to support client liquidity. The company provides institutional-grade B2B cross-border payments and FX, combining traditional banking rails with stablecoin infrastructure. Their platform is live in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and CFA franc zones, and has attracted about 6,000 businesses and individuals since launching its payments platform in June 2026. Lumpy also holds a Central Bank of Kenya letter of no objection.
Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan (MNT Tech Holding) reported net profit of EGP 836 million (roughly $15–16 million) for the third quarter, more than double the previous quarter, with revenue up 15% quarter-on-quarter to EGP 5.4 billion. Profitability improved after the company reduced exposure to higher-risk SME lending, expanded consumer finance, and sold receivables. These are the first substantial quarterly results since the company began trading on the Egyptian Exchange on 20 October after a secondary offering that raised about $150 million at a roughly $750 million valuation.

Headline News Today

Chery To Recall over 23 000 Vehicles On Suspension Concerns

South Africa's National Consumer Commission announced on 10 November 2026 that Chery South Africa is recalling 23,667 vehicles over safety defects. The recall covers 17,508 Chery Tiggo 4 vehicles sold between October 2023 and March 2024, and 2,685 Omoda C5 vehicles sold between February 2023 and July 2026.
These models may have welding irregularities on the rear axle sleeve that could allow the axle to dislodge and cause the rear suspension to collapse. A separate group of 3,474 Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max 2.0 vehicles manufactured from May 2026 faces a brake-pipe issue that could reduce braking performance. Owners should check their VIN on Chery’s website or visit an authorised dealership for free inspections and repairs. The NCC is also investigating Chery over possible earlier unreported recalls.

Unemployment in South Africa Increases

Statistics South Africa reported yesterday (10 November) that the official unemployment rate lifted by 0.1 percentage point to 33.7% in the third quarter of 2026, from 33.6% in the second quarter. The number of employed people increased by 101,000 to 16.8 million, while the number of unemployed people rose by 97,000 to 8.6 million.
Formal-sector employment gained 268,000, but the informal and household sectors lost jobs. Gains were recorded in finance, manufacturing and mining; the largest declines were in private households, agriculture and construction. The expanded rate that includes discouraged job-seekers stood at 44.0%.

Major Funding Facility Boost for Kenyan SME's

The African Development Bank has approved a $150 million subordinated loan to Equity Bank Kenya Limited to strengthen its capital base and expand SME financing. The eight-year facility, approved on 30 October, is expected to support roughly 9 000 new SME loans by 2030, with a focus on women- and youth-led businesses in agriculture, manufacturing, trade and green sectors. It forms part of Equity Bank Kenya’s broader capital-raising efforts.

ABSA Bank to Restructure its African Operations

South African banking group Absa plans to complete a two-year restructuring of its African operations to expand into higher-growth markets and reduce reliance on South Africa. Charles Russon, Absa’s chief executive for Africa Regions, outlined the plans in an interview.

The strategy includes converting its representative office in Nigeria into a merchant bank, opening a representative office in Angola, consolidating operations in Tanzania, integrating acquired businesses in Uganda, and raising its ownership in Kenya toward 85% by 2028. South Africa accounted for nearly 72% of Absa’s headline earnings in the first half of 2026.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:

Market Moves: The FTSE/JSE All Share Index closed at 114 693.44, down 0.30% yesterday. The rand traded near R16.35–R16.53 to the dollar. Brent crude was around $90–$92 a barrel. Gold was near $4 020–$4 040 an ounce. Nigerian Exchange (NGX)The All-Share Index closed at 252,313.16, down 0.06% (a fall of 143.58 points from Monday’s close of 252,456.74). Market capitalisation declined by about ₦93.24 billion to ₦163.82 trillion. Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE): The NSE All-Share Index (NASI) closed at 239.04, down 0.04%. Market capitalisation was about KES 4.06 trillion.

Copper futures climbed toward $6.30 per pound this morning, recovering from four-month lows amid tightening physical supply in China, the world’s largest copper consumer. Import premiums in the country have reached record levels in recent weeks, while refined copper shipments have declined this year and domestic smelters have reduced production due to rising ore costs and weaker profit margins.

Gold futures traded below $4,050 an ounce earlier today, after tumbling nearly 3% in the previous trading session, as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials and stronger-than-expected US inflation data strengthened expectations of a rate hike in December. Consequently, markets are now pricing in approximately a 91% probability of a rate increase in the US next month, up from 84% in the previous session, and impacting demand for non-yielding assets .

Nigeria’s Dangote Cement have scrapped plans for a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange. The board of the Lagos-listed company, controlled by Aliko Dangote, said yesterday, it would not proceed “in light of current market conditions and the company’s strategic priorities.”
Bitcoin prices dropped to below $73,500, reaching its lowest level since mid-August, as higher-than-expected US inflation strengthened expectations of further interest rate hikes and weighed on demand for riskier assets. The decline brings its losses for the year to around 16%. Bitcoin is down over -8% this week alone.

Markets by Numbers

Currencies:

Currency markets indicate the US dollar marginally softer today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.11665 while trading against the Pound at 1.33509. The Yen is currently trading at 158.74 to the US dollar. The rand (ZAR), is currently trading at the 16.50 against the US dollar this morning.

Commodities:

Gold futures are up around 0.54% this morning, and currently trading at around $4055.22 per ounce.
Copper prices are 1.4% up today, with prices currently around $6.3123 per pound
Silver futures are up over 2.2% today, and currently trading at around $52.679 per ounce.
Platinum futures are up around 2.2% this morning, and currently trading at $1572.20, While Palladium is up by around 2.4% today, and currently trading around $1045.50 per ounce.
Lithium is down around -0.88% today, and currently at CNY/T 90 450
Brent crude oil prices are up around 0,8% today, and are currently trading around $92.27 with WTI trading at $86.36 currently
Cocoa futures are down -3% today, and currently trading at $4724.32 per ton.
Coffee futures are up around 0.3% today, and currently trading at around $2.7221 per pound

Crypto Currencies:

Bitcoin prices are up marginally after a big drop yesterday, and currently trading at around $73 748621 per coin currently
Ether prices are up around 0.74% this morning, and currently trading around $2065.85

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H25 Central African Time)

African General News Briefs:

South African electricity and energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has commented that he expects to announce an Electricity price reprieve to a struggling economy that has been punished with above inflationary increases for over a decade. Ramokgopa says he’s been working with Eskom on a new price reprieve that will be outlined before the end of the year. "We think that there has to be an intervention and a relief very soon, what that is, I will share with the country very soon before we break on the 15th of December" He commented
Ongoing insurgent attacks in the Ethiopian border region with Kenya have forced thousands of refugees to cross into Kenya, seeking safety since around 22 October 2026. This is according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), who are closely monitoring the situation on the Kenya–Ethiopia border in Moyale. Up to an estimated 50,000 people have crossed into Kenya, the U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday, citing local authorities, up from 36,000 reported earlier. Registration and verification were continuing, the agency said.