Breaking News Today - Wednesday 7 October 2026

African Start-up News Headlines:

Nigerian Fintech Pesa opens an Australia–Nigeria transfer corridor. Nigerian cross-border payments firm Pesa, founded in 2021 by Tolu Osho, Yusuf Yakubu and Adewale Afolabi, has launched its Australia payment corridor on 6 October. Customers can now send Australian dollars to Nigeria and other African countries, plus the Philippines, India, Europe, the UK, the US and Canada. The company says the Australia–Nigeria route runs both ways, under AUSTRAC authorisation as an independent remittance dealer.
Infinite Partners closes Core Equity Fund II at R2.8 billion. South African private equity firm Infinite Partners, spun out of Ethos in 2022, said yesterday it had held the final close of Core Equity Fund II at R2.8 billion (about $168 million), above a R2.5 billion target. The limited-partner base is entirely South African and includes pension funds, insurers, asset managers and banks. The mandate is growth and replacement capital for established mid-market companies, with cheques of R100 million to R500 million into businesses typically valued between R150 million and R2 billion. Two investments are already in: e4, whose platforms process mortgage registrations for major banks and conveyancers and have handled R2.8 trillion in mortgages since inception, and CYNK, a fibre group reaching more than 667,000 households
Airtel Money’s London IPO will not include SmartCash Nigeria. Airtel Money is due to list in London on 14 October at £1.96 a share, a valuation of about £5.3 billion ($7 billion). TechCabal reported on 6 October, from the IPO prospectus, that the listing vehicle will not include the Nigerian fintech business. A Central Bank of Nigeria directive required Airtel Money to transfer its 25 percent stake in SmartCash back to Airtel Networks Limited, the Nigerian telecoms subsidiary. That transfer was completed for $3 million. The prospectus says the group is exploring ways to bring SmartCash back inside the perimeter, with no guarantee on timing or regulatory approval.

Headline News Today

African Growth Forecast Upgrades Projection for 2026

The World Bank, in its Africa Economic Update released in Washington on Tuesday, 6 October, raised the 2026 growth projection for Sub-Saharan Africa to 4.3%. The bank’s release says that figure is 0.3 percentage points above the forecast it published in April 2026, and that growth is expected to rise from 4.1 percent in 2025 to 4.3 percent in 2026.

Andrew Dabalen, the World Bank’s chief economist for Africa, said forecasts were upgraded for nearly three-quarters of countries in the region, including Angola, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zambia. The bank tied the revision to stronger domestic demand, better macroeconomic management, and investment linked to the energy transition and digital technology. The Bank said the region has held up despite higher energy prices from the Iran war, weaker aid, and fiscal pressure. It also said 4.3 percent is still too slow to cut extreme poverty in a meaningful way

Iron Ore Port Terminal Shut for Maintenance

Transnet Port Terminals started a 16-day maintenance shutdown on Tuesday (6 October) at the Saldanha iron ore terminal, Africa’s largest iron ore export facility and South Africa’s only dedicated iron ore port. Splash 247 reported that the shutdown runs from 6 October to 21 October and covers cargo-handling equipment, conveyors, shiploaders and two existing rail tipplers, plus civil repairs and work on a stacker-reclaimer. A new misting system is going onto the shiploaders to cut dust during loading. The stoppage sits next to the final testing of Tippler 3, part of a R4 billion upgrade programme. Saldanha port moves more than 50 million tonnes of iron ore a year, and Transnet has previously put the terminal volume at about 96 percent of South Africa’s iron ore exports.

New Nigerian Oil Licensing Now Open

Nigeria opened its 2026 oil licensing round yesterday, 6 October, and put 40 blocks on offer for development licences. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, announced the round in Abuja at the commission’s fifth anniversary, and said it followed approval by President Bola Tinubu and the minister of petroleum resources. The blocks cover land, shallow water and deep water, and are open to bidders with the technical competence, the money and a commitment to develop the resource. Eyesan said the round will require disclosure of the beneficial owners of every bidder, and that the evaluation method and the results will be published. She also said the commission will publish the bid timetable at the start and keep to it, so companies can get board approval to line up funds for the projects.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:

Brent crude climbed back above $101 per barrel today, extending gains from the previous trading session as persistent risks to Middle East energy flows overshadowed signs of rising supply from the region. Iran has intensified attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, with the UK Maritime Trade Operations reporting nine incidents so far this month.
USA markets hit new records: Wall Street closed at records yesterday. The S&P 500 rose about 0.6% to 7,818.93, its first record since August and a fourth straight gain. The Nasdaq added about 0.5% to 27,599.79 (its 24th record close of 2026). The Dow gained about 0.5% to 51,521
Tanzania has renewed Canadian mining giant Barrick Mining Corporation’s special mining licences for the North Mara gold mine for another 15 years, extending its operating rights at the site until 2041. Barrick operates North Mara through a joint venture with the Tanzanian government, which holds a 16% stake and shares economic benefits equally.
South African airline Airlink, has announced that it will launch twice-daily flights between Cape Town and Lanseria International Airport in Gauteng from 4 December 2026, providing an alternative for travellers to using OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, and competition for local airline opperator Flysafair.

China’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $3.4 trillion at the end of September 2026, down $38.1 billion from a month earlier. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange attributed the decline primarily to a stronger US dollar and surging US Treasury yields, which likely led to currency translation and asset valuation changes.

Markets by Numbers

Currencies:

Currency markets indicate the US dollar strengthening today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.12327 while trading against the Pound at 1.32500. The Yen is currently trading at 158.39 to the US dollar. The rand (ZAR), is currently trading at the 16.57 against the US dollar this morning.

Commodities:

Gold futures have lost around -0.5% this morning, and currently trading at around $4142.42 per ounce.
Copper prices are down around -0.27% today, with prices currently around $6.5766 per pound
Silver futures are down by around -0.7%, and currently trading at around $60.850 per ounce.
Platinum futures are down around -0.1% this morning, and currently trading at $1706.10, While Palladium is down by around -0.8% today, and currently trading around $1164.50 per ounce.
Lithium is trading -0.49% lower today, and currently at CNY/T 122 800
Brent crude oil prices are trending 0.8% higher today, after a big price spike yesterday, and currently trading around $101.47, with WTI trading at $90.14 currently
Cocoa futures are down around -2.8% today, and currently trading at $5700 per ton.
Coffee futures have spiked by over 4% today, and currently trading at around $3.0445 per pound

Crypto Currencies:

Bitcoin prices are down around -1.7% today, and trading at around $84 074 per coin currently
Ether prices are down over -3% this morning, and currently trading around $2605.75

(All prices quoted at approximately 06H30 Central African Time)

African General News Briefs:

Sahel juntas are building their own broadcast capacity and expelling Western Journalists. The establishment of the new Tafouk TV, backed by Russia, follows the expulsion of Western reporters and a crackdown on local media in three military-led states - Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Paired with Mali’s northern campaign and the Azawad withdrawal from Kidal, it is part of the process of the information arm of a security realignment already underway that is aiming for less Western press access plus more state and partner narrative control, while the fighting on the ground continues in the region.
Mali’s army and Russian Africa Corps fighters re-entered Kidal on Tuesday 6 October, after the Azawad Liberation Front said it was making a controlled withdrawal. Reuters reported from Bamako that the Tuareg-led Front de Libération de l’Azawad left the northern town in response to airstrikes by the Malian military and Russian fighters, and said the pullback was temporary and meant to protect civilians and keep its forces intact. The group said no direct combat with the army had taken place. Mali’s military said earlier on Tuesday that it had opened large air and ground operations in the Kidal region to track armed groups, hit supply lines, and restore movement of people and goods.