The Weekly News Wrap - Where Capital Lands and Why
A weekly breakdown of the top African business news stories of the week and the impact of these in the African Business landscape
Capital, trade and fresh ideas: this week’s top business headlines
Capital is on the move, women-led businesses are pushing beyond familiar startup sectors, and African SMEs are still working to overcome barriers to growth. This week’s Business Tech Africa news wrap connects those themes through three stories from across the continent.
Women-led businesses take the spotlight.
Oratile Modiragale highlights WeTech’s 2026 Pitch Her program, which prepares businesses for future investment. This year’s top three were women-led ventures working beyond the fintech stories often seen in startup coverage. Waka Medics, a mobile fertility clinic, won first place and 5 million naira. Dynam Technologies, focused on prosthetics, orthotics and digital rehabilitation tools, came second, receiving 2.5 million naira. TFB Studios AI, founded by Missy Chanel, took third place and 1 million naira. For Oratile, the winners show why investors and audiences should pay closer attention to businesses tackling healthcare and other less-highlighted needs.
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Roy discusses Cameroon’s Pamozi initiative, which aims to help small and medium-sized businesses and startups trade across borders by addressing regulatory hurdles and red tape. He also points to Gabon’s ProxyGAP, launched alongside the African Development Bank and the African Continental Free Trade Area framework. Its focus is connecting startups and SMEs with banks and other sources of finance—another significant challenge for businesses seeking to grow.
What attracts investment?
Greg shares a lesson from the Johannesburg Mining Indaba, where Natasha Viljoen, president and CEO of Newmont, described how the company decides where to deploy capital across its operations and partnerships. Investment follows the quality of a country’s “landing strip”: infrastructure, regulation and other conditions all matter. Roy adds that investors also weigh market and non-market risks, environmental considerations and clear exit strategies. The discussion’s wider point is that capital is mobile, and countries must compete to create conditions that make investment attractive. Greg also notes that money is moving back toward mining after years of strong attention to technology and AI, and recognizes Fulyun’s induction as the first woman in the mining hall of fame.
