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Pouchers raises $500,000 as it exits beta
Nigerian fintech Pouchers has raised $500,000 in pre seed funding as it moves out of beta and prepares to expand its financial services. Stack Directory LLC led the round. The funding comes as Pouchers starts scaling beyond its early users. Pouchers is building financial products around dollar-denominated payments. Users can hold and move value in
Chocolate City opens $1 million fund for creative startups
Chocolate City is putting $1 million into startups working in Africa’s creative industries. The Nigerian entertainment company has opened applications for the first cohort of its Founders Fund Africa Creative Economy Accelerator, with 10 startups set to receive between $20,000 and $50,000 each. Applications close on 28 August 2026. The programme is aimed at businesses
Nigerian defence-tech startup expands drone production into Ghana
Nigerian defence-tech startup Terra Industries is expanding into Ghana with a new manufacturing facility for drones and other autonomous systems. The company has raised $34 million in funding so far, with the latest $22 million extension led by US venture capital firm Lux Capital. Its previous $11.75 million round was led by 8VC. Terra develops
Tanzania’s $2.9 billion power project could give businesses more room to grow
Tanzania has spent about $2.9 billion on the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project. With a capacity of 2,115MW, the dam gives the country a much bigger power supply to work with. It was fully commissioned in March 2025, while President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to officially inaugurate it on 22 August 2026. The interesting part
Should Small Businesses Hire for Skills or Experience?
When a small business needs to hire someone, there is usually a simple problem behind it. The work needs to get done, but there is only so much money available to bring someone in. That is why experience can look like the obvious choice. If one candidate has eight years of experience and another has
Nigeria wants to put $1 billion into local sugar production
Nigeria wants to put about $1 billion into its sugar industry as it tries to produce more sugar locally and reduce what it spends on imports. The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) says the investment pipeline includes a $1 billion engineering, procurement and construction-plus finance agreement with China's SINOMACH. There is also a ₦10 billion
Ghana puts $10 billion behind agriculture and agro-processing
Ghana plans to spend $10 billion over the next four years across seven sectors, with agriculture and agro processing taking half of the money. The size of the programme makes it a major government investment story. But there is another part worth watching: what it could mean for Ghana's smaller businesses. President John Mahama announced
Condia brings Africa’s cross-border payment problems to Lagos
Cross border payments remain one of the less obvious problems for African businesses trying to expand. A company can have customers in Nigeria, suppliers in Kenya and a team in South Africa, but moving money between those markets is not always straightforward. There are different currencies, banking systems, foreign exchange costs and licensing rules to
Shatta Wale is betting on WAYA to break into Ghana’s messaging market
Shatta Wale is taking another step outside music, this time with a messaging app. The Ghanaian artist is behind WAYA, a platform that lets users chat, send voice notes and photos, create groups and make voice calls. WAYA is still being tested. Shatta Wale announced it in July and invited Android users to try the
Cascador and Nigeria’s youth ministry launch funding programme for young founders
Twenty Nigerian founders will get four weeks to work on their businesses, prepare for investors and compete for funding of up to ₦5 million under a new programme from Cascador and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development. The NiYA × Cascador Founders Program is being run through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), the government’s digital
Silver Lake weighs $50 billion-plus takeover of Workday
Silver Lake is reportedly in talks to buy Workday in a deal that could be worth more than $50 billion. Silver Lake is discussing a possible acquisition with Workday, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks have been taking place for several months. No agreement has been reached yet. The people said a
World Bank puts $25 million into Jumia as Africa’s e-commerce market shifts
Jumia is getting $25 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as it puts more money into its online marketplace and logistics operations in Africa. The IFC investment is part of a $50 million equity raise, with other investors also putting money into the company. For Jumia, this is less about simply having more cash
Zambia’s copper boom could give local SMEs a bigger role
When people talk about Zambia's copper industry, the conversation usually goes straight to the big mining companies and how much copper the country can produce. For small businesses, there is another side to it. If mining activity increases, somebody has to supply the mines. That could be a transport company in Copperbelt, a small engineering
Friday Sales Funnel: How Startups Can Turn Unused Leads Into New Sales
One of the easiest things for a startup to do is chase another lead. The harder part is going back to the people who already showed interest. A customer asked for a quotation on Monday. Someone sent an enquiry through the website. Another person spoke to a salesperson but never came back. Someone else said
Mr Eazi’s Choplife moves operations to Itana
Mr Eazi’s Choplife has moved its operations into Itana, Nigeria’s digital special economic zone, giving the company a central base as it continues to do business across Africa. Choplife was founded by Nigerian musician Oluwatosin Ajibade, better known as Mr Eazi. What started around music has grown into a business covering entertainment, media, technology, gaming
Mozambique cuts banks’ FX position limit from 20% to 2%
The Bank of Mozambique has cut the amount of foreign currency commercial banks can hold in excess of their foreign currency liabilities. The overall limit for long foreign exchange positions has fallen from 20% to 2% of a bank’s own funds. For a single foreign currency, the limit has dropped from 10% to 1%. The
Naran raises $10m to expand vehicle financing across Africa
For someone working as a ride-hailing or delivery driver, getting access to a car or motorcycle is often the first problem to solve. Naran is building its business around that problem. The mobility finance startup has raised $10 million in debt and equity financing from Landel as it looks to finance more vehicles and expand
TurnStay processes $61.5m in travel payments in six months
South African travel fintech TurnStay processed more than $61.5 million in payments during the first six months of 2026, according to the company. TurnStay helps travel businesses collect payments from international customers. Its customers include hotels, lodges and tour operators that often have to deal with different currencies and payment methods.The latest figure is notable
Standard Bank wants a bigger share of Africa’s digital payments
Standard Bank is looking to make more money from the payments moving through its African operations. Its latest results show why the bank sees room to grow. Domestic payment values increased by 11% in the first half of 2026. Cross border payment values rose by 7%. Standard Bank accounted for 30% of South Africa's cross-border
Nigeria opens regulatory sandbox to crypto and stablecoin businesses
Nigeria is giving crypto and stablecoin companies a way to test their businesses under regulatory supervision. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is using its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP) for this purpose. The programme allows virtual asset businesses to operate in a controlled environment. The SEC can then assess their products and business models.