Author: Elan

Apple has included a scam prevention feature known as Impersonation Risk Detection in iOS 27, the company said, in order to guard against social engineering scams.Such scams involve the use of pressure tactics to lead users into disabling the security features on their phone, laptop, or online accounts.The feature looks for signs that a scam is underway by examining information relating to the device and the Apple Account, then passes on a risk level to the relevant app without sending the original data to that app. It is turned off by default and requires support from app developers.Apple states that…

Panel discussion at HealthCap Africa’s Private Markets & Healthcare Roundtable in Lagos, 9 September 2026. Image courtesy of HealthCap Africa. Nigeria’s healthcare sector needs investment, but attracting pension capital requires more than demonstrating demand for hospitals, diagnostics or medical services. Investors need credible revenue models, clear governance and structures that protect retirement savings. A recent HealthCap Africa roundtable in Lagos brought those requirements into focus. The Private Markets & Healthcare Roundtable, held on 9 September under the theme “Healthcare as an Asset Class”, brought together pension fund representatives, regulators, development finance institutions and healthcare businesses. According to HealthCap Africa, the…

Asogan Naidoo (left) and Tafuma MmolawaBy Asogan Naidoo, Head: Fund Services Operations, Investor Services at Standard Bank CIB and Tafuma Mmolawa, Business Development Manager, Investor Services at Standard Bank CIBRetirement funds exist to safeguard the long-term financial wellbeing of millions of members. As the retirement savings industry becomes increasingly complex, fund trustees and principal officers face growing expectations to demonstrate that retirement assets are managed responsibly, transparently and in accordance with regulatory requirements.At the centre of this responsibility is reporting.Financial statements and investment reports are not simply compliance documents. They are the primary means of communicating the financial health, investment…

Africa’s weak public markets are limiting the exit options available to venture-backed startups, forcing investors to rely heavily on acquisitions, private transactions and strategic consolidation to realise returns, investment experts have said. The challenge was highlighted at the Lagos Venture Finance Summit 2.0, where the investment experts examined the state of liquidity in Africa’s private markets. To them the limited number of startup listings should not be viewed solely as a venture-capital problem because the weakness extends to African capital markets more broadly. “This is not a VC issue. It is not a startup issue,” Michael Famoroti, head of research…

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In brief Visa is moving to close a loophole in Crossmint-powered checkouts that let meme coin purchases made with credit cards be processed under a merchant code meant for digital media. The move follows a challenge from Chase, which said one Visa transaction was misclassified and shouldn’t have earned rewards; the New York AG’s office is also reviewing the matter. Meme coin purchases will continue but must be coded as crypto transactions, subject to Visa’s rules; processors have a grace period expected to end next week. Banks came away empty-handed in their bid for tighter restrictions on stablecoin rewards after…

Spend enough time around venture capital in emerging markets, and you keep hearing the same ambition: modernising the informal economy. Look at Nairobi, Kenya. Tens of thousands of neighbourhood kiosks sell bananas, tomatoes, and cooking oil, yet getting those goods from a smallholder farmer to a shop can involve four or five informal brokers, each taking a cut. Much of the trade still runs through wholesale markets, driven by handwritten ledgers, cash, and little technology. To a software investor, this looks like friction waiting to be swept away by software. If you can aggregate demand on a mobile app, run…

While smartphones are improving every day with new hardware, not everyone has access to the latest flagship devices. The bottom line is: how long can you use a device before it starts lagging? Related My old Android was laggy until I toggled this setting I thought I needed a new phone—this tweak saved it. I’m testing this using my Pixel 8 Not that old, but definitely not new Credit: Rajesh Pandey/MakeUseOf I wanted to test this very theory by using a 3-year-old smartphone and testing if I could improve the user experience by tweaking a few key settings. To start off,…

Lagos, NigeriaHere are summaries of the most widely read stories from the past week on Africa Private Equity News.1. Airnergize Capital reaches final close with DBSA commitmentAirnergize Capital, the clean technology investment platform of New GX Capital, has completed the final close of its Fund I at R3.89 billion ($238.65 million). The Development Bank of Southern Africa participated as lead development finance institution with a R240 million ($14.72 million) commitment. Read the full articleA MESSAGE FROM OUR SUPPORTERSSouthern African VC shows growing maturity and attractive exit pipelineSouthern Africa’s venture capital industry continues to demonstrate resilience, adaptability and growing maturity, with…

Note to editors: You can download a sound clip in English from Cllr Bettie Lawens. Damning revelations have come to light, exposing how the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality completely disregarded several payment agreements put in place to curb its spiralling Eskom debt. Despite defaulting on the National Treasury Municipal Debt Relief Programme and then entering into an additional debt relief agreement, the municipality continued to ignore payments due to the parastatal, racking up an additional R111 million in debt while paying back just over R2 million. In response to a question submitted in the Eastern Cape Legislature by DA MPL…