Author: Elan

By Jan Groenewald, Africa Deals Leader at PwC South AfricaDeals have the power to reshape organisations. They can accelerate growth, unlock new capabilities, open doors to new markets, and create opportunities for long-term value creation.Yet transactions rarely unfold in a straight line. What starts off as a compelling strategic opportunity can quickly become more complex. As a transaction progresses, leaders often find themselves navigating valuation debates, integration challenges, technology risks, people issues, tax considerations and competing stakeholder expectations.For CEOs, CFOs, boards and investors, the challenge is no longer simply whether to do a deal. It is how to pursue the…

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has invested $8 million in the Ventures Platform Pan-African Fund II, targeting early-stage technology companies in Nigeria and four other African countries. The investment is expected to support technology startups with strong growth potential in Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Morocco and Senegal, as part of efforts to deepen access to growth capital, promote innovation and create jobs across the continent. The EBRD said the investment was made under its Early-Stage Innovation Facility II, a €200 million programme through which the development finance institution invests in commercially oriented venture capital funds. The facility…

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed new rules that would allow it to approve new digital and virtual asset operators, set governance requirements, and gain deeper visibility into transactions, wallets, and the movement of digital assets in and out of the country. The proposed rules, issued on Thursday, would mandate cryptocurrency businesses targeting Nigerian users to register with the SEC, even if they operate from outside the country. The rules cover exchanges, custodians, and virtual asset service providers (VASPs), as well as tokenisation and digital-asset offering platforms. It marks a significant expansion of the SEC’s approach to regulating…

Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 17 Pro Max globally on August 27, 2026. It is the first Pro Max phone in the Redmi Note series, and it sits above the Redmi Note 17 Pro as the top model in the lineup. The phone’s biggest selling point is its battery. Depending on where you buy it, you get a 9,210mAh or 10,000mAh battery, paired with 100W fast charging. Below, you’ll find the release date, price, full specs, and how the Pro Max compares to the standard Note 17 and Note 17 Pro. Redmi Note 17 Pro Max at a glance SpecDetailsOfficial…

Meta has agreed to a proposed settlement of up to $18 billion with a bipartisan group of 52 attorneys general. The case centers on claims that Facebook and Instagram were intentionally designed to encourage compulsive use among children and teenagers.The settlement, which still needs court approval, resolves a lawsuit filed in 2023 by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and other state attorneys general.If approved, the agreement will require Meta to add new restrictions for users under 18. This includes a default two-hour daily usage limit that only parents can disable. About $12.7 billion of the payment will go to participating…

** For the best experience, download the free Africa Private Equity News app Android | iOS **Triple Jump, as investment manager of ASN Microkredietfonds, has facilitated an initial €1 million investment in Union Nationale des Caisses Rurales d’Épargne et de Prêt (UNACREP), a microfinance cooperative in Benin.UNACREP provides loans primarily to smallholder farmers. The cooperative has more than 180,000 members, with about 26,000 clients holding active loans.Businesses and groups of entrepreneurs can borrow up to €30,000. Most of UNACREP’s clients are individual farmers with smaller financing needs.“Benin is a new country for us to be active in,” says Sascha Noé,…

African health ministers and health leaders have agreed to step up efforts to eliminate diseases across the continent, as countries seek to protect progress made in recent years amid funding gaps, weak health systems and insecurity. ALSO READ: African health ministers demand urgent action on rising drug-resistant malaria The commitment was made on August 26 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during a high-level ministerial side event held on the sidelines of the 76th session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa, which is being held from August 25 to 28. The meeting brought together health ministers and senior…

American investor Finn Walker is the managing partner of Heron Partners, which invests in companies listed on African stock exchanges. One of the key reasons Walker is bullish on Africa is the continent’s young and fast-growing population. Africa’s population is projected to reach around 2.5 billion by 2050, up from roughly 1.6 billion today – meaning more than a quarter of humanity will be African. It is also a young continent. The number of working-age people (20 to 64 years) is set to nearly double, from 883 million in 2024 to 1.6 billion in 2050.“We are going to see a…

Kampala — MTN Uganda has partnered with Starlink to extend the MTN Group-Starlink partnership in Uganda, bringing satellite-enabled connectivity closer to enterprise customers operating in remote, underserved and hard-to-reach areas. This collaboration adds Starlink’s satellite capability to MTN Uganda’s enterprise solutions portfolio, offering an additional connectivity option where conventional infrastructure is limited or difficult to deploy. The initial offer will focus on enterprise customers in sectors where dependable connectivity is critical to service delivery and business continuity, including education, healthcare, agriculture, humanitarian response, energy, tourism, financial services and government services. The Uganda expansion forms part of MTN Group’s broader strategy…

In brief Bitcoin is holding near $78,000 after a hot PCE inflation reading knocked it back from an $81,000 high, with a $6.4 billion options expiry, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s first Jackson Hole speech, and Nvidia earnings all landing within 48 hours of each other. The CME FedWatch tool now prices a 38.4% chance of a September rate hike, down from 82% a month ago, with the Fed’s next decision due September 16. Analysts are split on what comes next, with some calling this the late stage of a bear market bottoming out and others warning of a bull trap…