Author: Elan

Paystack, one of Africa’s leading financial technology companies, has launched a completely rebuilt merchant Dashboard designed for the AI era, introducing an AI-powered Command Centre that gives businesses instant answers about transactions, revenue trends, settlements, and operational performance. The new Paystack Dashboard marks the company’s first full redesign in nearly 10 years and reflects the growing role of artificial intelligence in African fintech, payments infrastructure, and business operations. More than 300,000 organisations — including startups, enterprises, SMEs, and government agencies — use Paystack’s technology to process online and offline payments securely across Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and Côte d’Ivoire.…

By PwCPwC’s Deals team focuses on helping organisations execute successful deals and create value through mergers, acquisitions, disposals and restructuring. Below is a selection of transactions the team has been involved in over the past year.1. PwC Deals supports Norfund on its investment into Nafasi Water TechnologiesNorfund has completed a minority equity investment in Nafasi Water Technologies, alongside E Squared Investments, to strengthen water security across South Africa and accelerate growth in critical water infrastructure and reuse solutions – reinforcing the role of innovative solutions in addressing regional water scarcity. PwC provided financial and tax due diligence on this important…

Editor’s note: This article is the first in a three-part series on the state of venture investment to Black-founded startups in 2026. Driving these reports is data from Crunchbase’s Diversity Spotlight feature, which offers insight into diversity in startups’ and investment firms’ leadership teams. Parts 2 and 3 in this series will be published in June. The share of U.S. venture funding going to companies with Black founders in 2025 remained low, even as overall startup investment ticked slightly higher, Crunchbase data shows. Only around $942 million — or just 0.32% of total U.S. venture funding — went to startups…

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The CFTC has moved true Bitcoin perpetual futures from an offshore-liquidity debate into a US-regulated test case, with KalshiEX LLC now approved to list BTCPERP and Coinbase Financial Markets receiving separate staff-level relief for access to certain Deribit products.The Commission approved KalshiEX LLC’s BTCPERP contract as a futures contract, allowing the CFTC-registered designated contract market to list a no-expiry bitcoin perpetual tied to the spot price of BTC.In a separate move the same day, CFTC staff confirmed that certain Deribit digital commodity derivatives described by Coinbase Financial Markets may be treated as foreign futures when routed through Coinbase’s registered futures commission merchant structure.Chairman Mike Selig cast the…

SIM Swap is one of the leading causes of identity theft in Nigeria. It has largely contributed to people losing control or ownership of their phone numbers.  To a large extent, identity theft accounts for 63% of all digital financial crime in Africa, costing an estimated $4 billion annually. However, Africa’s weak cybersecurity system makes it easier for fraudsters to take over people’s phone numbers, access their financial accounts, and steal their identities. In fact, SIM swapping accounts for nearly 43% of all mobile money fraud in Africa, making financial loss the most concerning aspect of technology advancement in the…

Meta has introduced paid subscription plans for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The Plus tier subscriptions are aimed at consumers and offer additional features for a monthly fee. The company also announced plans to test professional subscriptions for creators and businesses, as well as AI-focused options for general users, all under the Meta One brand.Meta confirmed the launch to TechCrunch. These new subscriptions are separate from Meta Verified, the company’s existing paid service that provides verification, protection against impersonation, and extra support.Meta indicated that this may change over time but emphasized that Meta Verified is not being phased out at the…

Akinwumi Adesina** For the best experience, download the free Africa Private Equity News app Android | iOS **Akinwumi Adesina, former president of the African Development Bank Group, has been appointed as the chairperson of Botswana’s Diamonds for Development Fund.The Diamonds for Development Fund is being established by De Beers Group in consultation with the Government of Botswana. It will support the country’s emerging knowledge-based economy and accelerate its long-term economic diversification.Al Cook, CEO of De Beers Group, said: “When we set up the groundbreaking Diamonds for Development Fund with the Botswana Government, we knew that we would need an extraordinary…

The minister of defence, General Christopher Musa (Retd), said on Friday that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has scored between 65 and 70 per cent performance in tackling insecurity, terrorism and other national threats against the nation. Speaking on ARISE TV News on the occasion of Tinubu’s three years in office, Musa said terrorism has been drastically reduced to isolated soft-target incidents, such as kidnappings to gain relevance. The minister said, “We’ll give 65 to 70 per cent performance in the fight against terrorism and insecurity. Yes. 65 to 70%. No nation is totally free from crime and criminality.…

NAIROBI,Kenya,May 29-Kenya is betting on artificial intelligence and big data to reposition its tourism sector as a key driver of economic growth after entering a strategic partnership with Google Kenya to modernize destination marketing, tourism analytics, and visitor experiences. The collaboration between the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife and the technology giant signals a shift in how Kenya plans to compete for global travellers, as countries increasingly adopt digital tools and personalised marketing to attract high-spending tourists. Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano said the partnership is part of the Government’s broader plan to transform Kenya into Africa’s leading…