Author: Elan
Nathaniel Micklem, co-head of emerging market alternative credit at Ninety One** For the best experience, download the free Africa Private Equity News app Android | iOS **Ninety One has announced the final close of its Africa Credit Opportunities Fund 3 (ACO3 Fund). The ACO3 Fund closed with $404 million (including leverage) in commitments from institutional investors including development finance institutions, pension funds, and family offices across Africa, Europe, the UK, the US and Canada.The ACO3 Fund invests mainly in senior secured private credit opportunities. It provides flexible financing to businesses and critical infrastructure projects across Africa and other emerging markets.…
Lusaka — Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has been re-elected for a second five-year term in the elections held on August 13 (see Fides, 13/8/2026). Hichilema won with 2,965,326 votes, representing 60.49% of the 4,902,050 valid votes cast. His main challenger, Brian Mundubile, received approximately 1,856,217 votes, equal to 37.87% of the total. Mundubile was forced into exile after being accused of taking part in an alleged plot to stage an armed insurrection. At least ten prominent figures associated with Mundubile’s political camp have been arrested, including his spokesperson, George Chisanga, and Patrick Mwansa, the husband of former President Edgar Lungu’s…
For years, conversations about artificial intelligence (AI) have centred on chatbots, image generators and the race to build powerful large language models. Across Africa, however, technology is taking on a different role by solving everyday problems that affects healthcare, agriculture, logistics, financial services and insurance. Rather than competing with OpenAI or Google to build frontier AI models, African startups are embedding AI into products that address local challenges which ranges from detecting fake medicines to reducing insurance fraud and also helping farmers increase yields and enable businesses to automate routine tasks. Their timing coincides with a growing economic opportunity because…
Nairobi — President William Ruto was on Tuesday taken through KEMSA’s digital transformation programme during a visit to its exhibition stand at the Kenya Health Summit in Nairobi. The authority demonstrated how digital systems are being used to improve efficiency, accountability and visibility across the health supply chain, alongside doorstep delivery of essential commodities to health facilities. KEMSA said its order fill rate currently stands at 90 per cent, up from 40 per cent three years ago, ensuring health facilities receive essential medicines and medical supplies they need. The authority also highlighted its Paperless KEMSA system, which is designed to…
Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has admitted three additional virtual asset service providers and digital investment platforms into its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP), expanding the regulatory sandbox to 12 firms since July. On Thursday, the SEC said it had admitted Pisi Payment Solutions, the parent company of Nigerian fintech YDPay, BC Access (Nigeria) Limited, the legal entity of Blockchain Africa—a subsidiary of global cryptocurrency exchange Blockchain—and Yellow Card, the stablecoin infrastructure startup, into the programme. The approvals grant the firms Approval-in-Principle (AIP) status, allowing them to operate within the sandbox’s defined scope while remaining subject to ongoing regulatory…
After years of losing ground to Point-of-Sale (PoS) agents, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are making a comeback as transaction volumes rise while PoS volumes decline. In the first quarter of 2026, Nigerians made 438.6 million ATM transactions, up 6.6% from the previous year, according to data released on Friday by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Transaction value grew 64.6% year-on-year to ₦26.3 trillion ($19.4 billion). PoS transaction volumes fell 19.9% year-on-year to 2.92 billion in Q1 2026, while transaction value fell 16.4% to ₦59.3 trillion ($43.7 billion). These changes could redraw Nigeria’s cash-access network. PoS agents spent years filling…
Microsoft is introducing a “link to location” feature in Word for Windows and macOS. The new option lets users create a link that points to a specific place in a document. When someone opens the link, they go straight to the intended section instead of scrolling to find it.Microsoft says this is especially helpful for long documents and for teams working together or giving feedback. The process uses the right-click menu and only takes a few steps.What Word’s Link to Location Feature DoesMicrosoft frames the feature around a common frustration in long documents. “If you work on long, complex documents,…
stormy skies Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema edged closer to securing a second term Monday as results came in from last week’s vote, marred by opposition arrests and a much-criticised suspension of vote counting. By AFP Zambian incumbent President and United Party for National Development (UPND) presidential candidate Hakainde Hichilema casts his ballot in Lusaka on 13 August 2026. © Gianluigi GUERCIA/AFP) Published on August 17, 2026 at 17:27 pm (GMT +1) Zambia President Hakainde Hichilema, 64, is seeking a final five-year term with the 13 August election seen as a high-stakes referendum on the management of the economy as copper…
Listen to this article Tokyo is redefining its engagement with Africa, transitioning from traditional aid-based approaches to strategic venture capital (VC) investments focused on long-term partnerships, innovation and capacity building. Several Japanese private companies are making Japan’s presence felt in Africa’s VC landscape, particularly in high-growth sectors such as fintech, climate tech and mobility. Growing demand for innovative, technology-driven solutions in Africa has drawn increasing interest from international investors. VC funding in Africa rose from over US$2 billion in 2019 to a peak of US$5.2 billion in 2022. Though investment declined to around US$3.6 billion in 2023, the continent’s start-up…
Ibrahim Sagna, executive chairman of investment firm Silverbacks HoldingsOur new book, How we made it in Africa II: Real stories of entrepreneurs turning opportunity into profit, is available here. The book was recently shortlisted for the Business Council for Africa (BCA) African Business Book of the Year Awards 2026.In a recent interview with How we made it in Africa, Ibrahim Sagna, executive chairman of investment firm Silverbacks Holdings, revealed the five things he looks for when investing in a company.1. Second-time founders. The firm has had the most success with people who are not running their first company. “We haven’t…