Author: Elan

MTN Group is making more money from its core telecom business, but its profits are heading in the opposite direction. Africa’s largest telecom operator expects headline earnings per share to fall by as much as 30% in the first half of 2026, even as its underlying earnings rise by up to 23%. The reason is Iran. A large impairment on MTN’s 49% stake in Irancell, an Iranian telecom operator, alongside foreign exchange losses and hyperinflation, is dragging down headline earnings despite stronger underlying performance, according to the company’s trading statement on Tuesday. MTN’s underlying earnings are expected to rise by…

Valve’s Linux push can look almost inevitable in hindsight. Proton lets SteamOS run Windows games, the Steam Deck turned SteamOS into something people actually buy on purpose, and Valve followed it with a new Steam Machine for 2026. Linux gaming still has plenty of rough edges, but we’ve come a long way from the days when installing Linux meant accepting that most commercial PC games simply weren’t coming with you. More than a decade before Valve brought Steam to Linux, a small company in Tustin, California, tried to change that in the expensive way. Loki Software licensed Windows games from…

Economic autonomy 2025 was a record year for sovereign wealth funds on the continent, and the trend is continuing in 2026. Beyond the headlines, do these increasingly popular vehicles have the means to fulfil their ambitions? By Alix Lavoué Kenyan President William Ruto signing the Sovereign Wealth Fund Act into law in Nairobi on 8 July 2026 © William Ruto/Kenya Presidency Published on August 11, 2026 at 16:00 pm (GMT +1) The Democratic Republic of Congo in June 2025, then Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Kenya in April, May and July 2026, respectively. Within a few months, a number of…

Wandia GichuruInterview with Wandia GichuruCO-FOUNDER & CEO, VIVO FASHION GROUPLives in: Nairobi“I don’t come from a fashion background, so I tend to approach things purely from a business perspective,” says Wandia Gichuru, founder and CEO of Vivo Fashion Group, a Kenyan clothing manufacturer and retailer.“We try to focus on what the market wants. We work backwards – starting from a price point we think will work and then calculate whether we can produce the garment within that price,” she explains.Vivo currently operates twenty-nine stores across Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, and also owns the e-commerce marketplace ShopZetu. While the company aims…

The young disruptors making their mark in African business – African Business The young disruptors making their mark in African business – African Business

USBC increased a Bitcoin-backed loan to $18 million in late July. That created a price-dependent risk: the company could have to add collateral or repay debt within 24 hours. Using the filing’s July 31 inputs, the disclosed 130% call ratio equates to an illustrative Bitcoin price near $48,852.The company is developing a tokenized-deposit offering. In its Aug. 7 Form 10-Q, it said a fourth draw of $3 million on July 28 raised the balance under its Payward Interactive facility from $15 million. USBC had pledged 479 Bitcoin worth about $30.1 million as of July 31. The filing reported a 59.8%…

Leading telecoms company, MTN Nigeria, has noted that the Y’ello Street symbolises how Nigeria has transformed in voice and data connections over the past 25 years.  Speaking to journalists and well-wishers at the MTN Plaza on Monday, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Financial Officer, Modupe Kadri, said the company’s celebration goes beyond its 25th anniversary. He said the milestone also reflects how long Nigerians have been connected through the brand. “We are celebrating 25 years of believing in Nigeria, 25 years of connecting people, 25 years of investing, 25 years of innovation, 25 years of learning, sometimes stumbling, adapting and getting better,…

If your Netflix home page is doing its job, you’ve likely already seen that Kevin Hart’s 72 Hours is at No. 1 on the U.S. Top 10 charts at the moment, and that a Liam Neeson action movie (In the Land of Saints & Sinners) from 2024 is up there, too. While both are solid picks for a fun movie night this week, there are, of course, loads more options. This week we’re going a bit deeper with a few picks—two new and one new to Netflix this month: a claustrophobic sci-fi horror about a family trapped inside their house,…

Image credit: Husqvarna South Africa Wildfires are becoming a growing challenge across Southern Africa, threatening rural communities, agricultural businesses, and natural ecosystems. Rising temperatures, changing weather patterns, dry vegetation, and extreme conditions are increasing the risk of more frequent and intense fire events. For farmers and landowners, wildfire preparedness is becoming an important part of climate resilience. In many rural areas, emergency response can be limited by distance, infrastructure challenges, and a lack of immediate access to firefighting resources. As climate risks increase, technology and better resource management are helping communities prepare before disasters occur. Building a first line of…

Ibrahim Sagna spent more than two decades in finance, including at the African Export-Import Bank and the Africa Finance Corporation, before co-founding Silverbacks Holdings, a firm that invests in technology, entertainment, sport and the creative industries. Africa Private Equity News editor-in-chief Jaco Maritz spoke to Sagna about the firm’s origins and how it picks its investments.Topics discussed during the interview include:The backstory to the founding of SilverbacksWhy it doesn’t directly invest in early-stage companiesWhat it looks for in an investmentHow it decides when to exitWhy Sagna hosts his own podcastWhether ordinary people should invest in startups