Author: Elan

SEEING RED The African National Congress is losing the support of COSATU and the Communist Party, allies dating back to the anti-apartheid struggle, as it heads towards the 4 November local elections, with South Africa’s traditionally black vote set to fracture even further. By Carien du Plessis in Johannesburg South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa (2nd R) and other members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) sing the national anthem under the South African flag during the first sitting of the New South African Parliament in Cape Town on 14 June 2024. © Rodger Bosch/AFP Published on September 16, 2026…

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…

Learn how Hadija Jabiri started a business that exports Tanzania’s agricultural produce to Europe and beyond. Our new book, How we made it in Africa II: Real stories of entrepreneurs turning opportunity into profit, is available here.French entrepreneur Grégoire Schwebig is the founder of AfricaWorks, which operates co-working spaces in seven cities across six African countries. He spoke to How we made it in Africa editor-in-chief Jaco Maritz about his journey as an entrepreneur.Topics discussed during the interview include:The trick to a successful co-working spaceHow he started AfricaWorksHow African markets differ when it comes to co-workingThe biggest surprises – things…

The $3.5bn case for investing in West Africa’s rice systems – African Business The $3.5bn case for investing in West Africa’s rice systems – African Business

In brief The Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act in a procedural vote Tuesday. Stand With Crypto will include the vote in its ratings of lawmakers. The group pledged to keep mobilizing its three million advocates for passage. Stand With Crypto, a Coinbase-backed advocacy group, warned of electoral consequences Tuesday after the Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act.In a statement following the vote, Stand With Crypto said it would add senators’ votes to its lawmaker scorecards ahead of November’s midterms.Myriad: Will Democrats sweep midterm elections? Click to make your prediction.“Today’s vote was a failure of leadership,” executive director…

Nigerian telecom operators, especially mobile network providers, have been under intense scrutiny over rapid data depletion. The issue has become a major source of public outrage for mobile internet subscribers in Nigeria, surpassing complaints about poor-quality networks.  The pains are understandable. The importance of mobile data in this digital age cannot be overemphasised. When it depletes faster than anticipated or planned, it affects productivity and livelihood. Among telecom operators, MTN Nigeria has faced the most backlash, an expected scenario, as the leading mobile network operator by subscribers (now 100 million).  Every ₦2,000, ₦5,000 or ₦30,000 spent on bundles represents a…

The default Settings app in Windows 11 is functional, but it’s quite limited compared to something like the classic Control Panel. It certainly gets the job done for most Windows users, including me. However, with Microsoft’s push for a more integrated, online ecosystem, the Settings app has become quite closed off. In fact, a good chunk of the administrative options that used to be part of the User settings are now locked off unless you’re connected to the internet. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a hidden feature on Windows that’s basically everything I ever wanted the default Settings…

Photo courtesy of Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator. By Tracey Swart, Head of GBS & Digital Opportunities at Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator Across Africa, investment in digital skills is accelerating. Governments, development partners, employers and training providers are all trying to prepare young people for opportunities in Global Business Services (GBS), Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), IT-enabled services and other parts of the digital economy. But training people is only part of the challenge. The harder question is what happens after training: whether employers are actually hiring for those skills, whether training programmes are responding quickly enough to changing demand, whether policy…

** For the best experience, download the free Africa Private Equity News app Android | iOS **Africa GreenCo has secured an additional $11.5 million from existing shareholders Impact Fund Denmark and the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), through PIDG’s project development solution, InfraCo.The investment brings Africa GreenCo’s third close to $21.5 million, following a recent $10 million investment from new shareholder Sanlam Alternative Investments.Africa GreenCo is a regional energy trader and intermediary offtaker. It buys electricity from renewable energy producers and sells it to utilities, private-sector customers and markets within the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). The company operates in…

Madica, a structured investment program for pre-seed African startups, has announced 5 new investments, expanding its portfolio into Algeria and Cameroon for the first time, while strengthening its presence across Africa. Spanning 4 markets and sectors ranging from HR technology and financial services to semiconductors and the circular economy, the 5 startups reflect the diversity of innovation shaping Africa’s future:  Talenteo (Algeria), co-founded by Louai Djaffer, is an all-in-one HR management platform helping medium-sized and mid-market businesses across Francophone Africa digitise and streamline human resources management. Paysika (Cameroon), co-founded by Roger Nengwe and Stezen Bisselou, is a digital neobank…