Starlink Reaches 30 African Markets, Huawei Eyes 4,000MWh Egypt Battery Project, Kenya's NSE Profit Jumps 386%

SBM Bank Kenya has partnered with Safer Power Group to extend $17 million in debt financing for a green energy manufacturing workshop and factory.

Safer Power, a licensed partner of Schneider Electric, will use the capital to locally assemble critical power infrastructure like switchboards and control panels.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is providing up to $16.5 million to Egyptian biopharmaceutical firm Minapharm Group.

The funding will support preclinical development and Phase 1 clinical trials in Africa for a vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo ebolavirus species.

UfarmX uses blockchain ledger technology to connect over 17,000 credit-scored smallholder farmers to quality inputs and post-harvest markets across Nigeria, Senegal, and Liberia.

UfarmX plans to launch a credit-scoring API by the end of this year and expand into Kenya, its first East African market, in Q4.

Nigerian fintech Nomba and renewable energy asset financier Synafare have launched a joint ₦2 billion ($1.4 million) commitment to finance solar energy systems for local SMEs.

The capital will be deployed over 24 months to help roughly 300 small businesses purchase solar panels, inverters, and batteries to bypass Nigeria's unreliable power grid.

Egypt's Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), in partnership with the EU and UNDP, hosted a workshop to review a draft roadmap for adopting IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.

The proposed framework features a phased rollout starting with simplified climate disclosures, moving to initial IFRS sustainability standards, and ending with full implementation and GRI-aligned reporting.

Egypt's Labor Ministry has launched new rules requiring private-sector establishments with at least 10 workers to draft customized internal workplace regulations tailored to their circumstances.

The drafting process mandates that companies consult workers and experts, submit drafts to relevant union organizations within 15 days, and obtain certification from competent labor directorates.

The regulations forbid employers from withholding worker passports, restrict unilateral dismissals without labor court rulings, and cap disciplinary wage deductions at five days per month.

Egypt's Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) approved the establishment of Matra as the nation's third credit-rating agency, ending Meris's long-standing monopoly in the market.

Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFIs) in Egypt have until January 22, 2027, to align their outsourcing with firms registered on the FRA's new debt-collection registry.

The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called on the NMDPRA to limit petroleum import permits only to independently verified domestic supply deficits.

CPPE recommended that qualified local refiners be given a defined period to meet domestic demand before any residual import requirements are allocated to importers.

Egypt's Minister of Electricity, Mahmoud Esmat, ordered distribution companies to implement photographed meter readings to eliminate unverified consumption estimates.

A unified installment system will be established across all distribution companies to help citizens settle outstanding balances through flexible payment structures.

Global index provider FTSE Russell has reclassified Nigeria's capital market from 'Unclassified' to 'Frontier Market' status.

The upgrade comes nearly three years after Nigeria's exclusion in September 2023 due to foreign exchange and capital repatriation challenges.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) recorded a massive 386% year-on-year increase in profit after tax to KSh 736.9 million for the half-year ending June 30, 2026.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that formal diaspora remittance inflows through International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) reached a record high of $947 million in July 2026.

Total remittances for the first seven months of 2026 rose 50.2% year-on-year to $3.8 billion, driven by foreign exchange reforms, regulatory adjustments, and the introduction of the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN).

VFD Group Plc opened its N20 billion Commercial Paper (CP) issuance on August 28, 2026, which is scheduled to close on September 4, 2026.

The issuance is divided into two tenors: a 270-day series yielding an implied 21.50% and a 364-day series yielding an implied 23.50%.

The minimum investment is set at N5 million, offering investors a premium over the 364-day Treasury Bill rate which cleared at 20.35% on August 26, 2026.

Enwealth's Money Market Fund assets under management rose 91% to KES 2.03 billion for the six months ending June 30, up from KES 1.07 billion a year earlier.

The firm's other portfolios grew significantly, with the Dollar Money Market Fund rising 75% to $1.19 million and the Balanced Fund growing 229% to KES 20 million.

Empower and Serve Kenya (EmpServe) is expanding its Social Innovation Eco-Village (SIEVE) model beyond its current 10 counties of operation.

The SIEVE model, piloted in Kajiado County, integrates off-grid solar power, digital resource hubs, and climate-smart agriculture to build rural resilience.

Chinese technology group Huawei is exploring a massive 4,000 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage systems (BESS) project in Egypt.

The initiative encompasses both local manufacturing of battery storage components and installing utility-scale facilities directly connected to the national grid.

SpaceX's Starlink has launched its satellite internet service in Equatorial Guinea following a provisional approval granted on July 29, 2026, by Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue.

Telecomunicaciones de Guinea Equatorial (GITGE), the state digital infrastructure company, will oversee Starlink's trial operations to assess its market integration.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in partnership with ICANN and Upperlink, hosted a workshop in Lagos advocating for system-wide upgrades to meet Universal Acceptance (UA) standards.

Universal Acceptance ensures that all valid domain names and email addresses, including local scripts and extensions like .ng and .africa, are seamlessly processed by all internet-enabled applications.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) reported that internet data consumption grew 43% year-on-year to 8.52 million terabytes in the first half of 2026.

MTN Nigeria led operators with N1.699 trillion in H1 data revenue, while Airtel Nigeria and Globacom saw their subscriber bases expand to 66.12 million and 23.68 million respectively.

Development finance institution Swedfund has provided a $20 million loan to the Africa Go Green Fund.

The capital targets African companies operating in green buildings, clean cooking, green transport, and industrial energy efficiency.