Payfast founder Jonathan Smit has acquired payment technology provider iVeri, marking a shift in South Africa’s fintech sector. Jonathan Smit | image supplied The deal brings together iVeri’s nearly 30-year track record in payment infrastructure with Smit’s experience in building and scaling digital payment platforms. Smit, who founded Payfast in 2007, led the business for…
NAIROBI, 8 April 2026 Africa’s most consequential gathering on housing and urban development, Africa Urban Forum 2 (AUF 2), opened today in Nairobi, as African leaders and policymakers called for urgent, coordinated action to transform the continent’s rapidly expanding cities into engines of economic growth, social inclusion, and climate resilience. The three-day forum, running from…
SirMapy and Co DAO has acquired Nigerian crypto startup Bread Africa in an all-cash six-figure deal, as consolidation continues in the country’s digital asset sector. The acquisition follows a series of deals in the market, including Roqqu’s purchase of Flitaa in 2025. The transaction adds to a growing trend of smaller crypto startups being absorbed…
The US president finds himself under growing pressure at home to avoid a protracted conflict.
Regulators have called for platform accountability, stronger legislation and improved enforcement in SA’s e-commerce industry. As South Africa’s e-commerce sector enters a new era of growth and maturity, the National Consumer Commission (NCC) is moving to tackle several challenges consumers face when making online purchases. These include misleading advertising, outdated laws, refund disputes, delivery challenges,…
Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber The department of home affairs plans to shut down all tourist visa processing at South African missions abroad, minister Leon Schreiber has announced, with all applications to be routed instead through the department’s Electronic Travel Authorisation system. Speaking at the release of a Special Investigating Unit interim report on Monday,…
Global Citizen last week announced the third edition of its Move Afrika concert series, set for Kigali and Pretoria, South Africa, following the success of the previous two shows headlined by Kendrick Lamar (2024) and John Legend (2025). The 2026 edition will feature Grammy Award-winning American rapper and singer Doja Cat, who is scheduled to…
President John Dramani Mahama has emphasized the need for Africa’s integration agenda to be translated into a daily economic reality, where businesses can trade seamlessly across borders without undue challenges. He noted that although Africa has largely put in place the institutional and policy architecture for integration, the real task remains the difficult work of…
Images of rubber dinghies overcrowded with refugees heading for Europe and narratives about mistreatment and exploitation of migrants on unsafe migration routes have come to dominate how African migration is perceived in European public and policy debates. They suggest a continent on the move, driven mainly by conflict and heading to the global north. These…
South Africa’s renewable energy sector is entering a new phase in 2026. According to industry players, one of the emerging trends is how wind and solar are combined and stored. Falling battery costs, escalating electricity tariffs and mounting grid constraints are reshaping both public procurement and private investment strategies, pushing energy storage from the margins…
