African markets and business updates

Experts have linked the market slowdown in the first week of June to the newly-launched T+1 settlement cycle.

Gulf energy projects activity continues to gain momentum across the Middle East after three engineering, procurement and construction contracts worth more than $500 million were awarded to Target Engineering Construction Company. The projects span the oil and gas sector in the Gulf region and will strengthen energy infrastructure capacity while creating substantial opportunities for suppliers, […]

Nigeria’s money market is set for a major liquidity boost this week as approximately N2.09 trillion in Open Market Operations (OMO) maturities and N464.60 billion in maturing Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) flow back into the banking system, creating fresh refinancing and liquidity management challenges for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Fintech company Moniepoint said it aims to address Nigeria’s growing digital talent shortage with its DreamDevs Bootcamp, a software engineering training programme aimed at strengthening the country’s technology workforce.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a couple, Olorunbukunmi Taiwo and Awolegan Omolola Omotola, over an alleged N1.09 billion fraud involving a widow who was reportedly deceived into financing a purported road construction contract.

Nigeria leads on payments and fintech in Africa, and that isn’t a conversation that needs an argument. It’s anchored on world-class payments system visions and the rigorous implementation that comes with them. The Central Bank of Nigeria has been at this for almost twenty years, and it’s genuinely good at it. The first vision came in the mid-2000s ; the last one launched in November 2022 , and between them they took a country where most adults had no bank account, and cash settled almost everything…

…as exports account for 60.85% of total trade in Q1 2026 Nigeria recorded a positive balance of trade of N7.55 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, a 340.88 per cent leap over the N1.7 trillion surplus recorded in the

Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation ( ), has launched "Beyond Power; Leadership, Global Influence and Impact”, her first virtual Mentorship and Leadership Platform through Substack , creating an accessible resource designed to inspire, guide, and support future leaders, particularly women and young future leaders. The platform is accessible to all, ensuring that aspiring leaders from diverse backgrounds can access valuable mentorship, leadership insights, and practical guidance.…

A twice-yearly injectable HIV prevention drug has arrived in South Africa. The rollout of the drug, lenacapavir, is underway in the country that needs it the most, about a-year-and-a-half after US aid cuts hit some of its HIV programmes.

A boat carrying dozens of migrants attempting to cross the sea from Africa to Europe reportedly capsized in the central Mediterranean Sea on Sunday