In line with our purpose of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress, MTN Group and major subsidiary MTN South Africa each sustained a Level 1 Broad‑Based Black Economic Empowerment (B‑BBEE) contributor status in 2025. This leading ranking – for the sixth year running for MTN Group and seventh year in a row for MTN SA – is contained in MTN’s annual B-BBEE compliance report compiled by an independent verification agency. “For MTN, long‑term business success and societal progress are deeply interconnected,” said MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita. “Maintaining a Level 1 B‑BBEE status over many years reflects this.”…
Author: Staff Writer
Letshego Africa Holdings has reported a sharp divergence between its statutory results and underlying performance, with a consolidated loss after tax of BWP235.5 million for the year ended 31 December 2025 masking a 362% surge in profit from continuing operations. According to the group’s unaudited financial results, the loss was driven almost entirely by a BWP519.5 million loss from discontinued operations following a board-approved plan to sell business interests in Ghana, Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria and Uganda. These operations were classified as a disposal group held for sale under IFRS 5, triggering a non-cash impairment of BWP570.7 million that does not…
The Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture has allocated over R600 million to provide tools aimed at improving labour efficiency, increasing agricultural productivity, and supporting value addition at household level. Delivering the department’s 2026/27 Policy Speech at the Provincial Legislature on Wednesday, MEC Nonceba Kontsiwe said the Ilima Lokulima Programme remains a key strategy to address food insecurity in the province. The MEC highlighted that the programme has already supported more than 33 000 households to produce their own food during the 2025/26 financial year. In the 2026/27 financial year, the department plans to expand this support to 35 000 households,…
South African businesses accelerated hiring and built inventories in March, pushing the S&P Global purchasing managers’ index to 50.8 from 50.0 in February, yet the Middle East conflict introduced new supply chain stresses and client hesitancy that could undermine the recovery. The index recorded the first upturn in business conditions for six months, with output and employment posting larger gains while stocks of purchases expanded for the first time in four months. Companies reported taking on new projects and making renewed efforts to build stocks, contributing to the biggest rate of job creation since May 2024. However, those gains were…
Madica, the structured pre-seed investment programme affiliated with Flourish Ventures, has released a 75-page fundraising guidebook aimed at helping early-stage African founders navigate their first capital raise. The guide, titled Zero to Funded: A Founder’s Guide to Pre-Seed Fundraising in Africa, draws on real perspectives from investors, venture capitalists and ecosystem leaders across North, West, East and Southern Africa. The resource is designed specifically for founders who lack access to deep networks, accelerators or prior fundraising experience. Since its launch in 2022, Madica has positioned itself as a programme for underrepresented and underfunded mission-driven founders across the continent. The sector-agnostic…
Namibia’s beef industry generated more than N$2.1 billion in foreign exchange in 2025, as government intensifies efforts to protect export markets and shift the sector towards greater local value addition. Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform Inge Zaamwani said the country’s access to premium markets remains a key competitive advantage. “These measures are critical to safeguarding our animal health status and maintaining access to high-value export markets,” she said. Namibia remains the only African country with concurrent beef export access to the United States, China, Norway and the European Union, supported by strict animal health controls. More than…
South Africa’s office vacancy rate fell to 12.6% in the first quarter of 2026, its lowest level since mid-2020, signalling a broad-based but measured recovery across major metropolitan nodes. According to the latest office vacancy report from the South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa), the improvement reflects sustained demand for well-located, amenity-rich properties, though asking rentals across many major nodes remain below 2019 levels, indicating that a full recovery will take time. The report noted that while vacancy rates have improved, the pace of rental growth remains measured, with more than half of all vacant space concentrated in buildings that…
Transnet has applied to the minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment for permission to reclaim 22.4 hectares of land from Durban Bay, a project the state-owned freight and logistics group sees as essential to expanding the port’s container capacity and keeping South Africa’s economy competitive. The application, submitted by the Transnet National Ports Authority, proposes developing a new container terminal at the Point precinct capable of handling 1.8 million 20-foot equivalent units per annum. The reclamation would require 4 million cubic metres of infill material and would accommodate a new quay wall, berthing for ultra large crude carriers, harbour…
The Professional Provident Society has delivered a record profit share for the second consecutive year, with the graduate professionals’ mutual allocating R6.88 billion to its South African members’ notional accounts for the year ended 31 December 2025. That figure represents a 28% increase from the previous record of R5.33 billion allocated in 2024, underscoring the financial strength of an institution that has operated without external shareholders since 1941. The profit share comprised R1.32 billion in operating profit and an all-time high of R5.56 billion in investment returns, driven by strong portfolio performance across asset classes. Chief executive Izak Smit noted…
Simonis Storm Securities says Namibia’s banking sector remains profitable, but performance gaps between institutions are widening as funding strength and earnings resilience become key differentiators. The firm identified FirstRand Namibia as the strongest performer, reporting headline earnings of N$1.066 billion and a return on equity of 30.2% in the last financial year. This was supported by lower funding costs, improved margins and reduced non-performing loans. It said the bank’s funding repositioning, including a 9.4% increase in franchise deposits and a 26.7% reduction in institutional funding, has strengthened its ability to absorb potential credit losses. “The bank does not need a…