Aavishkaar Capital has made its fourth investment in Africa, backing Horizon Group Africa, a spice processor, with a loan from its Global Supply Chain Support Fund (GSCSF).

• The investment, facilitated in collaboration with KfW, will support Horizon Group Africa's working capital needs, specifically for raw material purchases.
• The Horizon Group, founded by Jomy Antony, aggregates and processes spices like ginger and turmeric through facilities in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Madagascar, supplying markets in the EU, Asia, and the United States.
• The new funding aims to more than triple Horizon Group Africa's outreach to 10,000 farmers within three years and boost processing capacity.
• Aavishkaar Capital's GSCSF has previously invested in Privamnuts, a Kenyan macadamia nut processor, and apparel manufacturers Hela Apparel Holdings in Mauritius and Balaji EPZ in Kenya.

Global B2B payments platform Verto has launched the Atlas Suite, a new set of API-first embedded finance solutions aimed at simplifying cross-border transactions for various businesses, particularly in Africa. This suite addresses challenges like fragmented ecosystems, regulatory complexity, and currency volatility in the continent's financial landscape.

• The Atlas Suite enables businesses to integrate banking, foreign exchange (FX), and payment services through a single API, supporting 49 currencies across multiple markets.
• Ola Oyetayo, CEO and Co-founder of Verto, stated that the solution is designed to eliminate hurdles and accelerate growth for businesses scaling operations across borders, especially in African markets.
• The Atlas Suite allows clients to open local virtual accounts in more than 12 African markets, execute real-time FX across 49 currencies, and send payments to over 100 countries.
• Triply, a Nairobi-based travel-tech company, is an early adopter, using Atlas to offer embedded multi-currency payment solutions to travel businesses across Africa.

The Second Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa opened with a strong call for unlocking trillions for green growth, emphasizing Africa's potential as a climate solution provider rather than a victim. Leaders urged global financial reforms to support the continent's drive towards a green industrial base.

• Only a fraction of $2 trillion invested globally in clean energy last year reached African countries.
• President William Ruto highlighted Africa's advances in climate-smart agriculture, green industry, and new technologies.
• The summit precedes the crucial COP30 climate talks in Brazil, where governments will negotiate new agreements on climate finance and decarbonization.