Black Swan, a Mauritius-based FinTech startup, has won the MEST Africa Challenge (MAC) 2025, a pan-African pitch competition focused on next-generation financial solutions.

• Black Swan will receive US $50,000 in equity investment and a chance to pilot commercial solutions with Absa business units.
• The startup builds infrastructure that transforms fragmented consumer and MSME data into real-time credit intelligence, enabling lenders to conduct instant affordability assessments.
• According to MEST Africa's Portfolio Advisor, Ashwin Ravichandran, this year's applicants showed stronger technical depth and readiness to scale across borders, with FinTech now powering sectors like agriculture, energy, and trade.

Africa Data Centres has partnered with CSSi SA to enhance South Africa's digital infrastructure by deploying racks and providing data sovereignty solutions. This collaboration aims to meet the growing demand for reliable, redundant, and next-generation data storage and colocation services.

• The partnership involves CSSi SA's expansion into Africa Data Centres' Cape Town (CPT1) and Johannesburg (JHB1) facilities.
• CSSi SA's CipherVault™ in Midrand, Johannesburg, will connect to Africa Data Centres' JHB1 facility with 100GB links.
• According to CEO of CSSi SA James Grcic, the partnership aims to reduce data centre operational costs for customers by 65-70%.
• The collaboration also focuses on offering AI and GPU solutions, providing world-class infrastructure with low latency.

Bolt and Gebeya have partnered to provide affordable transportation for Africa's growing service workforce, starting in Kenya and Ghana. This collaboration aims to ease mobility challenges for independent workers by offering discounted rides.

• The partnership is designed to empower the continent's informal and digital workforce, offering exclusive Bolt ride discounts to Jitume platform users ("Jitumers").
• Daniel Njomo, Country Sales Manager for Bolt Business in Kenya, stated the initiative addresses mobility challenges faced by service professionals.
• In a later phase, Jitumers will create Bolt Business accounts to extend subsidized rides to their own customers, enhancing client experience.
• Amadou Daffe, CEO and Co-Founder of Gebeya, highlighted that mobility is central for their 44,000+ service providers across 24 countries.

The United Arab Emirates has launched a groundbreaking $1 billion "AI for Development" initiative aimed at accelerating artificial intelligence adoption across African nations. This program seeks to support AI-driven projects in vital sectors such as digital infrastructure, education, agriculture, and public services.

• The initiative was announced by H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
• It will be led by the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX), the export financing arm of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), in collaboration with the UAE Foreign Aid Agency.
• H.E. Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD, emphasized AI's potential for inclusive growth and building long-term technological cooperation.
• The UAE believes AI can help address challenges like food security, education, and public service delivery in Africa, enhancing efficiency and productivity.