Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com M on Unsplash News THE BLACK EXECUTIVE: WEEKLY MARKET WATCH The Week We Held Our Breath | Week of February 1 – February 7, 2026 By BEB Editor • 6 min read
News South Africa Proposes R100B Transformation Fund to Reform B-BBEE Policy + African Agritech Funding Falls 18% to $168M + ASVLP 2026 Deal Room Pitches TODAY Briter report shows investors prioritize fintech (40% of capital) and real-asset sectors over agriculture as deal counts decline 7.5%. | Thursday, January 29, 2026 By BEB Editor • 11 min read
Photo by Joey Kyber on Unsplash The Pulse Cassava Technologies Launches Africa's First OaaS Platform + Atlanta Black Chambers Women's League Kickoff TODAY + D.C. Black Business Ecosystem Powers 2026 Growth Washington D.C. demonstrates how local ecosystems and directories drive equity. Black entrepreneurs face 2.9-4.7x higher audit rates | Wednesday, January 28, 2026 By BEB Editor • 12 min read
Photo by Jaime Top on Unsplash News Atlanta Black Chambers Announces $725K Grant for Georgia SMBs + State of the Dream 2026: Black Unemployment Hits 7.5% + AfricAI Secures Exclusive Robotics Rights + African M&A Jumps 72% Advancing Black Businesses Foundation deploys Small Business Revitalization Grant. | Tuesday, January 27, 2026 By BEB Editor • 10 min read
The Pulse African Investors Now Fund 40% of Tech Deals (Up from 25%) + Allianz Closes $1B Blended Finance Fund + Khaby Lame Lands $900M Creator Economy Deal Briter report shows local investors wrote $1.6B as global capital declined. African startups raised $3.6B in 2025 (+25% YoY) across 635 deals (+43%). | Monday, January 26, 2026 By BEB Editor • 10 min read
Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash The Week Ahead THE BLACK EXECUTIVE: WEEKLY MARKET WATCH The "Hold & Reassess" Week | Week of January 25 – January 31, 2026 By BEB Editor • 6 min read
News Partech Report: African Tech Funding Hits $4.1B in 2025 (+25% YoY) + Kenya Leads with $1.04B (+72%) + Francophone Africa Raises $450M Debt financing reaches all-time high at $1.64B (+63% YoY) across 107 deals. Kenya captures nearly 30% of continental funding | Thursday, January 22, 2026 By BEB Editor • 9 min read
Photo by Adeolu Eletu on Unsplash News US Visa Bond Takes Effect TODAY for 20+ African Countries + Africa Tech Summit Nairobi Selects 12 Investor-Ready Ventures + Black Dragon Capital Expands to Saudi Arabia Black-led investment firm brings media tech expertise to FOMEX 2026 in Riyadh. African founders must now post $5K-$15K bonds to enter US, implementation begins January 21 | Wednesday, January 21, 2026 By BEB Editor • 10 min read
Photo by ibuki Tsubo on Unsplash News Savannah (African Tech Talent) Acquired by Israeli Firm Commit + MAX Raises $24M for EV Financing + Atlanta Black Expo Expands to 300+ Exhibitors Southeast's largest Black business showcase doubles footprint to 196K sq ft at Georgia World Congress Center. Bootstrapped Africa-focused software talent company exits | Tuesday, January 20, 2026 By BEB Editor • 9 min read
News THE BLACK EXECUTIVE: WEEKLY MARKET WATCH The "Inflation Test" & The Infrastructure Play | Week of January 11 – January 17, 2026 By BEB Editor • 6 min read
The Pulse Frontier Fintech GPS: Mono Launches Treasury Platform + M-Pesa/ADI Blockchain + Kenya Licenses 42 Digital Lenders + NJEDA Funds Black Business Incubator Nigerian open banking startup pivots to enterprise solutions with Flutterwave backing. M-Pesa brings blockchain to 60M users across 8 African countries. | Wednesday, January 14, 2026 By BEB Editor • 8 min read
The Pulse Bask & Lather's Shaina Rainford Lands Black Beauty Founders Cover + EIB Finances Africa's Largest Solar PV Plant + Hashgraph Pledges $1M to Africa Web3 Hackathon Black haircare founder scales across Amazon, Walmart, TikTok Shop without VC backing. Egypt's 1.1 GWp hybrid solar project secures $150M from European Investment Bank | Tuesday, January 13, 2026 By BEB Editor • 9 min read
