E-commerce Finance: Jumia shares jumped about 8% after Q2 results beat expectations and the company secured a fresh $50m financing round led by the IFC, signaling renewed momentum toward profitability. Digital Jobs & Inclusion: MTN launched an AI-powered Job Board on its Skills Academy to match learners to roles and guide course choices, aiming to close Africa’s digital skills-to-employment gap. Banking & Markets: Access Bank Cameroon rolled out “Access Invest” to digitise CEMAC government securities trading, while Standard Bank said it has launched direct payments for trade with China. Crypto & Policy: Africa’s crypto ecosystem pushed for early access to frontier AI models to help open-source defenders keep up with criminals using advanced AI. Regional Climate Finance: ECOWAS is working to unlock a West Africa carbon market and close a $294bn climate-finance gap. IMF Support: The IMF agreed a new $439m program for Guinea to help turn resource wealth into broader growth. Women & Finance: Women in mining were urged to strengthen digital records and transparency to improve access to finance and cross-border trade. Governance & Media Rights: MFWA called for an end to arbitrary arrests and prolonged detention of journalists in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea. Energy Infrastructure: Global South Utilities inaugurated a 50MW solar plant in the Central African Republic, boosting generation capacity and grid stability.