The African Guarantee Fund (AGF) has leveraged nearly $3 billion in guarantees to mobilise $6.5 billion in loans for micro, small and medium enterprises across 44 African nations. By sharing credit risk with partner banks, the fund has reached more than 50,000 MSMEs, generated over 600,000 jobs and added roughly $5 billion in incremental income. AGF also supports green projects, delivering 88,000 kW of renewable capacity and cutting emissions by 3.9 million tonnes of CO₂e annually. Its dual focus on risk‑sharing and capacity building strengthens the continent’s financial ecosystem for inclusive growth.

Analytic Partners released a preview of its 2026 State of Commercial Decisioning Survey, based on 455 senior executives at $1 billion‑plus advertisers. The study finds commercial analytics, especially marketing mix modeling, now serves as the primary source of truth for budget,...

Adswerve, a data‑focused consultancy at the AdTech‑MarTech crossroads, announced Tom Zawacki as its new chief executive officer. Zawacki arrives with more than three decades of experience in data, artificial intelligence and marketing technology, most recently serving as Chief Growth Officer...
Authentic Brands Group and IAC have signed an agreement to expand Dockers apparel across Central America, the Andean region, Ecuador, and select Caribbean markets. IAC will manage manufacturing and distribution for men’s and women’s lifestyle apparel and accessories. The partnership...

Longford’s SMEs face rising input costs, supply‑chain volatility and stricter sustainability rules, prompting a shift toward circular economy practices. The Circular Advantage event on 3 March, co‑funded by the Irish government and the EU Just Transition Fund, offers practical tools to...

Audacy’s research proposes expanding the core advertising demographic from Adults 25‑54 to 25‑64, adding 33 million listeners and boosting total radio listening by 48 %. The broader slice captures a financially powerful 55‑64 cohort that now accounts for nearly 20 % of U.S. spending....
Nepal's soybean oil exports to India surged more than tenfold in 2025, reaching a record 694,153 metric tons and generating over $1 billion in revenue. The growth was driven by duty‑free access under the South Asian Free Trade Agreement, allowing Nepal...

Separately managed accounts (SMAs) are now the dominant channel for institutional capital, driven by demand for customized exposure and fee transparency. A new report surveying 100 hedge fund managers and 50 allocators uncovers operational friction points, especially around data transparency...

Nacon, the French publisher behind titles such as Styx: Blades of Greed and RoboCop: Rogue City, has filed for judicial reorganisation insolvency after its majority shareholder, Bigben Interactive, failed to make a partial bond loan repayment. The filing aims to...
Recruiters are increasingly treating hiring as a performance‑marketing channel, where visual appeal and brand perception dictate candidate interest. Traditional text‑only job ads are losing to platform‑driven, image‑rich campaigns, creating a visibility gap for top talent. Chatly’s AI image generator and...

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) projects continue to suffer cost overruns and muted business value, not because of technology limits but due to weak governance structures. Rajesh Arangamany proposes a five‑layer, governance‑centric framework that aligns strategic objectives, capability models, architectural accountability,...
People often ask me where my business ideas come from. From problems. Mostly my own 😅 Here's the genesis of my main SaaS:

SoundHound AI unveiled Sales Assist, a voice‑powered AI agent for retail, at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona. The agent uses the company’s Polaris speech‑recognition and a multi‑agent orchestration platform to deliver real‑time product recommendations, upgrade eligibility checks, and compliance...

Arctic Wolf announced the acquisition of Texas‑based Sevco Security, a cloud‑native exposure assessment specialist, for an undisclosed amount. Sevco’s platform, recognized as a Gartner Visionary in 2025, will be folded into Arctic Wolf’s Aurora platform to unify asset intelligence, vulnerability...

India is launching a ₹77,000 crore programme to build a domestic merchant fleet and expand shipbuilding, aiming to cut its reliance on foreign vessels that handle more than 90% of imports and exports. The plan prioritises ship construction, port upgrades, and...
New technologies enable small countries and mid‑size regions to out‑pace megacities as testing grounds for AI‑driven governance, renewable energy, and bio‑industrial innovation. Examples from Estonia, Uruguay, Kansas, and Singapore show rapid prototyping of digital services, local energy grids, and agri‑tech...
Uber announced it will acquire SpotHero, the leading North American parking‑reservation platform, to embed parking services directly within the Uber app. SpotHero currently offers access to more than 13,000 garages, lots and valet locations across over 400 U.S. and Canadian...

The Notion Capital Academy is hosting a session titled “Founder to Leader Journey,” led by Rachel Turner of VC Talent Lab. The event targets founders scaling from $1 million to $100 million, teaching the WAM Model of Scale‑Up Leadership and the three...

Multiverse, the up‑skilling edtech unicorn, has hired Amazon’s VP of product and technology, Jay Richman, as its new chief product officer. Richman, who led Amazon’s agentic AI initiatives and spent a decade at Spotify and Hulu, will relocate to London...
The article introduces the concept of Agent Experience (AX), a discipline for preparing enterprise systems so AI agents can discover, invoke, and manage tools reliably. It stresses that agents require precise, structured documentation, robust API specifications, and context‑engineering such as...

In this episode, Sean McKenna recounts how he founded Data Fusion HCM, a payroll and HR‑tech integration platform, and sold it to Ceridian (now Dayforce) within 16 months. He explains the strategic advantage of building a product that solved a...

U.S. data‑center operators are confronting a surge in extreme weather events, from floods and wildfires to record heat and cold spells. Scenario analyses from S&P Global and the World Economic Forum estimate climate‑driven costs could equal 9.5% of total data‑center...

China didn’t compete. It demolished entire industries through one ruthless strategy: build massive scale, use subsidies and currency manipulation, export at prices no one can match. Furniture, Solar Panels, Telecom Infrastructure, Textiles, Toys, etc. Gone. And 10 more industries are already under attack. My...
"Mine is bigger than yours" "Mine is better than yours" "My Central Bank appointee is more dovish than yours" says Japan PM #Takaichi to #Trump after she picked 2 #reflationist candidates #forex $USDJPY #USDJPY

Tattvam AI, a deep‑tech startup focused on AI‑driven semiconductor design, closed a $1.7 million pre‑seed round led by Seedcamp. The funding will expand its engineering team, accelerate research, and bring its first product to market within months. The company’s AI reasoning...
Britain’s #AI Experiment: Down in Jobs So Far @Korn_Ferry https://t.co/6B4p8m9Bgc #HCM #HRM #HumanResources #HRTech #CHRO #CPO #Hiring #Recruitment #PeopleManagement #Culture #Change #FutureofHR #HRCurator

Christine Lagarde is expected to leave the ECB before her term ends, paving the way for Klaas Knot to succeed her as president, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists https://t.co/rjUbI1zZMG via @jrandow https://t.co/aOgFWMclPG

The Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) warned investors to exercise prudence as the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) enjoys a sustained rally. While renewed confidence and stronger macro‑economic sentiment are fueling price gains, ASHON cautioned that many stocks...
Bank of America show the biggest positive allocation to #euro assets on record in an impressive global rebalancing. A net 22% say they hold a lower-than-benchmark allocation to US, from just 6% at end of 2025. The backlash appears to...
A complete team needs diverse skills. Avoid only having SAP gurus or ops experts. Mix seasoned pros with fresh perspectives for a successful S/4HANA transformation. #TeamBuilding #SAP #DigitalTransformation https://t.co/hlYw6dVy3X
Akamai Technologies, in partnership with YourStory, will host the invitation‑only Akamai Digital India Leadership Summit in Bengaluru on February 27, 2026. The closed‑door event gathers CTOs, CISOs and senior engineers from fintech, SaaS, e‑commerce, media and digital platforms to discuss...
“Application quality” has improved from 20% to 60% good match. Explanation is either better talent attraction or better customisation from the candidates.
991 of the Russell 2000s companies have reported an aggregate y/y EPS acceleration of +24%

Ring’s new “Search Party” AI feature sparked privacy outrage after a Super Bowl ad, prompting a backlash against the company’s data‑sharing practices. In response, the nonprofit Fulu Foundation announced a $10,000 bounty for anyone who can modify Ring doorbells to...
Gore Street Capital aims to raise €1bn for a new energy‑storage fund and a co‑investment vehicle by the end of 2026. The capital will target grid‑scale battery projects that support Europe’s renewable integration. Institutional investors are expected to form the...

Wayve announced a $1.5 billion Series D funding round that lifts its valuation to $8.6 billion, bringing total capital raised to $2.5 billion. The round is led by Eclipse Ventures, Balderton Capital and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and includes first‑time OEM investors Mercedes‑Benz, Stellantis and...
Labcorp announced an expanded partnership with PathAI to deploy the AISight Dx digital pathology platform across its U.S. anatomic pathology labs and hospital sites. The AI‑enabled software will allow pathologists to scan, annotate and diagnose slides digitally, aiming to cut turnaround...

Limelight Inc. released a case study showing its Adaptive Rules Centre (ARC) boosted a leading APAC ad exchange’s revenue by 289% and lift fill rates tenfold. The exchange replaced manual reporting with two account‑wide automation rules that dynamically adjusted QPS...

Plaza Premium Group has named Cyrus Wong as General Manager for Oceania, overseeing regional operations and performance. Wong, who joined the firm in 2020, previously served as Director of Asset Management, steering portfolio performance and long‑range commercial planning. His experience...

Juan Losada has been reappointed as General Manager of Regent Phu Quoc, the luxury resort on Vietnam’s premier island. Losada previously led the property’s pre‑opening and launch from 2019 to 2022, establishing its market positioning. He returns with more than...

TapClicks launched SmartStory, an AI‑driven platform that converts live marketing data into polished PowerPoint and PDF decks within minutes. Built on TapClicks' enterprise‑grade data management layer, the solution pulls from thousands of MarTech and AdTech connectors to create unified, insight‑rich...

The February 2026 Lean Roundup aggregates ten fresh blog posts that explore how Lean thinking is evolving across leadership, strategy, and technology. Highlights include "good trouble" as a catalyst for cultural change, the discipline of Leader Standard Work, and the...
Business gurus on X be like “building is easy, distribution is the hard part now” I have news for you: it’s all fucking hard

Ireland has launched I‑C3, a National Competence Centre in Semiconductors dedicated to startups and SMEs. The centre, coordinated by Tyndall National Institute and co‑funded by the EU Chips Joint Undertaking, offers funding pathways, design tools, training and access to pilot‑line...

The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s 2024‑25 AML report flagged source‑of‑funds checks as a persistent weakness, noting that 10% of reviewed files lacked any verification. Firms risk hefty fines, criminal prosecution, and reputational harm if they fail to match client funds with...

StayAssist, launched in 2025, is reshaping Nigeria’s short‑let market by offering a unified, tech‑driven platform that verifies listings, streamlines communication, and automates bookings. The service tackles chronic fraud, fragmented discovery channels, and informal payments that have plagued the sector. Rapid...

The UK government is extending the Media Act 2024 to bring major video‑on‑demand services under Ofcom’s oversight, designating platforms with over 500,000 users as Tier 1 providers. New rules will enforce a broadcasting‑style code, introduce a complaints channel, and impose accessibility quotas...
Retail media measurement is often portrayed as broken, yet the same sampling‑based, attention‑agnostic methods underpin TV, radio and outdoor metrics. Industry bodies such as IAB Europe and the MRC have already issued standardized frameworks that enable closed‑loop attribution and incrementality...
The European Banking Authority (EBA) and European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) have opened a consultation on revised joint Guidelines for assessing the suitability of management body members and key function holders at large banks and investment firms. The initiative,...
Negotiators have long debated whether to make the first offer, balancing the risk of revealing information against the power of anchoring. Recent research shows that making the first offer typically yields better economic outcomes but also raises anxiety and lowers...