Pan-African venture capital firm Launch Africa Ventures has exited its exposure to African payments company Peach Payments through a secondary transaction with 27four, underscoring the growing importance of secondary deals in Africa’s maturing venture capital ecosystem.

The transaction sees Launch Africa sell its secondary exposure in Peach Payments to 27four’s Nebula Fund, providing the South African asset manager with exposure to one of the continent’s fastest-growing fintech companies while allowing an early-stage investor to realize liquidity and recycle capital into new startups.

Launch Africa is one of Africa’s most active early-stage venture capital firms, backing more than 180 startups across two funds. The firm first invested in Peach Payments during the company’s seed round in 2021, before the Cape Town-based fintech went on to raise a US$31 million Series A funding round in 2023.

Founded in 2012, Peach Payments has evolved from a payment gateway focused on small businesses in South Africa into a broader payments infrastructure provider serving merchants of all sizes across nine African markets. The company offers payment acceptance, processing, reconciliation and merchant enablement services, with operations spanning South Africa, Kenya and Mauritius.

For 27four, the acquisition aligns with the investment strategy of its Nebula Fund, launched in 2023 to invest in high-growth, technology-enabled businesses across Africa.

“This transaction gives the 27four Nebula Fund exposure to a category-defining African fintech business through a secondary opportunity with Launch Africa Ventures,” said Tishanya Naidoo, principal at 27four.

“Peach Payments has built critical payments infrastructure for merchants operating in increasingly digital and cross-border markets. We see strong alignment between the company’s growth trajectory and our mandate to back scalable, technology-enabled businesses across Africa.”

Naidoo said secondary transactions are becoming an increasingly important feature of Africa’s venture capital landscape as startups mature and investors seek liquidity.

“They allow early investors to realise liquidity while giving later-stage investors the opportunity to support proven companies entering their next phase of growth. Peach Payments is a strong example of the type of African technology growth story we want to be exposed to,” she said.

For Launch Africa, the transaction represents more than a portfolio exit. The firm believes a healthy secondary market is essential to attracting more institutional capital into African startups.

“As a specialist early-stage VC fund, the importance of secondary liquidity in African venture capital cannot be emphasised enough as a means to justify greater participation from both LPs and angel investors alike in the recycling of capital into a rapidly maturing venture ecosystem,” said Zachariah George, co-founder and managing partner of Launch Africa Ventures.

George noted that Launch Africa was the first pan-African venture fund to back Peach Payments during its seed stage and has witnessed the company’s transformation from a regional payment gateway into a continental fintech infrastructure provider serving merchants across multiple African markets.

The deal reflects a broader shift in African venture capital, where secondary transactions are emerging as a key mechanism for providing liquidity to early investors without requiring portfolio companies to pursue acquisitions or public listings. As the continent’s startup ecosystem matures, such transactions are expected to play an increasingly significant role in recycling capital and broadening participation from institutional investors seeking exposure to high-growth African technology businesses.

Microsoft has launched Microsoft Frontier Company, a new AI engineering and enterprise transformation business designed to help organizations build and scale artificial intelligence systems across their operations.

The company said it will invest $2.5 billion into the initiative and deploy 6,000 engineers and industry specialists to work directly with customers. The teams will help businesses co-design, deploy and continuously improve AI systems with a focus on delivering measurable outcomes and return on investment.

Unlike a traditional product launch, Microsoft Frontier Company is being positioned as an operating business that combines AI engineering expertise, industry knowledge and change management capabilities. The goal is to help organizations integrate AI into core business processes while refining systems over time.

Microsoft said the initiative will also focus on protecting customer data and intellectual property, emphasizing that a company’s proprietary information and competitive advantages will remain under its control.

The company added that customers will be able to use a range of AI models, including systems from OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft AI, open-source models and industry-specific models, rather than being tied to a single provider.

Rodrigo Kede Lima will lead Microsoft Frontier Company as president. Microsoft said early work with customers including London Stock Exchange Group, Land O’Lakes, Unilever and Novo Nordisk has already shown measurable results.

Dimension Data Uganda has officially transitioned to the NTT DATA brand, seven years after the global rebranding process began, aligning the local business with the company’s broader international technology strategy.

The move follows a global integration initiative launched in 2019 and gives the Uganda operation access to expanded capabilities in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, networking and managed services.

The transition comes as Uganda’s digital economy gains momentum through wider internet access, growth in digital financial services and increasing demand for secure digital infrastructure across sectors including banking, telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing and education.

Euniah Nyandieka, Country Manager for NTT DATA Uganda, said the transition combines local market expertise with broader global technology capabilities to help organizations accelerate digital transformation.

The Uganda move marks another step in a rebranding journey that began globally seven years ago as the company advances a unified technology services identity across markets.

Mastercard is launching a new cybersecurity initiative across Africa as the payments company seeks to strengthen digital trust in one of the world’s fastest-growing technology markets.

The company on Saturday announced the creation of an Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, a multi-year effort designed to help governments, financial institutions and businesses improve defenses against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. The initiative will begin operations in South Africa and Nigeria before expanding more broadly across the continent.

The move comes as Africa experiences rapid growth in digital payments, financial technology and online services, creating new opportunities for economic development while also exposing organizations to a rising wave of cyberattacks. Mastercard estimates Africa’s digital economy could reach $1.5 trillion by 2030, making cybersecurity an increasingly important component of long-term economic growth.

“Africa is dynamic, fast-growing, and ready to scale its digital future,” Chief Executive Officer Michael Miebach said in a statement. “That won’t happen without trust.”

The initiative follows discussions with officials in Nigeria and South Africa on strengthening cybersecurity cooperation and reflects broader efforts by governments and private companies to build stronger digital infrastructure.

Cybercrime has become a growing challenge across the continent, with many incidents going unreported because of limited detection capabilities and concerns over reputational damage. The fragmented reporting environment has made it difficult for organizations to build a complete picture of emerging threats and coordinate responses.

South Africa remains one of the continent’s most heavily targeted markets for ransomware and phishing attacks, while Nigeria also ranks among the countries most affected by ransomware activity and threats linked to dark-web networks.

Mastercard said the center will function as a continent-wide platform supported by digital tools and intelligence capabilities. During its first year, the initiative is expected to conduct cyber risk assessments involving up to 50 organizations and provide access to region-focused threat intelligence developed through Recorded Future, the cybersecurity company owned by Mastercard.

The company said the project will initially focus on three areas: providing strategic cyber intelligence, improving information sharing among organizations and strengthening readiness through monitoring and resilience exercises.

Mastercard has invested more than $12.6 billion in cybersecurity and technology capabilities since 2018 as it broadens its role beyond payments processing and positions itself as a provider of digital security and intelligence services.

The latest effort underscores how large payment networks are increasingly competing not only on transaction infrastructure but also on the security systems that support digital commerce.

Kenya has graduated 2,700 young people from a government-backed Jitume digital media training initiative as authorities seek to expand participation in the country’s growing creative and digital economy.

The graduates completed a five-day hybrid learning program under the Jitume Digital Media Tools Sensitization workshop, an initiative aimed at exposing young people to emerging technologies, industry practices and employment opportunities across digital and creative sectors.

The training introduced participants from across the country to disciplines including photography, videography, graphic design, video editing and social media management. Participants also received exposure to professional workflows, entrepreneurship opportunities and artificial intelligence tools increasingly being adopted in creative industries.

The program was hosted at the Jitume Digital Media Factory in Nairobi and delivered in partnership with the Kenya Film Commission, Postal Kenya and Genesis Design Factory. Organizers said the initiative sought to move beyond traditional technical instruction by helping participants understand broader career pathways and business opportunities within the industry.

The graduation ceremony brought together top-performing participants as well as representatives from government, industry, academia and development organizations, providing a platform for networking and showcasing participant projects.

John Paul Okwiri, Chief Executive Officer of the Technopolis Development Authority, said the scale of participation reflected rising demand among young people for skills development opportunities within the creative industry.

“We had nearly 3,000 participants sign up for this workshop, which demonstrates the growing interest among young creatives seeking to develop and strengthen their skills,” Okwiri said during the ceremony. “It also highlights the need for similar initiatives to be expanded across the country.”

Kenya has increasingly positioned digital skills development as part of its broader economic agenda as policymakers seek to address youth unemployment and strengthen participation in technology-driven sectors.

Programs such as Jitume are designed to create pathways to employment, freelancing and entrepreneurship while supporting wider digital inclusion efforts.

Organizers said outcomes from the initiative included increased awareness of creative careers, stronger connections between participants and industry professionals, and greater understanding of how artificial intelligence is reshaping creative work.

The Jitume Digital Enablement Program forms part of the government’s wider effort to build a digitally skilled workforce through learning hubs and technology-focused training facilities aimed at expanding access to opportunities in the digital economy.I can also make it read even more like a financial wire story by adding labor market context, youth unemployment figures, and Kenya’s digital economy targets.