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Transition Support Facility: Focusing on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises for post-Covid reconstruction in Africa

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3 years ago

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MSME

It is now clear that promoting an enabling environment for MSMEs is crucial for economic recovery, poverty reduction and long-term stability

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, June 29, 2023/APO Group/ — 

To face the unprecedented new global challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the spotlight has turned to the importance of the private sector in building resilience in transition states and in particular, the crucial role of supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Indeed, the latter have seen their already pre-existing fragility aggravated by the consequences of the health crisis. It is now clear that promoting an enabling environment for MSMEs is crucial for economic recovery, poverty reduction and long-term stability. Efforts are now being made to empower SMEs, especially those owned or created by women and/or young people, in order to harness their potential for job creation, stimulate innovation and strengthen local economies, and thereby pave the way for a more resilient post-pandemic era on the African continent.

Between 2020 and 2022, the Transition Support Facility (TSF) (https://apo-opa.info/3CSPRhx), a disbursement mechanism designed to help countries consolidate peace, build resilient institutions, stabilize their economies and lay the foundations for inclusive growth, funded projects addressing the imperative of building resilience in more than 10 African states in transition, countries where the main development challenge is fragility – Madagascar, South Sudan, Mozambique, Burundi, Comoros, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia. These projects financed by the TAF are based on initiatives in favor of the development of SMEs and the private sector introduced as early as 2016. These projects extended often over a minimum of 24 months, and deployed capacity building measures as well as technical assistance in terms of skills acquisition, access to markets and financing.

Strengthen resilience in African states in transition, by focusing on entrepreneurship and vocational training, access for vulnerable populations to markets and financing

In Liberia, most of the obstacles facing young people who wish to embark on entrepreneurship are linked to the limited availability of business development training and reduced access to finance. As part of a project initiated (https://apo-opa.info/44rlU3Z) in 2016, academic, technical, vocational and functional entrepreneurship centers and programs targeted and improved the employability and skill levels of nearly 2,000 young people in Liberia.

From 2021, Nimba County University, one of the institutions benefiting from this project to promote entrepreneurship and employment of young people, organized a capacity-building competition to stimulate the creation and development of new innovative business models. The reward for winners was the start-up capital to launch their business.

Capacity building is also essential for developing entrepreneurship and self-reliance among populations severely affected by conflict and instability, such as internally displaced persons and refugees.

Capacity building is also essential for developing entrepreneurship and self-reliance among populations severely affected by conflict and instability

In Mozambique, a capacity building project funded by the TSF promotes economic inclusion and self-reliance in refugee and internally displaced person camps, as well as host communities, in the provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado. Through capacity building and market linkages, the project aims to foster the emergence of inclusive economic opportunities for refugees, displaced people and the private and public sectors at the local level. By improving the ability of refugees, IDPs and their host communities to respond to market demand, the project aims to create more sustainable opportunities. At the same time, the private sector will be able to benefit from greater access to stable supply chains.

In South Sudan, a Private Sector Development Project was launched in a fragile context in 2021. At an estimated cost of $2.145 million and implemented over 36 months, the project will improve employment opportunities, incomes and market access for young people and women. This project aims, on the one hand, to support the creation and development of 300 micro and small enterprises (MSEs), through business development services, technical training, market links and access to microfinance institutions for financing. On the other hand, the project aims to strengthen the institutional capacities of government and private sector entities through the promotion of MSE development and the economic empowerment of women and youth.

This is also the case of the “Africa Business Linkages” program” (ABL) (https://apo-opa.info/46Emopk), a pilot program deployed in Madagascar to improve the skills, governance and operations of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, leveraging the private sector ecosystem. By developing forward and backward market linkages, the program provides MSMEs – especially those headed by women (at least 40%) – with access to markets and finance. This should contribute significantly to an increase in the value and the number of contracts concluded by MSMEs, an increase in demand for goods and services of local origin – especially those produced by young people and women – and greater access to finance, thanks to existing programs and the resources of local banks.

Building Resilience in Intra-African Cross-Border Trade and Investments

Free trade agreements, such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) adopted in 2018, are often greeted with enthusiasm, displaying ambitious objectives and programs planned over several years. However, the success of such initiatives aimed at improving the economy, depends largely on the ability of actors involved and their constraints. These constraints prove to be much more pernicious in states in transition or in situations of fragility. Here again, SMEs and the private sector in these countries clearly stand out as essential channels for developing their resilience and their ability to strengthen their economic participation in free trade areas.

Since early 2022, four states in transition – Burundi, Comoros, Gambia and Sierra Leone – have benefited from a TSF Pillar III-funded project (estimated cost of $2.9 million) aimed at boosting trade and investment by providing technical assistance and capacity building. Support focuses on building regional trade readiness with a gender-sensitive perspective, filling capacity gaps, streamlining processes and digitizing services in national agencies dedicated to trade, SMEs and investment promotion. The project is expected to continue until December 2023.

The potential of SMEs to spur economic recovery, reduce poverty and foster long-term stability in transitional states has been demonstrated and efforts are now geared towards empowering more of them, especially those led by women and youth. In several African states, projects funded by the Transition Support Facility are playing a key role in building resilience, such as in Liberia, Mozambique and South Sudan.

By providing capacity building, access to markets and expanded finance, and encouraging entrepreneurship, these initiatives are producing tangible improvements in skills, jobs and economic inclusion among socially vulnerable populations. Another feature of these TSF-funded projects is that they focus on improving each country’s level of preparedness for cross-border trade and investment under free trade initiatives like the AfCFTA.

For more information on the Bank Group’s 3rd Strategy to Address Fragility and Build Resilience in Africa, which runs from 2022 to 2026, and the Transition Support Facility (TSF), click here (https://apo-opa.info/3pplYCp).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

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PhotonPay Raises $40M Series C to Scale Its Stablecoin-Centric Financial OS

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1 hour ago

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October 30, 2026

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Financial OS

Led by Blockchain Capital, the funding will accelerate the expansion of PhotonPay’s stablecoin-centric Financial OS, connecting stablecoin liquidity with global fiat networks to unlock digital assets for everyday corporate operations and cross-border settlement.
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – PhotonPay today announced the closing of a $40 million Series C funding round led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from new investor SBI Group and follow-on investments from existing investors IDG Capital, GL Ventures, and Lightspeed Faction. Blacksheep Technology acted as exclusive financial advisor to PhotonPay on the transaction.

 




 
 

The new capital will support the expansion of PhotonPay’s stablecoin-centric Financial Operating System (Financial OS), with investment focused on enhancing multi-asset wallet capabilities, expanding global card issuing, strengthening local clearing infrastructure in key markets, and developing an agent-ready financial execution layer.

As of August 2026, PhotonPay’s annualized transaction volume reached US$65 billion. The company has secured 34 payment and financial licenses and regulatory authorizations across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and serves over 200,000 business customers across more than 200 countries and territories.

As stablecoins move beyond crypto-native use cases into corporate treasury, settlement and commercial spending, PhotonPay sees the next phase of global finance not as a choice between stablecoins and fiat currencies, but as the convergence of both. Its Financial OS connects on-chain liquidity with the banking, clearing and card networks businesses rely on for everyday operations.

“Moving money across borders in seconds means little if it still takes days to put that capital to work,” said Lewison Chen, Founder and CEO of PhotonPay. “Stablecoins are accelerating global money movement, while local clearing and global card issuing connect that liquidity to local settlement and everyday business spending. Our Financial OS brings these capabilities together, making the underlying infrastructure far less visible to businesses, even as it becomes more essential than ever.”

“At the same time, business software is becoming increasingly autonomous,” Chen added. “AI is shifting financial workflows from people manually operating fragmented tools toward systems that understand business intent and coordinate execution across assets, accounts and financial rails. That creates the foundation for agentic commerce. Stablecoins change how money moves. AI changes how it gets put to work. But commerce is still what money is for.”

Moving Money Across Assets and Markets

PhotonPay’s Financial OS brings together multi-asset wallets, global money movement, foreign exchange, local clearing, and global card issuing through an integrated API-first architecture. This unified system gives businesses access to the financial capabilities they need to manage and deploy funds across markets.

Stablecoins sit at the core of this architecture. PhotonPay’s multi-asset wallet connects stablecoin liquidity with fiat balances, integrating asset conversion, foreign exchange, and local clearing into a single connected workflow. This enables businesses to move funds across supported on-chain and traditional financial networks, turning digital asset liquidity into purchasing power for local payments and everyday corporate spending.

Supporting this dual-rail infrastructure is PhotonPay’s established global financial network. Businesses can open local collection accounts in 17 key markets and receive funds in more than 60 currencies. On the payout side, the network supports over 100 payment routes across local clearing systems, bank transfers, and digital wallets, including payouts to 74 major local e-wallets. Approximately 97% of payout transactions reach recipients within hours or on the same day, with 68% arriving in real time.

Global card issuing extends these capabilities into programmable business spending. Through PhotonPay’s APIs, businesses and platforms can issue virtual and physical cards, configure granular spending controls, and embed card payments directly into their software and automated workflows. Over the past 12 months, PhotonPay issued 4.4 million cards, up 275% YoY.

Beyond its first-party payment solutions, PhotonPay makes its infrastructure available through embedded finance, enabling technology platforms to natively integrate global accounts, payments, and card issuing into their own products. The company now serves more than 100 enterprise and platform partners, extending the reach of its Financial OS into industry-specific workflows.

From Financial Intent to Agentic Commerce

As AI agents assume active operational roles, financial infrastructure must evolve beyond API access to enable programmable, policy-governed execution. It requires systems capable of translating high-level instructions into coordinated financial actions, with deterministic controls governing how those actions are executed.

In May 2026, PhotonPay and Mastercard completed a live agentic payment demonstration using a tokenized PhotonPay card, validating AI-initiated transactions across existing global card networks.

Building on this milestone, PhotonPay is developing standardized financial interfaces designed for developers and AI agents. With planned support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP), PhotonPay aims to make account information, balances, card functions, and payments accessible as composable financial primitives, allowing AI agents to securely retrieve context and initiate financial workflows within defined authorization boundaries.

To govern this agent-ready layer, PhotonPay is developing a policy-based execution framework designed to enforce programmable authorization rules, spending limits, and transaction-level controls. The framework is intended to enable AI agents to coordinate financial tasks across supported accounts and assets, while ensuring that execution remains subject to explicit, enforceable policies set by businesses.

PhotonPay is also advancing its AI-assisted risk review capabilities, designed to identify complex cases for human assessment. Together, these initiatives reflect a foundational principle of autonomous finance: AI may interpret intent and coordinate tasks, but financial execution must remain governed by verifiable authorization, deterministic controls, and auditable records.

“Connecting financial networks is only the beginning. The real breakthrough is abstracting that complexity behind a unified, programmable financial layer, so businesses and AI agents can move from intent to execution within clearly defined boundaries,” said Chen.

Simple on the Surface, Deep by Design

The promise of a Financial OS is simplicity: enabling businesses to manage assets, route money, and execute payments through a unified financial operating layer. Yet delivering that simplicity requires deep financial infrastructure beneath the surface.

While stablecoins accelerate borderless value transfer, turning that liquidity into local settlement, supplier payments, and corporate spending still depends on established banking relationships, domestic clearing rails, foreign exchange infrastructure, and global card networks. Each market brings its own regulatory and operational requirements.

For PhotonPay, building a Financial OS means abstracting these fragmented global networks into a programmable, interconnected financial system. The objective is not to eliminate financial complexity, but to manage it within the underlying infrastructure, so businesses can operate without having to navigate these systems themselves.

“AI can simplify how businesses interact with financial services, but it cannot replace the infrastructure required to deliver them,” said JP Pi, Chief Compliance Officer at PhotonPay. “Establishing local financial capabilities takes years of investment, institutional partnerships, and regulatory engagement. Software or AI models alone cannot replicate that depth. The simplicity businesses experience is the result of that heavy lifting, not a substitute for it.”

PhotonPay has engineered a financial foundation spanning both stablecoin and fiat rails, connecting multi-asset conversion with local clearing networks. Institutional partnerships with J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered, and DBS, alongside connections to domestic payment systems such as Brazil’s Pix and Mexico’s SPEI, form the backbone of this network.

The new capital will enable PhotonPay to strengthen its local clearing and compliance infrastructure in existing markets while expanding into new jurisdictions, scaling the reach of its Financial OS across corporate spending, embedded finance, and agentic commerce.

“Businesses want one provider that can handle their payments across currencies and markets, whether they’re using bank transfers, stablecoins or cards. Lewison and his team have spent a decade building the banking relationships, licenses and local payment infrastructure to deliver that. We believe PhotonPay’s ability to bring these capabilities together gives it a strong advantage as businesses adopt stablecoins for everyday payments.” – BCAP，Yuanhan Li，Partner

“As stablecoins become increasingly integrated into global payment systems, bridging digital assets with traditional financial infrastructure will be essential to unlocking their real-world potential. PhotonPay’s established global payment network and its vision for a stablecoin-centric Financial OS align closely with SBI Group’s strategy to advance digital financial infrastructure and expand the practical adoption of digital assets. We look forward to supporting PhotonPay’s continued growth and exploring opportunities for strategic collaboration across the SBI Group ecosystem.” – Eiichiro So, CEO & Managing Director of SBI Ven Capital
 




 

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Hainan economic, trade delegation visits Hong Kong for investment promotion, 2 cooperation memoranda signed

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2 hours ago

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October 30, 2026

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Hong Kong

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – From October 19 to 20, an economic and trade delegation from Hainan Province paid a visit to Hong Kong. The delegation signed memoranda of cooperation respectively withThe Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong (CMA)and the Federation of Hong Kong Industries (FHKI) to advance pragmatic cross-border collaboration between Hainan and Hong Kong in trade and investment, manufacturing industrial chains and professional services.

 




 
 

During its stay in Hong Kong, the delegation visited the CCPIT Representative Office in Hong Kong. It held discussions with CMA and co-hosted the Hainan Free Trade Port (Hong Kong) Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange Meeting with FHKI. The event showcased the policies, key industrial layout and investment opportunities of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), and arranged one-on-one business matchmaking between Hainan and Hong Kong enterprises.

Wang Yuyuan, Vice President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Hainan Sub-council (CCPIT Hainan) and China Chamber of International Commerce Hainan Chamber of Commerce, noted that since the official launch of island-wide special customs operations at the Hainan FTP on December 18, 2025, 174,000 new enterprises have been registered, representing a year-on-year surge of 95.9 percent. Newly established foreign-invested enterprises rose by 35.8 percent year on year. In the first half of this year, inbound and outbound tourist arrivals exceeded 70 million, up 28 percent year on year, with the number of visa-free entry countries expanding to 88. From January to August, the province’s total goods import and export volume hit 250 billion yuan, growing by 61.5 percent year on year. Hainan is rapidly emerging as a critical gateway connecting China with the rest of the world and a prime channel for two-way investment.

According to CCPIT Hainan, Hong Kong ranks as a major source of foreign investment for Hainan. In the first half of this year, Hainan registered 1,303 new foreign-invested enterprises, an increase of 38.62 percent year on year, with Hong Kong-funded enterprises accounting for the lion’s share. Hainan has issued offshore RMB local government bonds in Hong Kong for four consecutive years, with a cumulative issuance volume reaching 18 billion yuan.

CMA is one of Hong Kong’s most representative non-profit industrial and commercial bodies, with around 3,000 member enterprises. It has long provided members with business services including exhibitions, brand promotion, testing and certification. FHKI, one of Hong Kong’s four major chambers of commerce, has approximately 2,000 corporate members. It focuses on boosting the sustained development of Hong Kong industry and manufacturing through policy advocacy, business matchmaking, certification services and youth talent cultivation.

The two memoranda explicitly stipulate that the two sides will establish a regular liaison mechanism, build a long-term cooperation platform covering information sharing, business matchmaking, exhibition collaboration and professional services, and provide solid support for pragmatic business cooperation between Hainan and Hong Kong enterprises.

Source: China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Hainan Provincial Committee (CCPIT Hainan)

 
 




 

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Africa gains governance momentum in the 2026 Chandler Good Government Index, but sustaining progress is the real test

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19 hours ago

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October 29, 2026

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Africa

Across Africa, average scores improved in six of the seven CGGI pillars over the past year, with the strongest gains in Helping People Rise and Financial Stewardship

This signals that stronger government capabilities are beginning to translate into tangible improvements in people’s lives

KIGALI, Rwanda, October 29, 2026/APO Group/ –Africa was the second best-performing region for governance progress in the 2026 Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI), with 71% of the African countries assessed in both 2025 and 2026 achieving higher overall scores. However, the continent remains the lowest-scoring region overall, highlighting the challenge of translating improvement in government capabilities into better outcomes for citizens.

 




 
 

These findings were highlighted by the Chandler Governance Group (CGG) at a joint session with the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) to launch the 13th edition of the Rwanda Governance Scorecard at the Kigali Serena Hotel on Thursday, 22 October 2026.

“This year, Africa’s strongest gains came in Financial Stewardship, followed by Helping People Rise, the CGGI’s outcomes pillar. This signals that stronger government capabilities are beginning to translate into tangible improvements in people’s lives, from access to quality education and healthcare to the public finances that fund them. The task now is to sustain that progress over the coming years,” says Dinesh Naidu, Director (Knowledge) at CGG.

Now in its sixth edition, the CGGI assesses government capabilities and effectiveness across 133 countries representing 94% of the world’s population, up from 120 countries in 2025. It measures 35 equally weighted indicators across seven pillars, providing governments with a framework to benchmark performance, identify gaps and learn from the experience of other countries.

Globally, the findings point to improving governance performance. Of the 120 countries assessed in both 2025 and 2026, 61% recorded higher scores, representing the highest annual share of countries improving since the Index launched in 2021. However, longer-term progress has been less consistent, with only 43% of the 104 countries tracked since 2021 recording an overall improvement.

Africa’s leading governments

Mauritius remains Africa’s highest-ranked country, placing 55th globally, followed by Rwanda (62nd), Botswana (70th), Morocco (79th) and Tanzania (80th). South Africa ranks sixth on the continent, in 85th place globally.

Rwanda features prominently in the discussion, ranking 11th globally for Leadership & Foresight and emerging as the highest-ranked low-income country in the Index. It ranks 61 places above where its income alone would predict. Across the Index, government capabilities track citizen outcomes more closely than national wealth does, suggesting that strengthening government capabilities matter in delivering better outcomes for citizens.

The joint session brings together the CGGI’s international benchmarks and the Rwanda Governance Scorecard’s assessment of governance in the Rwandan context, creating an opportunity to consider both global perspectives and country-specific priorities.

Progress across key governance pillars

Across Africa, average scores improved in six of the seven CGGI pillars over the past year, with the strongest gains in Helping People Rise and Financial Stewardship. These improvements point to progress in areas associated with public services, including healthcare and education, as well as the management of public finances.

Longer-term trends also highlight areas of progress. Between 2021 and 2026, nearly every African country assessed across the period improved its Data Capability score, with Morocco recording the largest gains. Ghana’s overall score improved in 2026, supported by stronger Financial Stewardship, while South Africa continues to show relative strength in Robust Laws & Policies, ranking 44th globally, and Attractive Marketplace, ranking 48th.

Despite these gains, the scale of the challenge remains clear. Africa’s regional average is still below its 2021 level, 23 of the 35 African countries in the 2026 Index rank outside the global top 100, and none is in the top 50. Seven African countries joined the Index this year: Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Guinea, Lesotho, Liberia and Togo.

“Rankings provide a useful starting point, but the broader value of the CGGI lies in helping governments understand where they are making progress and where further work is needed. Sustained improvements depend on the ability to strengthen institutions, manage resources responsibly and turn policy into meaningful outcomes for citizens,” says Naidu.

A tool for learning and improvement

The CGGI is designed as a practical diagnostic tool, helping governments identify gaps, track progress over time, and learn from peers facing similar constraints. The collaboration with the RGB brings international benchmarking together with locally grounded assessment.

“Every country faces its own governance challenges and is driven by varying priorities. Governments that are willing to take stock of the evidence and learn from peers to strengthen their institutions are well placed to achieve real improvements,” concludes Naidu.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Chandler Governance Group.

 

 




 

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