SME Growth Playbook: Nigerian SMEs are upbeat for the year ahead, with 81% confident and 68% expecting revenue growth, as Mastercard flags digital and online payments as the key scaling lever. Digital Payments Push: Visa is rolling out smartphone-based payment tools for small merchants, turning phones into payment terminals and enabling real-time payouts without extra hardware. Banking Strategy Shift: Malawi’s NBS Bank scraps its SME banking model for a broader Business Banking strategy aimed at backing enterprises through their growth journey. SME Funding Impact: Nigeria’s Bank of Industry says it disbursed N644.9bn in 2025, supporting 1.68m jobs, with a big share going to MSMEs and women/youth-led businesses. SME Pitch Wins: MTN Ghana awards GH¢30,000 each to five SME winners, plus mini-MBA training and digital tools. Competition Watch: South Africa’s Competition Commission is probing franchising for dominance abuse that could be blocking transformation for smaller operators. Trade & Tourism for Jobs: Angola launches AgroCorridors to boost farming productivity and rural incomes, while South Africa’s tourism sector adds new lodges and conference centres to spur local business demand. Local Networking: Nairobi’s BNI expo plans to connect entrepreneurs with customers, investors and partners as credit tightens. Migration Pressure on Business: South Africa’s anti-immigration crackdown is already hitting shops and livelihoods, raising the stakes for local enterprise resilience.