Kenya Foreign-Trader Crackdown: President William Ruto’s directive to shut down foreign-owned micro-retail and hawking businesses has triggered panic among Burundians and other migrants, but the government has now given foreigners 90 days to regularise work permits and business licences while warning against harassment. Xenophobia Risk: Senegal’s PM also condemned rising xenophobic rhetoric, urging foreigners to follow residency rules and calling for an end to stigmatisation. Court Challenge: A Kenyan lawyer has moved to court seeking to block the directive from being enforced against lawfully operating foreign traders. SME Finance Push (Nigeria): At Nigeria’s CIBN conference, Tinubu and CIBN leaders urged banks to shift from financing government to affordable credit for productive sectors and small businesses, while CIBN said MSMEs remain squeezed by high costs despite macro gains. Ethical Finance Launch (Nigeria): Open Space Financial Services rolled out Shariah-compliant ethical finance products (Murabaha, Ijarah, Diminishing Musharakah, Mudaraba) aimed at underserved individuals and SMEs. Cybersecurity for SMBs: Kaspersky’s survey found 86% of SMBs globally (82% in META) faced at least one cyber incident in the past year, with phishing and ransomware among the most damaging. Cross-Border Payments: OSL partnered with Waka to integrate stablecoin-to-USD conversion and USD payouts for Africa–global trade corridors. Branding Tech for SMBs (Kenya): Nairobi’s Brand AI says it now serves 38,102 businesses across 100+ countries with a “brand operating system” for consistent brand management. Agritech Award (Uganda): SANDI AI won a US$50,000 GoGettaz Agripreneur prize to scale tech that improves access to agricultural infrastructure and finance for underserved communities. SME Funding Gap (BRICS): BRICS trade ministers discussed an invoice-discounting mechanism to help MSMEs finance exports against unpaid invoices.