Transaction costs in African payments typically cap growth below 20% annually. Interswitch shattered this in 2024, reporting a 50% revenue surge to ₦137.5 billion as Verve cards topped 100 million issued. This is not just rapid growth—it exposes a silent mechanism of leverage in emerging market fintech. System

Cross-border payments routinely cost enterprises upwards of 5% per transaction and often take days. MetaComp, Singapore’s licensed stablecoin and treasury management provider, just raised US$22 million in a pre-Series A round, marking one of the largest raises for a regulated stablecoin player in 2025. But this isn’t

In 2025, the global narrative on AI leadership shifted dramatically as DeepSeek, a Chinese startup, launched a reasoning AI model rivalling U.S. tech giants. DeepSeek’s founder and CEO, Liang Wenfeng, was named among Nature’s top 10 “people who shaped science in 2025.” His breakthrough DeepSeek-R1 model, released

India’s commercial aviation stands out globally with rapid growth, yet faces system-level constraints unseen in Western markets. India’s aviation regulator recently ordered IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, to reduce its flight capacity by 5%, marking a rare top-down intervention in a mostly market-driven sector. This is no

European regulators have escalated scrutiny on Google’s AI-powered features, targeting its AI Overviews and YouTube services amid concerns over market dominance. The European Union initiated this investigation in late 2025, focusing on whether Google is leveraging AI to unfairly control digital information flows. But this isn’t just another

Offshore oil exploration typically demands massive upfront capital and local expertise, often limiting early players. TotalEnergies just acquired a 40% stake in Galp Energia's major offshore Namibia discovery, one of the industry’s most-watched recent finds. This move isn’t merely about expanding reserves—it’s about controlling

Switzerland's policy rate has stayed at zero longer than many global peers, with forecasts now extending through 2026. On December 8, 2025, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) reaffirmed this stance, signaling the unlikelihood of returning to negative rates, according to a Reuters poll of economists. This isn’t

Hong Kong ranks fourth globally in financial center competitiveness, trailing only New York, London, and Singapore. This standing comes from its remarkably strong institutional environment, as revealed by the new Financial Centres Competitiveness Index launched by New York University Abu Dhabi during Abu Dhabi Finance Week. Yet, beneath this gold

China recently accelerated purchases of Saudi Arabian crude oil after Saudi Arabia slashed prices to the lowest level in five years amid a growing global oil surplus. This price adjustment is reshaping supply dynamics and forcing major importers like China to reposition their procurement strategies. But this move isn’t

Europe's attempt to shield its supply chains with 'Buy European' rules faces a critical challenge as nine EU nations call for extreme caution. These governments warn that such policies risk erecting barriers rather than boosting competitiveness. The debate centers on whether favoring local products truly leverages

India’s supply chain market struggles with inefficiencies that inflate costs by double-digit percentages compared to global peers. Leap India, a supply chain solutions provider, just cleared a ₹2,400 crore IPO approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to unlock growth capital in late 2025. This

Unilever announced an 8-for-9 share consolidation following its recent Magnum demerger, a move that looks like a mere accounting adjustment but signals a deeper operational shift. This consolidation occurs in December 2025, reshaping shareholder structure while maintaining overall value. Yet the real impact lies in how Unilever is repositioning its

Climate innovation funding in Southeast Asia often hits a wall between capital and execution. The Radical Fund just launched an AI-native venture studio called The Studio to build climate and tech startups faster across SEA and the Middle East. But this isn’t just another fund—it’s a full-stack

The US Federal Reserve’s anticipated quarter-point rate cut at the final 2025 meeting dramatically contrasts with typical economic forecasting, especially amid a recent government shutdown. The Fed faces a distorted economic signal as crucial unemployment and inflation data were delayed by the shutdown, clouding the picture for policymakers. Yet

Stablecoins reshaped global finance this year, with digital dollars driving new market behaviors. Circle formally expanded its footprint by securing an ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market) license to operate in the UAE. This move isn’t just regulatory compliance—it rewrites currency ecosystem constraints in a crucial regional hub. Control

The global petrochemical landscape is dominated by integrated complexes that drive unmatched cost efficiency. Saudi Arabia just took a strategic step by advancing a collaboration between Aramco and ExxonMobil to upgrade the Samref refinery, aiming to deepen petrochemical integration. This isn’t merely refinery expansion — it’s about embedding petrochemical

Privacy backlash has stalled AI phone adoption, especially after ByteDance faced global criticism over data control in late 2025. Beijing-based Z.ai, also known as Zhipu AI, responded by open sourcing its Phone Agent framework on GitHub and Hugging Face to power smartphone AI agents. This move is less about

Developers spend billions yearly on AI coding tools that still demand heavy human oversight. Emergent, a GenAI coding startup, just secured strategic investment from Google's AI Futures Fund in late 2025 to accelerate its agentic vibe-coding platform. But this isn’t a routine funding round—it signals a

US wind power has lagged global peers despite massive opportunity, with federal policy imposing costly barriers. Ørsted A/S shares surged to a four-month high after a US judge ruled President Donald Trump’s executive order banning new wind projects illegal in December 2025. This ruling unlocks the industry’s

Inflation has stubbornly stayed above target across advanced economies, complicating monetary policy decisions. Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane's successor, Neel Kashkari’s UK counterpart John Taylor, now expects inflation to fall to target 'in the near term.' This forecast stands in contrast to persistent

Black Friday discounts typically spark a surge in sales, yet the latest UK retail numbers defied this pattern. The British Retail Consortium reported that the UK’s retail growth cooled sharply in late 2025 despite aggressive pricing. This strange stall traces back directly to the Labour government’s budget, which

Southeast Asia's retail finance market is a multi-billion dollar growth engine, with local regulatory barriers notoriously tough to navigate. Robinhood's recent acquisition of a local brokerage and crypto trader in Indonesia secures direct access to this critical, fast-growing market. But this move isn’t just about

Since early 2024, global markets expected central banks to ease aggressively after years of hikes. Australia’s Reserve Bank just ended its brief rate cut cycle, signaling a potential hike return in December 2025. This unusual flip is not just a reaction to inflation; it reveals a deeper tension in

Airborne smuggling balloons dropping payloads over borders sound like a low-tech nuisance. Yet, Lithuania's rapid declaration of a state of emergency over the Belarus-launched balloons exposes a high-stakes security leverage battle. In December 2025, Lithuania implemented emergency protocols to counter this unconventional smuggling tactic. This isn’t just

Bain Capital is weighing the sale of Tanabe Pharma Corp. assets outside Japan, a move that suggests much more than routine divestment. The potential deal focuses exclusively on non-Japanese holdings, highlighting the distinct value segmentation between domestic and international pharma assets. This separation isn’t just geography — it’s about