Apple Unveils More Powerful And More Expensive New Macs; Moniepoint Burn $4 Million On MonieWorld And Then Abandons It; Ventures Platforms Nigeria Closes $84 Million Fund; & MTN The Data Center Cente
- Dipo Owolabi
- 16 hours ago
- 4 min read
AI is becoming an even bigger part of how companies build products, invest capital and expand their businesses. Apple has unveiled a new Mac mini with up to four times faster AI performance, while Moniepoint is winding down its UK remittance business to refocus on Africa. Meanwhile, Ventures Platform has raised $84 million for its second fund, and MTN plans to develop 150MW of AI data-centre capacity across Nigeria and South Africa. All this and more in today’s Read It And Eat! |
Markets as of 24th of August 2026.. Cells in RED mean that the value is down, cells in Green mean the value is up.
MAJOR HEADLINES
Apple Unveils Pricier And More Performance-Focused Mac Minis and Mac Studios
Apple has announced its new Mac mini, featuring the all-new M6 chip and the more powerful M5 Pro, as it looks to deliver significantly improved performance in its compact desktop design. The company says the M6 model offers up to four times faster AI performance, twice as fast storage and graphics, and 40 percent faster CPU performance, making everyday tasks and AI-driven workflows feel considerably faster.
The performance improvements also extend to more demanding professional work. The Mac mini with M5 Pro is designed to handle intensive projects such as video production and game development, while both models can support business workflows and always-on, deskside agentic computing. Apple has also unveiled new Mac Studio models powered by the M5 Max and all-new M5 Ultra chips. The Mac Studio delivers up to 4.3 times faster AI performance, 1.8 times faster graphics and twice as fast storage, with up to 512GB of unified memory, making it suited for demanding workloads including AI development, video production and data science. Apple has also upgraded connectivity with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and faster 2.5Gb Ethernet, with a 10Gb Ethernet option available, alongside macOS 27 and the next generation of Apple Intelligence.
With these upgrades, Apple is positioning the new Mac mini as a more capable and versatile desktop for both everyday users and professionals. The M6 Mac mini starts at $899, while the M5 Pro model starts at $1,699; the Mac Studio starts at $2,499 with M5 Max and $5,499 with M5 Ultra. Pre-orders begin today, with all models starting to arrive on September 22. Apple Newsroom
Moniepoint Winds Down UK Remittance Business MonieWorld After Burning $4 Million
Moniepoint Inc. has announced plans to transition its UK-based remittance business, MonieWorld, as the fintech group redirects capital and resources towards its core financial platform for African businesses. The move comes after Moniepoint invested roughly $4 million in its UK expansion, including about £1.2 million in setup costs and $2.5 million tied to the acquisition of FCA-regulated Bancom Europe Ltd.
MonieWorld was launched in April 2025 to enable Nigerians in the diaspora to send money directly to Nigerian bank accounts. The company said the service gained traction after its launch, recording a 70% increase in monthly transaction volume among UK-based diaspora users making payments through cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Despite the early traction, Moniepoint said it had decided to redirect the technical, capital and operational resources developed through MonieWorld toward its primary African markets. Nairametrics
Ventures Platform Closes Fund 2; Raising $84 Million
Ventures Platform, one of Africa’s most active seed-stage venture capital firms, has closed its second institutional fund at $84 million, just $23 million short of the total raised by all six African venture funds that closed in 2025.
The fund, VP Pan-African Fund II, brings in four new institutional backers: the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Norfund, Norway’s development finance institution; the Dutch family office Alphatron; and the Ashesi University Foundation, alongside a consortium of new family offices.
The new investors join limited partners from the $64 million first close in November 2025: Nigeria’s iDICE programme; the International Finance Corporation; Standard Bank; British International Investment; Proparco through the EU-backed Choose Africa programme; Egypt’s micro, small and medium enterprise development agency (MSMEDA); AfricaGrow and Alder Tree Investments. TechCabal
MTN To Develop 150MW AI Data Centers In Nigeria and South Africa
MTN Group plans to develop AI-enabled data centres with an initial capacity of about 150 megawatts (MW) across Nigeria and South Africa through a venture with an undisclosed UAE-backed investor. The group CEO Ralph Mupita disclosed the plan on Tuesday while outlining the company’s growth opportunities beyond its traditional telecommunications business.
He also disclosed that the group is exploring banking licences in select markets to eventually enable it to lend to customers from its own balance sheet. The data centre plan comes as Africa’s artificial intelligence market is projected to grow from $4.5 billion in 2025 to $16.5 billion by 2030, increasing demand for the computing infrastructure required to develop and run AI applications.
The planned data centres will be developed through Africa Data Hub Holding, a venture involving MTN and an undisclosed UAE-backed investor with experience building data centres in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries. Nairametrics
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