It’s one of those days that aren’t quite slow, but haven’t quite taken shape with a clear leading story or theme to the news day. Instead, there’s a smattering of interesting tidbits on the homefront to keep your eye on as you wind down your afternoon.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- CBE gives OPay greenlight to issue pre-paid cards: Nigeria-based fintech player OPay has received preliminary approval from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to issue pre-paid cards in partnership with Masria Digital Payments.

#2- Elsewhere, we’ve got some activity over in planet startup: Teleradiology platform Rology has raised an undisclosed sum series A round, with Egypt Ventures providing the bulk of the financing, a press release (pdf) read. The round saw participation from Sequence Ventures, Saudi Arabia’s Waseel and Tawaref, and Kenya’s Viktoria Ventures. Previous investors include HIM Angels, AAIC, DAI and Cubit Ventures.

Meanwhile, Egypt-based e-commerce startup Kemitt has launched Kemitt Business, “the first of its kind” B2B platform, for furniture, home accessories and raw materials for furniture manufacturing among others, a press release (pdf) read. The platform will act as an online marketplace connecting businesses with furniture and materials suppliers.

^^We’ll have more on these stories and others in tomorrow’s edition of EnterpriseAM.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

It’s another afternoon where news of fresh sanctions against Russia are topping headlines in the global press. The UK announced today it is sanctioning 206 people today, including 178 Russian separatists, “six oligarchs, close associates and employees, and an additional 22 individuals.” The new sanctions bring the total number of individuals and businesses under UK sanctions to 1,400, according to the statement.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• ADQ announced the launch of the first MENA-based SPAC in cooperation with our friends at Chimera. The fund and Chimera’s PE arm yesterday announced the establishment of their SPAC, dubbed ADC Acquisition Corporation, which hopes to raise AED 367 mn (EGP 1.85 bn) through an IPO on the Abu Dhabi exchange.
• GASC wants to see wheat buys outside of tender system as reserves dip: The government could soon allow buying wheat outside of tenders, Sherif Bassili, the chairman of the Egyptian Holding Company for Silos and Storage, told Enterprise.
• Paymob launches in Pakistan: High-profile Egyptian fintech startup Paymob has officially launched in Pakistan. The digital payments provider said it will launch a number of payment services in the country, including payment gateways, POS, SoftPOS, and contactless payments.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Consoleya is hosting an investors’ talk and sohour with Cairo Angels next Sunday, 17 April at 9pm. The event will begin with a Fireside Chat on e-commerce, featuring former Jumia CCO François D’hautefort, with Cairo Angels Founder Hossam Allam as moderator, with a sohour and networking session for investors following the talk. You can register for the event here.

Companies have one week left to file their first quarterly ESG compliance report: Listed firms and non-bank financial services companies need to submit their first quarterly ESG report by 20 April, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) announced last week. The regulator is making it mandatory for corporates to publicly disclose their performance on key environmental, social and governance metrics each year when they submit their annual financial statements, starting 2023.

Reach out to Moustafa Taalab at InkankIR, our parent company, if you need some help.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect a daytime high of 28°C and a nighttime low of 13°C, our favorite weather app tells us.