CAK probes Naivas pricing, EU fines AliExpress €550M, FCC bans DJI

The customer bought a bottle of Hunter's Choice at Naivas' Thindigua branch and was charged Sh1,120 despite the supermarket's Instagram post advertising it at Sh899. CAK confirmed it is investigating and noted similar complaints against Quickmart and Carrefour. Under the Competition Act, companies found guilty can be fined up to 10% of annual turnover. Individuals face up to Sh10 million in fines or five years in prison. If CAK follows through, this is a signal that the regulator is serious about enforcing advertised pricing.

According to the Africa: The Big Deal report, Egypt led the continent with Sh42.3 billion and Nigeria with Sh32.8 billion. On equity funding alone, Nigeria pulled in $214 million, Egypt $183 million, South Africa $66 million, and Kenya $46 million. Beyond the big four, Tanzania, Cote d'Ivoire, and Morocco each attracted over $25 million. The dip is modest, but Kenya losing the top spot to Egypt and Nigeria confirms that the east African startup ecosystem faces stiffer competition for a shrinking pool of equity capital.

The COMESA Competition and Consumer Commission says the affected vehicles have an 8F57 automatic transmission with an improperly seated snap ring in the electric one-way clutch assembly. The defect can cause the vehicle to lose first gear, preventing forward movement, and also affects reverse gear. The recalled vehicles were exported to South Africa between October 2025 and June 2026, and supplied to Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini. Regional buyers of these commercial van models should check their VINs against the recall before assuming their vehicle is safe.

The two-year investigation found that AliExpress's detection systems did not work properly, with illegal products staying on the site for weeks after identification. EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said the spread of counterfeit and unsafe goods is not an unavoidable cost of online shopping but a failure by AliExpress to comply. AliExpress called the fine disproportionate and said it would appeal. This is the biggest penalty under the Digital Services Act and sets a precedent for how aggressively the EU will police marketplace platforms.

The hidden debt now exceeds on-balance-sheet debt at Meta and Oracle according to Nikkei's analysis. These off-balance-sheet obligations come from special purpose vehicles that own the data centers and GPUs powering the AI arms race. The structure means if the AI boom stalls, banks that lent to the SPVs take the first hit, not the tech giants. But the scale makes it harder for investors to assess real leverage across the industry. At minimum, it confirms that the $500 billion-plus in pledged AI capex is real money being spent and borrowed, not marketing.