SME Finance & Growth: Nigeria’s Senate passed the Factoring Assignment and Receivables Financing Bill, 2026, aiming to unlock a $50B+ continental debt factoring market for micro, small and medium enterprises by creating a legal framework for invoice-based working capital. Policy & Cost Pressure: Pennsylvania’s House passed a digital advertising tax that targets ad sales by big tech platforms (not local retailers), while Ireland’s Chartered Accountants Ireland urged Budget 2027 to index income tax thresholds to inflation to protect real wages and reduce compliance burden on SMEs. Tech for Main Street: Vietnam and Japan pledged deeper tech-transfer cooperation, including venture capital experience and joint funding ideas to support startups and SMEs; in the US, Hosted.com says its WordPress hosting is ready for WordPress 7.0’s AI and collaboration features. Local Business Impact: Seattle’s paid parking rollout near Ballard Blocks has a chili parlor owner warning it could cut foot traffic and sales; in Franklin, a farmers market is still displaced by construction, with vendors reporting slower business without the old courthouse visibility. SME Operations & Skills: A Washington County SBDC boot camp taught local owners how to use AI for marketing and daily operations. Energy Reliability: South African SME confidence data points to improved electricity stability as a bigger boost than seasonal trading, with 73.4% reporting better operations after load-shedding disruptions eased. Market Watch: Texas NTS, a Lubbock AI tool, claims it standardizes trustee sale notices across all 254 Texas counties within 24 hours.