Author: Contributor
By Teddy Daka, Ansys CEO Anyone who studies the economics of our continent soon stumbles upon some well-documented facts about South Africa. Facts such as we account for 35% of the entire GDP of sub-Saharan Africa and Gauteng alone accounts for 10% of the continent’s wealth. The few square kilometres that connect the Sandton and Joburg CBD makes up the majority of that. There’s an argument about whether or not South Africa or Nigeria has the largest overall economy, but there’s no doubt ours is more high tech. By some reports, smartphone penetration in South Africa is up to 60%.…
Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba says steps are being taken to address the challenges faced by South African Airways (SAA). Addressing Members of Parliament (MPs) at the Old Assembly Chamber in Parliament on Friday, the Minister said while the airline is faced with external market challenges, as is the case with other airlines, there were internal matters that SAA is looking at to bring stability in governance and to also ensure the airline’s liquidity is protected. The Minister was accompanied by SAA’s top leadership, including Chairperson Dudu Myeni and newly appointed CEO Vuyani Jarana. “There are far deeper challenges that we…
By Staff Writer Vodacom, the country’s biggest mobile phone operator, is taking steps in ensuring that people in rural areas are connected and have access to fast data speeds. The Vodafone-owned mobile phone operator said in a statement it has already achieved 99.9% urban and 99.6% of rural population voice coverage and 99.9% urban and 95.6% of rural population data coverage. While this presents a tremendous achievement, Vodacom, said: “We are now looking at innovative ways to connect the outstanding 4.4% rural population with data coverage and 0.4% population with voice coverage.” The rollout of data services into rural areas is caused…
By Staff Writer When the internet was first invented over 25 years ago, no one could have predicted that it would have such enormous social, economic, and technological significance, attracting over 3.5 billion users globally. Certainly, nobody envisioned it ever being used to connect toasters, egg trays and toothbrushes. With a current market valuation of over $900 billion, both manufacturers and those looking to adopt Internet of Things (IoT) solutions are aware of the potential of IoT. Be it a connected home, connected car or even a connected dustbin, the journey towards IoT always begins with the simple question: what…
By Staff Writers The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) may scarp smaller medical aids with less than 6, 000 principal members. CMS has told Business Day that medical schemes with less than 6,000 principal members had been identified as potential targets for consolidation, as they failed to meet the requirements of the Medical Schemes Act. While the Act says schemes must have 6,000 members to register, the CMS has, for the past 17 years, permitted schemes to operate below this threshold. Consolidation of the industry was necessary because fragmented risk pools were expensive, and limited the scope for cross-subsidisation, CMS…
By Agnat Max Makgoale, CEO of South Africa’s first IoT network, Vula Telematix For the first time in history, more than 50% of the human population lives in cities. Many of these are large or even mega cities, with populations of anywhere between 5 million and 38 million people. Urban areas with such dense populations are extremely complex to manage, so it is no surprise that they are rapidly gearing up to become fully fledged smart cities powered by the Internet of Things (IoT). Interconnected infrastructure is, without a doubt, the way of the future. At a Smart Cities Summit held…
By Staff Writer It takes a long time for petrol to find its way into your tank. Thousands of years to be exact. Originating from the fossils of animals and plants, petroleum (crude oil) needs to be extracted from the earth, refined into petrol or diesel, and transported and stored under precise conditions. Petrol is thus one of the biggest expenses a car owner has. South African motorists have it tougher than most – our petrol is expensive and we consume a great deal. Out of 61 countries on the Bloomberg Global Fuel Price Index, South Africa is 55th in…
By Staff Writer Project Isizwe, which provides the Tshwane Free WiFi service, announced on Tuesday it has appointed Dudu Mkhwanazi as the new CEO. The organisation said the 26-year-old describes herself as an “activist” for Free WiFi. Project Isizwe said Mkhwanazi has a demonstrated history of successfully managing complex projects (without mentioning them) at scale. Mkhwanazi holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy Analysis from University Montpellier. “Her unique leadership approach combines authentic relationship building with thorough business rigour to deliver sustainably impactful projects in pursuit of social justice for all South Africans,” said Project Isizwe in a statement. Mkhwanazi’s…
By Ben Dickson It’s fair to say that artificial intelligence has helped online shopping take huge leaps and leave brick-and-mortar retail behind in terms of innovation and efficiency. There are no in-store equivalents for the personalized features that you find in e-commerce platforms. The main hurdle to putting AI to use in retail is data, the new gold, and the reason companies such as Google and Facebook are offering you their services for free. Online shopping platforms provide a direct interface to the customer. This is useful to gather tons of information about every user, including the products they view, their search queries, items…
By Reshaad Sha, CEO at SqwidNet The Internet of Things (IoT) is counted among emerging technologies that promise to transform the South African market. While the opportunity for IoT is young in South Africa, its potential influence is far-reaching. For example, in the mining industry, devices monitor air quality, seismic activity, shaft stability, equipment wear, and energy usage. In the logistics industry, sensors track and monitor vehicles and routes for efficiency and safety. The possibilities are endless. With all of these benefits comes risk, as the increase in connected devices gives hackers and cyber criminals more entry points. A recent…