Author: Gugu Lourie

BMW Group South Africa today unveil the newest addition to its leadership team. Effective from July 1, 2023, Thorsten Achenbach assumes the role of Director Digital and Global Solutions at the esteemed BMW IT Hub, situated in Menlyn Maine, Pretoria. This strategic appointment follows in the footsteps of Mr. Klaus von der Osten-Sacken. “I am pleased to welcome Mr Achenbach in his new role at the BMW IT Hub. Mr Achenbach brings a vast portfolio and proven track record of excellence, particularly in the IT field, and we look forward to the continued success of the BMW IT Hub,” said…

Cell C has officially announced the resignation of its Chief Financial Officer, Lerato Pule, who has decided to pursue a new opportunity. In the coming months, Pule will continue to fulfill her responsibilities, ensuring the seamless handling of crucial financial matters during the transition period. Pule has demonstrated exemplary leadership throughout her tenure, notably guiding the successful conclusion of the recapitalization process. Additionally, she has overseen the completion of historical audits spanning three years (2018-2020), with the finalization and sign-off of financial statements. The remaining stages of the 2021 and 2022 historic audits are underway, underscoring her commitment to delivering…

Entersekt, a global frontrunner in cutting-edge transaction authentication solutions for combating financial fraud, proudly announces a robust surge in both revenue and clientele. This remarkable achievement is propelled by its unwavering expansion in the United States and strategic collaborations. Following a strategic investment by Accel-KKR in the fiscal year 2022, Entersekt has witnessed rapid global growth, with a staggering 191% increase in contracted annual recurring revenue, and an impressive surge of nearly 220% in US-based clientele solely within the fiscal year 2023. Schalk Nolte, Entersekt CEO, commends the noteworthy growth amid a challenging global business landscape, attributing it to Entersekt’s…

SA’s medtech startup, VitruvianMD, has secured $1.25 million or R23 million through their Seed Extension II funding round led by 27four’s social impact venture capital (VC) fund, The Nebula Fund. The medtech company has gained significant traction and will use the funding to further accelerate growth by upscaling their team, gaining international regulatory approvals and driving growth into new applications of their technology. VitruvianMD combines biomedical engineering with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionise diagnostics accessibility in the medical laboratory sphere. Addressing the acute global challenge of diagnostician shortages, such as in Sub-Saharan Africa where the pathologist-to-population ratio stands at…

Absa announced today that it had 3.5 million digitally active customers in the six months to end-June 2023. The company, which is valued at around R155.9 billion on the JSE, said its digital journey continues to create value across all business lines as the number of digital customers grows in both retail and corporate banking. “Our commitment to quality user experience and continuous enhancement of our digital propositions is evidenced by the increase in continuous engagement on our digital platforms,” Absa told investors on Monday. The banking group said this had resulted in the digital channel’s share of revenue in…

Founders Factory Africa has secured an additional $114 million or R2.17 billion in funding to scale its model to better serve founders across the African tech ecosystem.  The additional support from the Mastercard Foundation and Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures, an impact fund within the Johnson & Johnson Foundation, follows on from previous investments into Founders Factory Africa by Standard Bank, Small Foundation and Netcare. The support will enable Founders Factory Africa to scale its model and better serve technology-led start-ups and founders across the African continent. “We are excited to have new and dynamic funding, which follows on from…

MTN’s first half adjusted headline earnings per share (HEPS) increased by 25% to 749 cents and adjusted return on equity (ROE) expanded by one percentage point to 24.4%. The acompany attributed HEPS – South Africa’s main profit gauge – rise to solid revenue growth and improved efficiencies, These were in line with our medium-term guidance, said MTN. MTN Group’s service revenue grew 15% to almost R108 billion in constant-currency terms. “This was driven by increases in revenue from data services of 24% and from fintech services of 22%. Revenue from voice services increased 6% in the period,” said MTN. At the…

Mastercard has acquired a minority stake in MTN’s FinTech business valued at $5.2 billion or R100 billion. Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator informed investors on Monday that Mastercard signed a memorandum of understanding which provides for a minority investment by Mastercard into its  FinTech. “Following the bespoke process to identify and potentially introduce strategic minority investors into MTN Group FinTech, we executed commercial agreements with Mastercard to support the acceleration and growth of our FinTech business’s payments and remittance services,” said MTN. Mastercard will pay for the minority stake through cash and debt-free basis. “Signing of the definitive investment agreements…

Microsoft has discontinued Cortana digital assistant for Window 11 and a new update, which is now rolling out simply disables it. Cortana struggled to compete with Alexa and Google Assistand leading to its removal from various app stores three years ago. “We’re making some changes to Windows and Microsoft 365 that will impact Cortana users. Cortana in Windows as a standalone app is deprecated. Support for Cortana in Teams mobile, Microsoft Teams display, and Microsoft Teams Rooms will end in the fall of 2023,” said Microsoft in its blog. The company added that Cortana in Outlook mobile will continue to be…

Google announced today that in June 2022 it began alpha testing the ability to request and capture eSignatures in Google Docs. The search giant said based on the feedback it received it is ready to move this feature to the next level. eSignature is now available as an open beta for Google Workspace Individual subscribers — no additional sign-up is required to use the feature. eSignature will be available in beta for select Google Workspace customers — see the “Additional details” section below for more information. eSignature in Google Drive   eSignature in Google Docs Who’s impacted Admins and end users…