Author: Gugu Lourie

On-demand grocery delivery service Checkers Sixty60 is now South Africa’s number one grocery app. It is South Africa’s first 60-minute grocery delivery service from a supermarket chain, as Checkers relentlessly innovates to respond to customers’ demands for hyper-convenience. The mobile app delivers groceries and drinks at the touch of a button and offers the same value for money for which Checkers is renowned. Users can track the status of their order and delivery in real-time. “The on-demand grocery delivery app has scaled rapidly, operating nationwide from 233 stores which serve as micro-fulfilment centres,” Shoprite informed investors today. “Sixty60 becoming the…

The Shoprite Xtra Savings Rewards Programme attracted a surprisingly high 20.3 million clients over the 53 weeks to 4 July 2021, reassuring investors that the rewards programme will fuel customer spending. The Xtra Savings Rewards Programme was launched by the Shoprite supermarket chain in October 2020. “Consumer response on both counts has been unrivalled, with the Xtra Savings Rewards Programme signing up over 20.3 million members,” the company informed investors on Tuesday. The success of the launch of the Xtra Savings Rewards Programme during the previous financial year in the Checkers (including Checkers Hyper) chain, has gained traction and the…

South African Airways (SAA) today informed loyal customers that it has Voyager virtual membership card. Customers can access the virtual card by downloading the latest version of the SAA Voyager App which is available on the App Store, for iOS, and Play Store for Android. “We at SAA Voyager are certainly very excited that the waiting is finally over! Effective today, 6 September 2021, you are once again able to utilise your accumulated Voyager miles for redemption on SAA and all Voyager program partners,” SAA said in a newsletter to customers. “Before you book, please note that we have become…

Telkom has revealed the September Big Deal, which is data-packed and here to save you big bucks. The SmartBroadBand 20GB Wireless September big deal offer with 80GB of data is available for R249 a month. The price for SmartBroadband Wireless shall be available for the period from 01st September 2021 and end 30th September 2021. The September big deal 80GB data of the month is a Post-paid or Top-Up SmartBroadband 20GB Wireless data offer. The Telkom September Big Deal includes the following: 20GB Anytime data 20GB Night Surfer data Plus Recurring 20GB Anytime data Recurring 20GB extra Night Surfer data Huawei…

African payments company pawaPay has secured a $9 million or R134 million seed raise. The round was co-led by MSA and UK-based investment fund 88mph, with participation from Vunani Capital,  Kepple Ventures and Zagadat Capital. The capital will be deployed to scale pawaPay’s operational presence, find more talent to join the team, and expand into new markets on the continent. Founded in 2020, pawaPay is focused on the mobile money infrastructure provided by telecommunications companies (telco) in Africa. Each telco in each country provides its own unique mobile money product, which makes the mobile money infrastructure as a whole  -…

Telkom today named Lunga Siyo as the new CEO of Telkom Consumer effective 1 October 2021. Siyo is set to take over from Serame Taukobong when he assumes the position of Group CEO Designate. Making the announcement, Telkom GCEO Sipho Maseko said, “as CEO of Telkom Small and Medium Business, supported the transition of Yellow Pages from a print to a digital business.” Siyo joined Telkom just over three years ago. Using his experience in the mobile and financial services sector, he led the introduction of Telkom’s value propositions in FinTech, e-commerce and mobile payments. “Lunga’s experience in mobile and…

Standard Bank Mobile announced today the introduction of fixed LTE starting from R139 a month for 20GB of anytime data. The operator said its fixed LTE offers Standard Bank customers a subsidised router and data. The company added that data allocations vary depending on which bank account you hold. Customers can also top up their data with recurring or once-off data bundles depending on their needs. “We are able to offer customers an opportunity to purchase devices for less, to access affordable and even in some cases, free data – simply for banking with us! Giving back value to individuals…

The Cabinet has reminded South Africans to submit their applications for the R350 COVID-19 Grant to support people who have no income. Applications for the grant opened on Friday, 6 August 2021. In a statement on Thursday, the Cabinet said it is conscious of the hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent public violence in some parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. The Cabinet said the R350 per month grant is an important safety net for families who would otherwise be devastated by the scourge of poverty and unemployment. People between the ages of 18 and 60, who have…

Old Mutual is scouting for investment opportunities in the InsurTech industry as Africa’s oldest insurer seeks to enhance every aspect of our business through technology. Old Mutual, founded in Cape Town in 1845 and generates about 80% of its revenue in South Africa, announced today plans to expand its investments in innovation. The insurer said this would be done through a new collaboration with venture capital firm Anthemis Group. The company said through Anthemis Insurance Venture Growth Fund (AIVGF) it will deploy capital focused on series B and C companies in InsurTech. “While we have a number of investments in…

MTN Group is taking complete control of aYo, a mobile micro-insurance joint venture with SA’s third-biggest insurer Momentum Metropolitan. The insurer is exiting the partnership. “We concluded an agreement to increase our shareholding in aYo to 100% as MMH exits the partnership,” MTN informed investors. “At the same time, we have announced a strategic alliance with Sanlam, which will help to accelerate our InsurTech growth on the continent, in line with our pan-African strategy. “ The aYo platform will form the base of the alliance with Sanlam, said the telco. The company said aYo insurance business had more than 13.6 million registered…