Author: Gugu Lourie

The VodaTrade platform developed by Vodacom Financial and Digital Services is starting to come alive ahead of the launch of its Super App. The Super App, known as VodaPay, will be the central hub for its financial services and e-commerce offerings. It will be hosting most of South Africa’s leading retail brands across all key verticals for both consumers and merchants. VodaTrade is a supplier portal, where the small supplier will go digital and connect with big business partners. VodaTrade is a one-stop interface for small businesses to interact with all aspects of their trade. Some key features include analytics,…

Technology is changing how business is conducted, and companies such as Vodacom Financial and Digital Services are at the centre of this transformation. Lenders have already taken to the Internet to loan out money and applications can be done online, even via smartphone or USSD code. For those looking to get loans, this is just the beginning of exciting new things to come. Vodacom Financial and Digital Services, a subsidiary of Vodacom South Africa, is positioning itself to be at the centre of that excitement. Vodacom Financial and Digital Services have created Africa’s first Super App with Alipay. Vodacom Financial…

Naspers announced today it had spent $54.8 million (R786 million) to buy out non-controlling shareholders in Takealot, South Africa’s largest online retailer. As a result, the JSE-listed company now holds a 100% interest (96% fully diluted) in Takealot. Naspers added that this deal resulted in the cancellation of the written put option liability for this subsidiary which will be derecognised. The group is assessing the impact of this transaction on equity. Furthermore, Naspers announced that the Takealot group in South Africa also had a solid year, growing revenue by 55% to $606 million (R8, 6 billion). At the same time,…

EdTech (education technology) is a considerable focus for Prosus, which invests in companies that help democratize access to quality education worldwide. Prosus, one of the largest technology investors in the world, announced today that after just five years of investment, it would reach well over 500 million learners every month in this rapidly growing sector. “We see exciting opportunities to deepen their learning experience over time,” the Naspers-owned company said. “If this past year has shown us anything it is that technology can fundamentally change a sector and enable it to scale much quicker, and this is especially true in…

OLX Group – the world’s leading classifieds platform focused on emerging markets, both mobile and online – has attracted 22 million new customers in full-year 2021. The Prosus-backed classified group announced today that average monthly users reached 322 million by year-end, compared to 300m the previous year. The classified group also recorded 58 million new listings and 116 million active app users, with 19 million unique listers each month and 4,1 million paying listers. Prosus said in a statement that OLX Group became profitable overall in 2020 and remained so this year, despite the initial challenges of the pandemic and…

You can now buy wine at BP petrol stations after the retailer was granted a liquor licence. The retailer today launched a wine to-go offer through the Pick n Pay Express forecourt convenience store at BP Radiokop, north of Johannesburg. “In line with bp’s new strategy to ‘adapt to and grow its convenience and mobility business,’ our primary objective is fully to leverage innovation to unlock new value for our customers,” said Belinda Petersen, bpSA head of convenience. “Our strategic partnerships with South Africa’s leading brands such as Pick n Pay and Mr D place us on the front foot.”…

In South Africa, Vodacom has to maintain and improve its extensive network to differentiate itself, remain competitive and ensure positive consumer sentiment. Furthermore, the Vodafone-owned telco has to ensure that the quality of its service is in line with government regulations. The South African Government has also recently introduced a carbon tax that will further increase the operating costs of running Vodacom’s network sites. Vodacom also felt the pressure of the increased demand for digital products during COVID-19. In South Africa, Vodacom says this was further exacerbated by load shedding, which adversely affects its electricity supply and thereby increased dependency…

Maya Makanjee, a former Chief Officer, Corporate Affairs at Vodacom, has been named as the non-executive chairman of JSE-listed tech group Datatec. Makanjee replaces long-serving non-executive chairman Stephen Davidson on 1 March 2022. Davidson was appointed as non-executive chairman of Datatec on  1 February 2007. “I am delighted to be passing the chairmanship of Datatec to such a distinguished successor who has been a highly respected and trusted board colleague for the past few years,” Davidson said. Maya Makanjee has also been appointed to the Nominations Committee with effect from 1 July 2021 and her current role as Chairman of…

A  black-controlled consortium called K2020893770 is buying Sybrin, a subsidiary of JSE-listed tech firm EOH, for R334 million. The business currently sits under EOH Mthombo. The consortium comprises of One Thousand & One Voices Management (Mauritius) Ltd (“1K1V”) and Crossfin Technology Holdings (Pty) Ltd (CFTH) and their black economic empowerment partners led by Isaac Mophatlane. Mophatlane is co-founder of Business Connexion, rebranded by parent company Telkom into  BCX, with his late brother Benjamin Mophatlane. EOH said the base purchase price, after adjusting for net debt, non-operating assets and working capital, equates to an enterprise value (EV) of R410 million implying…

Relativity Space, a 3D printed rocket startup, has secured $650 million (R8,8 billion) in funding to scale its Terran R, its fully reusable, entirely 3D-printed launch vehicle. Investment round led by Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, with new investors including funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Centricus, Coatue, and Soroban Capital, in addition to participation from existing investors Baillie Gifford, K5 Global, Tiger Global, Tribe Capital, XN, Brad Buss, Mark Cuban, Jared Leto, and Spencer Rascoff The Terran R will be entirely reusable and capable of launching 20,000kg to low Earth orbit, starting in 2024 at the company’s launch…