Author: Gugu Lourie

MTNGroup announced on Wednesday that it has attracted 29 million new subscribers in 2020 and grew adjusted headline earnings per share (HEPS) by 52%. HEPS is South Africa’s main profit gauge. The company also recorded a four-percentage point increase in return on equity to 17% and a more than doubling in operating cashflow to R28,3 billion. MTN Group now has more than 280 million customers as of December 2020 in 21 markets. As well as managing the risks of COVID-19, MTN Group remains alive to the opportunities presented by the pandemic, particularly the accelerated need for digitalisation evidenced in the…

Discovery Bank said that it is well-positioned for growth as it flirts with 300 000 customers in the six months to end-December 2020. The bank, which is powered by the country’s largest medical aid provider Discovery Health, said value drivers are trending in the right direction and is well-positioned for growth. The bank has 556 000 accounts held by 298 000 clients; Discovery disclosed on Tuesday in a presentation for the Domestic Medium Term Note Programme “non-deal” roadshow. The company informed investors that any forecast financial information in the presentation is unaudited and has not been reviewed or reported on by its external auditors.…

ICASA has resolved to exhaust all legal avenues in respect of the planned spectrum auction, the Chairperson of ICASA, Dr. Keabetswe Modimoeng, said on Tuesday. Yesterday, Telkom and e.tv secured an interdict against communications regulator ICASA, preventing the spectrum auction planned for later this month from taking place until the merits of their case can be heard by the high court. The auction was scheduled to take place by no later than 31 March 2021 — this will now not happen. “We have never been so close to licensing high demand spectrum. We were literally three (3) weeks away from…

Iconic beauty products firm Avon plans to leverage the vast appetite for mobile services in Africa to grow women entrepreneurs. Angela Cretu, Avon CEO told TechFinancials, that the emerging markets in Africa and the Middle East have immense potential. “The younger population, coupled with the growing disposable incomes from the increasing middle class, make for a very compelling case for expansion and investment,” says Cretu. “Africa and the Middle East have a young tech-savvy population that is open to using digital services. “We’re seeing a huge uptake of digital services in Africa and we plan to leverage the…

Thabo Mokgatlha has been appointed as the new chairman of YeboYethu, the black economic empowerment (BEE) scheme of Vodacom. BEE is designed to widen the South African economy’s ownership, mainly in white hands 26 years after apartheid. Mokgatlha will replace Zarina Bassa, who will step down with effect from the next annual general meeting, scheduled for 27 July. He is the CEO of Baphalane Ba Mantserre Investment Holdings and serves as a non-executive director on various other boards. Baphalane Ba Mantserre Investment Holdings is the investment holding arm of the Baphalane Ba Mantserre Community Trust. The Baphalane Ba Mantserre Community is a…

Square, the digital payment company, run by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, has bought Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter’s streaming platform Tidal. As part of the transaction, Jay-Z will move to Square’s board of directors. Square is paying $297 million (R4,5 billion) in cash and stock for a “significant majority ownership stake”, and existing artist shareholders will be the remaining stakeholders. Tidal will operate independently alongside Square’s other ventures. Jay-z bought Tidal for $56 million (R852 million) in 2015 and announced plans to turn it into the first artist-owned streaming service, following a star-studded launch featuring Madonna, Daft Punk, Kanye West and more.…

Turntide Technologies (Turntide), which makes a smart motor system for buildings that can sharply reduce energy consumption, has completed an $80 million funding round. The funding is backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Robert Downey Jr.’s FootPrint Coalition Ventures, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Keyframe Capital, Fifth Wall’s Climate Technology Fund and Captain Planet LP. The company produces the Smart Motor System, which it says is designed around its revolutionary switched reluctance motor (SRM) technology. SRMs have been used for decades in environments that demand 100% dependability. But recent advances in supporting technologies have permitted Turntide to develop a patented,…

Customers can now deposit cash directly onto their bank card at the till point in any Shoprite, Checkers or Usave store. Together with other established in-store services like cash withdrawals, money transfers, and bill payments, this new functionality means shoppers can now perform the most basic banking tasks at all supermarkets within the Shoprite Group. This move is similar to the one launched by Pick n Pay last year in partnerships with TymeBank. The Shoprite Group said cash deposits at till points offer customers a range of benefits, including low transaction costs and unbeatable convenience. The company has 1 700…

The future of Volvo Cars is electric and the new Volvo C40 Recharge is the latest manifestation of its commitment to a zero-emission future. The C40 Recharge has all the benefits of an SUV but with a lower and sleeker design. It is based on the CMA vehicle platform and the first Volvo model in history designed as pure electric only. Greg Maruszewski, managing director at Volvo Car South Africa, said the launch of the Volvo C40 Recharge marks yet another significant step when it comes to Volvo Cars’ commitment to minimising its environmental impact and making the cities of…

Liquid Telecom, a pan-African telecommunications group, ensured continuity of service to its customers during the recent outages of the SEA-ME-WE 5 and EIG submarine cables. The company operates an intelligent subsea cable system that automatically reroutes network traffic during such outages, thus ensuring service reliability on our resilient architecture. This differentiates Liquid Telecom from other wholesalers that do not have access to similar infrastructure. “With over 57,700 km of submarine cable fibre linking Africa to Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Liquid Telecom’s subsea network is extensive and offers low latency to global destinations. Keeping our customers connected is and has…