Author: Gugu Lourie

South Africa’s largest online retailer, Takealot.com, reported on Monday a 41% jump in revenue to $238 million (R3.7 billion) in the six-months to end 30 September 2020. The Naspers-owned group was permitted to sell only essential goods, while Superbalist and Mr D Food could not operate at all. “The business rebounded in late May when trading restrictions were lifted and all three businesses exceeded their pre-Covid-19 growth rates in the second quarter,” Naspers informed investors on Monday. The Takealot group generated $407m GMV, growing 85% in local currency. “Given this strong topline performance, Takealot delivered a trading loss improvement of 36%,…

Retailer Pepkor, previously Steinhoff Africa Retail, said on Monday operating profit in its financial technology (FinTech) services business dropped by 5.8% to R455 million in the year to end-September 2020. Pepkor on Monday attributed the drop in operating profit to higher provision levels in the Capfin unsecured lending business. Capfin was founded in 2010 with a vision to provide customers with affordable loan products and services. It has partnered with PEP and Ackermans to provide convenient and reliable services to customers. Pekkor informed investors on Monday that Capfin reduced the number of active accounts from 333 000 at 31 March 2020 to 219…

South Africa’s financial regulators have published a draft declaration of crypto assets as a financial product under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS). This means any person furnishing advice or rendering intermediary services about crypto assets must be authorised as a financial services provider and must comply with the requirements of the FAIS Act. The South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) said this would pave the way for cryptocurrency exchanges, advisors, and brokers to be registered as financial services providers (FSPs). The FSCA and FAIS require that every FSP be registered with the FSCA before they may legally…

Ukheshe, South Africa’s digital banking platform provider, announced on Friday it has agreed to buy 100% of Oltio from Mastercard for an undisclosed amount. Oltio developed the digital payments platform that supports Masterpass, Mastercard’s QR payment service in South Africa and enables people to safely pay for a wide variety of purchases with their bank card by scanning a QR code with their mobile phone. In March 2018, Mastercard acquired mobile payments technology company Oltio from Standard Bank Group for an undisclosed amount. At the time, Mastercard Said the deal builds on a longstanding relationship with Oltio, a startup that pioneered…

Telkom today announces the launch of a cancellation and retention call centre to streamline customer service process. The inbound Interactive Voice Response (IVR) call centre will allow customers to speak to an agent. Telkom customers can simply dial 081180 (mobile) or 10210 (fixed line) to cancel or make changes to their services. With this new IVR option, you can now cancel your arrangement with Telkom by speaking to an agent directly, no form or call back. This service compliments the use of our portal or website. Simplifying the process for customers. It’s a real time service where customers are assisted…

Vodacom’s partnership with Alipay, the world’s leading digital lifestyle services platform, will bring inclusive mobile solutions to consumers and merchants in South Africa through innovative digital technologies.   Alipay, part of China’s Alibaba, and Vodacom Financial Services are developing a single lifestyle app to enable consumers to shop online, pay bills, and send money.   The partnership was made public in July, but at the time the announcement drew little attention in South Africa because the COVID-19 pandemic was dominating the news.   However, Vodacom subscribers should now pay attention to the development – not just because of the partnership.…

In 2021, the new 223-series Mercedes-Maybach S-Class will be delivered to the first customers – exactly 100 years after the first Maybach automobile presented in 1921. This Model W 3 was already dedicated to maximum comfort and luxury. On the basis of a historically evolved understanding of luxury and superlative quality, Mercedes-Maybach has always redefined the luxury of the future. The focus on the rear area The Mercedes-Maybach S-Class is particularly suitable for chauffeured driving. The 18 cm longer wheelbase compared to the long variant of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class entirely benefits the rear. The focus on the rear area. This…

Leep Africa, a Johannesburg-based South African company, has developed the world’s first Internet of Things (IoT) mobile hotspot network. Its product, Leep Connect, will be piloted in select Bolt vehicles and in independent minibus taxis to provide free internet to passengers and drivers alike. The company said commuters are provided with free internet access on their daily travels which they can use at their discretion. It added that users are not offered with cached content but rather pure internet access. This provides commuters across socioeconomic lines in South Africa reliable access to the internet. George Georgiades, Industrial Engineer, co-founder of…

Checkers Sixty60 picked up a gold award in the Service Design category at the 2020 Loerie Awards. Sixty60, the first one hour grocery delivery service from a South African supermarket chain, also recently won at the 2020 MTN Business App of the Year Awards and the 2020 BCX Digital Innovation Awards. “We are thrilled to have won a gold Loerie in our first year of operation,” commented Neil Schreuder, Chief of Strategy and Innovation for the Shoprite Group. “It’s an amazing achievement and illustrates our team’s unwavering commitment to ensure a truly customer-centric, seamless online shopping experience.” The Loeries, now…

Xago announced on Wednesday that it had received a substantial investment from Imvelo Ventures.  Xago is an innovative South African FinTech that focuses on an all-inclusive approach to moving money rapidly across Africa. Imvelo Ventures is a venture capital investment company founded by Capitec Bank and Empowerment Capital Investment Partners. The company said it would use the funds to continue to expand its cryptocurrency services and products into African markets. Xago was co-founded in 2016 by Jurgen Kuhnel, Sonya Kuhnel and Mark Chirnside. “Xago changes the way money flows, what it costs and how long it takes to reach a destination…