Author: Gugu Lourie

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) sounds too good to be true, especially as Black Friday and the festive season approaches. There are a number of innovative retail models that have emerged to assist conscientious shoppers that are looking for more flexible and responsible ways to pay. BNPL financial service providers like PayJustNow.com are disrupting the retail payment space as they offer shoppers an interest free alternative to costly credit card purchases. This powerful facility, empowers the consumer to conveniently pay for their online and in-store splurges without the burden of Interest. PayJustNow.com CEO Craig Newborn says consumers are getting excited…

Naspers announced today that it has invested R45 million in The Student Hub, a local online learning platform. The Student Hub increases access to vocational education to students whilst reducing the costs of delivery of education and training. The Student Hub Delivers Courses Online The company helps overcome the constraints of limited physical infrastructure and related resources. It partners with government accredited Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to help them deliver their courses online.  “We are delighted to be partnering with Naspers given their deep international experience in the EdTech sector,” Hertzy Kabeya, Founder and CEO, The Student…

The new CloudGate X mini PC may be tiny, but it is packed with features that can more than match any conventional desktop. Weighing only 240 grams, this portable mini PC with built-in high-speed wireless and Bluetooth 4.2 is a powerful replacement solution for most tower computers. Developed in South Africa, the mini PC was designed to meet user needs in any environment. Measuring 120x120mm the CloudGate X mini PC is suitable for home use, call centres, and many other enterprises. The mini PC can also be used as an education tool. CloudGate was founded in 2010 by Brian Timperley.…

Vodacom reported on Monday that its financial services customers, including Safaricom, rose 12.6% or 6.1 million to 54.8 million in the six months to end-September. The Vodafone-owned group also reported that Financial Services business revenue rose 3.1% to R9.2 billion. The company’s key market of South Africa contributed R1.1 billion in revenues after experiencing a 15% increase on the back of its popular Airtime Advance, insurance and VodaPay services (direct airtime, prepaid electricity, bills). The company advanced R5.7 billion in airtime (38% of total recharges) via Airtime Advance platform to 10.1 million customers in South Africa. Insurance policies increased 23.4%…

Vodacom, South Africa’s mobile phone operator that is transforming itself into a technology company, is well-positioned to weather the coronavirus storm as it got into this crisis with a strong balance sheet. Vodacom reported on Monday that it was sitting on R13.9 billion in cash and cash equivalents as at 30 September 2020. Since March 2020, the World Health Organisation, officially declared the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, a pandemic, triggering various government interventions to stem the spread The Vodafone-owned company, which is led by Shameel Joosub, believes the strength of its financial position will continue to allow it to conduct its…

Health and social care in the UK can benefit from the roll-out of 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, according to new research from Vodafone, a parent company of South Africa’s Vodacom. The report stated that the UK government has committed to building 40 new National Health Service (NHS) hospitals by 2030, with six NHS Trusts already earmarked to receive funding to completely rebuild existing acute hospitals by 2025. “This is an unmissable opportunity to remodel the whole NHS estate, designing in new 5G and IoT technology from the ground up to optimise everything from patient experience, to clinical collaboration,…

Showmax, the internet TV service owned by MultiChoice, is gaining traction in South Africa. Internet TV is taking off across South Africa with several local and international services now available in the country. This week Mondia, a Dubai-based tech firm, announced the launch of its time-based entertainment platform Monsooq in South Africa. Monsooq is a first-of-its kind model where time is the currency and users pay only for the time they spend consuming content. The benefit of internet TV versus traditional services is that subscribers are able to choose from a catalogue of TV shows and movies and then start, pause…

Huawei today walked away with the COVID-19 Response Award at AfricaCom. The COVID-19 Response Award recognises organisations and initiatives that have successfully deployed technology solutions in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Huawei developed the AUTIN solution for network O&M, using new technologies such as blockchain, grid-based transformation and intelligentization of operations to enable the decentralization of Network Management (Portable NOC) in times of COVID-19 pandemic. About 100 million mobile subscribers in Nigeria – the most populous country in Africa – are served by 4 main operators that together combine around 30,000 sites nationwide. Maintaining these large infrastructures requires hundreds…

Africa’s pay-tv giant MultiChoice is planning to utilise its R11.8 billion cash pile to fund growth and the weather the COVID-19 pandemic storm. MultiChoice, which added 1.2 million 90-day active subscribers in the six months to end-September to close the period on 20.1 million households believes the strength of the balance sheet is critically important given the uncertain longer-term economic impact of COVID-19. The company added that a strong balance sheet is also critical due to potential challenges for specific markets in the Rest of Africa (RoA) because of a lower oil price. Some R7.3 billion in cash and cash…

MultiChoice, Africa’s biggest pay-TV operator, has acquired a 20% stake in BetKing, a pan-African sports betting group. As part of the deal, MultiChoice has made an made an upfront investment of $81 million (R1.3 billion), with the potential for a further payment of $31 million (R500 million) should certain earn-out targets be met between December 2021 and December 2023. As the group exercises significant influence over BetKing, the business will be equity accounted as an associate from 1 October 2020 by MultiChoice. The company said the deal is part of its plans to expand the its entertainment ecosystem. BetKing is…