Author: Gugu Lourie

Global streaming giants: Netflix, Prime Video and Showmax remain the powerhouse providers in South Africa with a combined total market share of 83%. Meanwhile, Mubi and Apple TV+ fight for 4th place with only a 2% difference. This is according to the latest figures from JustWatch, an international streaming guide with more than 20 million users. Market share development in 2023 JustWatch added that smaller streaming player in the South African market: Mubi wins over the market with a +1% gain. Meanwhile, Prime Video and Showmax struggle to keep up with a -1% loss each by June.

Prosus today announced PayU has reached an agreement with Rapyd, a Fintech-as-a-Service provider, that Rapyd will acquire PayU’s Global Payments Organisation (GPO) for a total cash consideration of $610 million or R10.9 billion. The transaction will enable PayU to focus on the large payments and fintech opportunity in India, where it is the leading payments provider, serving more than 450,000 merchants and more than 2m credit customers. “As we focus our investment on the Indian market, this is an exciting time for Prosus’s Payments & Fintech segment. PayU’s payments business is one of the largest, fastest growing and most profitable…

Cell C  announce today the appointment of Melanie Forbes as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), effective August 1, 2023. Forbes will be a key addition to the executive team, leveraging her impressive track record and strategic expertise to drive the company’s marketing efforts and brand transformation. She brings over 25 years of invaluable experience in the Telecommunications, IT, and Consumer Electronics industries, having worked with brands such as Philips, NetFlorist (NetActive), Siemens, Nokia (NSN), and most recently Vodacom. Her extensive background spans both B2B and B2C markets across various African markets. During her almost 15-year tenure at Vodacom, Forbes held key…

MTN, in an innovative public-private partnership with the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), is set to tackle the challenges posed by load shedding on South Africa’s roads. A Service Level Agreement between the two parties will see MTN SA providing backup power to all traffic lights in Soweto that are located near MTN base stations. MTN base stations will supply power to the traffic lights during load shedding, from the sites’ backup power systems to significantly alleviate delays and frustrations experienced by Soweto residents and commuters. This will be particularly helpful at key “traffic corridors” that lead towards highways. By providing…

JSE-listed telco Telkom announced on Monday it was currently engaged in discussions with two bifdders for its mast and towers business, Swiftnet. Telkom said in a statement that it is committed to realising the intrinsic value of underlying businesses that make up the  group. During the previous calendar year, a multi-party sales process commenced following the Board’s approval to affirm and realise the value of Swiftnet through the disposal of the mast and towers business. “Telkom received offers to acquire Swiftnet in its entirety during the last quarter of FY2023,” said the company. “These offers were further refined from shortlisted…

JSE-listed Telkom has started the 2024 financial year with good momentum, said its CEO Serame Taukobong. Telkom said group revenue increased by 3.8% driven by the continued uptake of its new generation network (NGN) products by customers as well as increased data traffic. “We focused on offering attractive value propositions to customers in our Mobile business which increased subscribers and data usage, while the focused smart deployment of fibre infrastructure saw Openserve sustain growth in all three NGN customer segments ‘ broadband, carrier and enterprise,” said Taukobong. “We are pleased that cost savings from our recent labour restructuring process offset…

JSE-listed technology group Altron said on Wednesday that profit improvement strategies are starting to show meaningful benefits, particularly in Netstar and Altron Systems Integration, the largest businesses in the group. The purpose of the reviews on continuing operations was to ensure each operation is aligned to the group’s new strategy and has performance optimisation plans in place to grow revenue and improve operating leverage. “Pursuant to these business reviews, targeted operating models are being executed in each operation, with early leading indicators highlighting strong year-to-date performance, with all operations on track to achieve their growth objectives,” said Altron. Altron added…

JSE-listed retailer Shoprite, which also owns Checkers and Boxers, is spending a lot of money to survive load shedding. The retailetr said whilst it remained encouraged by continued customer growth and continued market share gains, it was faced with several challenges imnpacting its performamnce. Shoprite said it remained resolute in terms of its commitment to lower-prices and value for customers during the second half period. “As such, the Group’s full year gross margin will be lower than that reported last year (restated 2022: 24.5%), however the decline is expected to be less than the gross margin decline reported in our…

If you’ve ever wondered how to make your money work harder for you, you’re in the right place. Compound interest has the magical ability to turn modest savings into a substantial nest egg over time. This article unveils the best tips to leverage this financial phenomenon effectively. Whether you’re just starting your financial journey or looking to optimize your existing investments, these proven strategies will pave the way for a prosperous future. Plan, save, and invest are the best way to reach your financial goals. Use these tips to get started: Take Advantage of Retirement Accounts If you want to…

Vodacom announced on Friday that its revenue climbed 36.9% to R35.7 billion for the qaurter to end-June 2023, lifted by Vodafone Egypt and financial services. The Vodafone-owned company completed the acqusition of Vodafone Egypt acquisition in December 2022, presents a unique opportunity to advance the company’s multiproduct strategy, called the System of Advantage. This strategy aims to deliver diversified, differentiated offerings to our customers, further strengthening and growing its relationships with them. Group service revenue grew 43.8% in the quarter to almost R29 billion, positively impacted by the acquisition of Vodafone Egypt and rand depreciation of almost 20% against our…