Author: Gugu Lourie

The Gauteng government has announced that it wants to work with technology companies and innovators to help fight rising crime.   Gauteng recorded 1 556 murders between January and March 2023.   Speaking at the Huawei Eco-Connect Sub-Saharan Africa 2023 conference in Sandton on Thursday, Premier Panyaza Lesufi warned: “If we can’t fight crime, it will be the end of us all in this province.”   He added: “We must ensure that we use the technology that is available and ensure that we push back crime in our province.”     Premier Lesufi implored technology companies to join the Gauteng government in…

The South African government plans to connect 1.7 million households to high-speed internet. The project will be realised through the development of infrastructure that will be used by partner internet service providers (ISPs) to provide fee-based internet services. The Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele, said the construction of infrastructure for access has not yet started. In May 2023, the Treasury confirmed access to the allocated funds and the process to finally disburse the funds has started, he said. Gungubele was responding to parliamentary questions from Inkatha Freedom Party MP Zandile Majozi. Majozi wanted to know what progress…

Cape-based ISP Atomic Access now consistently routes content from the NAPAfrica and CINX internet exchange points to fibre networks with latency as low as 300 nanoseconds using fully Open Source software. “We see 50% less latency for packets crossing the Cape Town peering points with 80% less jitter,” says Joe Botha, Atomic co-founder and CTO. “I think we’ve proven that it is indeed possible to route at 100 Gbps speeds with just Linux.” he adds. Founded in 2018, Atomic always had an Open Networking strategy, which includes a strong belief in Open Source, Open Standards and Open Peering. Atomic is…

Local ESG tech platform Reatec, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product that streamlines an organisation’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) programmes, is seeking local and global expansion to capitalise on the growing ESG industry. The only technology solution for ESG reporting in South Africa says its platform makes ESG reporting a reality and an opportunity as organisations look to create a tangible, practical plan that delivers real results. Hashveer Singh, chartered accountant (CA) and founder and MD of Veers Group, of which Reatec is a part, told TechFinancials that the platform currently works mainly on renewable energy infrastructure projects, helping independent power…

Chinese automotive giant Build Your Dreams (BYD) has officially launched in South Africa after unveiling the fully-electric BYD Atto 3. BYD is a rival to electric car manufacturer Tesla owned by Elon Musk. BYD transformed from a factory making rechargeable batteries to a formidable electric vehicle maker expanding globallly. The carmaker also produces battery and electric vehicle chips. BYD is launching the BYD Atto 3 with a starting price of R768,000 for the Standard range version and R835,000 for the Extended range model. All models come with a standard 5-year warranty and 100,000km maintenance plan. Why expansion into South Africa?…

BMW will be investing R4.2 billion over five years to prepare its manufacturing plant in Rosslyn in Pretoria for the electro mobility era. Fifty years ago, Plant Rosslyn was the BMW Group’s first foreign facility. It has since become a mainstay of the global production network. To mark its silver jubilee, Milan Nedeljković, BMW AG Board Member for Production, has now announced the electrification of Plant Rosslyn. Speaking in South Africa, he said: “From 2024 we will manufacture the BMW X3 as a plug-in hybrid for global export in South Africa. An investment of 4.2 billion rand (over 200 million…

JUWI Renewable Energies, a global solar, wind and hybrid project developer, EPC and operations and maintenance company, today announced that it has 400 MW of EPC projects in advanced stages of development for mines in South Africa. The news follows the financial close of the 89 MW Castle Wind project by the African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) Consortium for Sibanye-Stillwater’s mining operations, a project initially developed by JUWI for the South African government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers’ Programme (REI4P). The AIIM Consortium included African Clean Energy Developments as developer and Reatile as investment partner. “We’re seeing a wave of formal requests for…

MTN SA is moving fast to become a standalone Independent Power Producer (IPP) by harnessing the power of multiple generation technologies, which will include additional solar, gas and battery energy systems, in one plant at its head office in Fairlands, Johannesburg. The plant will be a first in South Africa with five different generation technologies being housed in one plant, with a full load of 4.5MW during load shedding. MTN SA’s head office hybrid facility currently has a 2MW gas trigeneration system, a 330kW Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) Plant and a fleet of backup diesel generators. MTN SA now intends…

MTN Group announced today the return of Stephen Blewitt to the group as Operations Executive: Markets, effective July 1, 2023. Stephen will be taking over from Wim Vanhelleputte, who is departing to pursue new opportunities outside the company. In his new role, Stephen will be the Executive responsible for our WECA markets of Liberia, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau and Congo Brazzaville, and also provide general operations support across the same region, reporting into the Senior Vice President: Markets, Ebenezer Twum Asante. Stephen Blewitt brings a wealth of experience to his new position, having most recently served as the Group Chief…

The Empire Partner Foundation (EPF) is seeking sponsors for the inaugural 2023 South African Annual Tech for Innovation and Social Impact Awards. The awards ceremony, which will be held on Saturday 11 November 2023 at the Montecasino Ballroom in Fourways, Johannesburg, is set to be the epitome of all ICT awards ceremonies in the country. The awards provide a platform for youths, businesses, startups, and innovators to showcase their tech solutions. The awards aim to promote tech innovation, facilitate networking opportunities, provide a platform for market access for young entrepreneurs and promote skill development. “We ask you to support our upcoming…

Although the demand for electricity is increasing, Eskom is able to maintain a much lower stage of load shedding due to the improvement of the Energy Availability Factor (EAF), says Minister of Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. Addressing a virtual media briefing on Sunday, Ramokgopa said Eskom is much closer to achieving its target of 70% EAF. “The EAF has been consistent on an average of 60% for the past 14 days. We are getting much closer to the target of 70% EAF that we had promised, and the benefit will be to the South African economy, households and the ability…

JSE-listed retailer Mr Price today released its full-year 2023 results for the 52 weeks ended 1 April 2023. Group revenue increased by 17.0% to R32.9 billion, supported by the acquisition of 70% of Studio 88 with effect from 4 October 2022. With the addition of Studio 88, the group’s total number of shops increased to 2 702. The three recent acquisitions delivered double-digit sales growth and had a positive impact on the group’s profit. The retailer said a significant increase in power cuts severely impacted the key festive months, resulting in an annual EBITDA increase of only 5,4% to R7,2…

Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a business of Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, is proud to announce the opening of its office in East London in the Eastern Cape (EC). “The new East London office establishes a local presence for Liquid in the province, reinforcing our commitment to providing best-in-class service by leveraging advanced technology, offering exceptional customer support, prioritising security, maintaining compliance, and driving innovation. The business strives to exceed our client’s expectations and empower them to succeed in the dynamic and digitally connected world,” said Deon Geyser, Chief Executive Officer of Liquid Intelligent Technologies, South Africa. Access to broadband…

The Empire Partner Foundation (EPF), in collaboration with MICT SETA, has launched a call for nominations for the Inaugural 2023 South African Annual Tech for Innovation and Social Impact Awards. EPF has been pioneering youth and entrepreneurship development in the ICT sector since 2016. The South African Annual Tech for Innovation and Social Impact Awards aim to recognise South African talent and locally developed technologies that have made a significant impact on the advancement of technology in the country. EPF said the awards aim to promote a vibrant and competitive technology ecosystem in the country, while supporting local talent and…

In 2023, there have been so many layoffs in the technology industry that TechCrunch labelled it a “reckoning” in its extensive list released late April. To date, across numerous organisations that include Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Dropbox and Zoom, to name but a few, there have been nearly 169,000 layoffs. Meta is expected to lay off 10,000 roles in the next few months and Disney 7,000. And yet, in cybersecurity there are still more “jobs open than people to fill them”. According to Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy & Evangelist at KnowBe4 AFRICA, the biggest challenge facing the cybersecurity profession right…

Amazon Web Services (AWS) today announced that Old Mutual has closed its on-premises data centers and migrated its entire information technology (IT) infrastructure, including its banking, insurance, and wealth management systems, to AWS. The migration represents a significant step in Old Mutual’s digital transformation. Old Mutual is using AWS’s proven, secure, and highly performant infrastructure to decrease financial transaction processing time by two-thirds, reduce downtime by 50%, streamline the development of new and more relevant insurance products, and drive innovation across its business with machine learning (ML).  The full migration to AWS involved moving more than 2,000 on-premises servers, 215…

JLR has unveiled a series of subtle but long-awaited updates to the second-generation Range Rover Evoque for the 2024 model year. The new Range Rover Evoque is available to order now with prices starting at R1.25 million. Configure yours here – range-rover/range-rover-evoque Inside, Range Rover’s reductive design philosophy is amplified with a new 11.4-inch curved glass touchscreen, seemingly floating within the driver’s eyeline for improved visibility, while liberating space for interior stowage and Wireless Device Charging. Powered by Pivi Pro, with regular Software Over The Air drops, the new centre console offers clients a seamless, comfortable digital experience. The interface is…

Google for Startups (GfS) has selected three South African startups to be part of its $4 million (R73.6 million) Black Founders Fund for innovators across the continent. The Black Founders Fund, now in its third year, aims to help tackle systemic racial inequality in venture capital (VC) funding by providing equity-free grants and mentoring to early stage Black-led high-growth businesses across Europe and Africa. The selected cohort of 40 startups from Europe and Africa, includes 25 African startups that embody the diverse entrepreneurial spirit across the African continent. Startups led or co-founded by women make up 72% of the group,…

Vodacom will now offer eSIM support for smartphones across prepaid, top-up/hybrid and postpaid contract types. This means that users with selected eSIM-enabled smartphones will be able to connect to the Vodacom network and enjoy the benefits, capabilities, and flexibility that an eSIM provides. eSIMs also known as embedded SIMs are not just the next generation of SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card technology, they also help drive the eradication of the need for a physical card entirely. In addition, this also eliminates the need to manufacture and ship the associated plastic, thereby reducing carbon emissions. Traditional SIM cards contain unique identifying…

The Huawei ICT Academy is set to highlight Huawei’s ethos of diversity and inclusion by supporting Youth Month and expanding its successful Women in Tech initiative with a focus on young women. Called the Huawei Young Woman in Tech programme, the course is taking place from 21 to 28 June 2023. The course is open to all young women who are either currently studying in the ICT field or who would like to in the future. The course programmes will take place entirely online and will cover topics including artificial intelligence (AI), big data and cloud computing. The initial training…

Applications for the inaugural Tech Awards will be open from 1 July 2023. The South African Annual Tech for Innovation and Social Impact Awards, soon to become one of the premier annual ICT events in South Africa, will be hosted by the Empire Partner Foundation (EPF) in collaboration with MICT SETA. The awards gala will take place on Saturday 11 November 2023 at Montecasino Ballroom in Fourways, Johannesburg. The South African Annual Tech for Innovation and Social Impact Awards provide a platform for youth, businesses, startups and innovators to showcase their tech solutions. The aim is to promote technological innovation,…

Mobile phone operator Cell C, which is owned by JSE-listed Blue Label Telecoms, has confirmed the appointment of Jorge Mendes As CEO. His appointment is effective 1 July 2023. IT Web speculated on Wednesday that Mendes will be revealed as CEO today by Cell C. Cell C today said Mendes brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role and is widely regarded as a strategic leader with a proven track record of driving growth and profitability in the telecommunications industry. “We are thrilled to welcome Jorge Mendes to the Cell C team,” said Joe Mthimunye, Cell C Board Chairman…

Jorge Mendes, former chief consumer business officer at Vodacom South Africa, is to become Cell C’s new CEO, according to a report published by IT Web on Wednesday. According to the report, Cell C did not deny that Mendes is the new man taking control of the company when asked for comment. Instead, Cell C told the technology publication that the company will announce the appointment of its CEO tomorrow. Mendes will replace Brett Copans, chief restructuring officer, who had been interim CEO, succeeding Douglas Craigie Stevenson, who stepped down as Cell C’s chief executive in March. In January, Mendes…

Spar announced on Wednesday that it had delivered a commendable trading performance in the six months to the end of March 2023 in a challenging environment. Group revenue increased by 7,9% to R72,9 billion. It added that over the past 12 months, all regions have come under significant inflationary cost pressures. “The cost pressures, coupled with SAP software go-live challenges at the KwaZulu-Natal distribution centre (KZN DC) and subsequent loss of turnover during the latter half of the period, resulted in a decline in operating profit of 17.5%to R1,5 billion,” Spar said. “Due to rising interest rates across all geographies,…

JSE-listed retailer Spar said South Africa experienced unprecedented levels of electricity loadshedding which directly is impacting trading performance and profitability of its retailers. Higher levels of loadshedding are expected to impact retailer profitability due to the additional energy costs associated with back-up solutions required during loadshedding hours, said the retailer. “Our retailers have experienced a significant increase in operating costs, primarily driven by the increased cost of diesel required to run generators during the higher levels of loadshedding, coupled with higher repairs and maintenance costs, and product wastage, as generators occasionally fail under extended periods of usage,” said Spar. Spar estimates…