Author: Gugu Lourie

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…

Vodacom today announced that its super-app VodaPay has reached 6.7 million downloads in the quarter ended 30 June 2023. “Our super-app, VodaPay, reached 6.7 million downloads and launched free deposits and added ‘send money’ and cash-out services in the quarter,” Vodacom informed investors on Friday. The super-app VodaPay still has 3.3 million registered users. VodaPay provides a digital shopping, lifestyle and financial platform for consumers and businesses. During the quarter, Vodacom launched free deposits and added ‘send money’ and cash-out services, allowing customers to deposit and withdraw funds from their VodaPay digital wallets. Deposits and withdrawals can be made at…

Eskom today announced the departure of its former chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer from the energy group. Eskom said in a brief statement that it parted ways with Oberholzer by mutual agreement. His last day with Eskom will be 31 July 2023. Oberholzer was on a fixed-term contract to provide support to the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station long-term operation (LTO) and Kusile Power Station projects, said Eskom. “Eskom expresses gratitude to Mr Jan Oberholzer for his dedicated service, expertise and valuable contributions during his tenure. We wish him well in his future endeavours.”

Former Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko is threatening to walk away from buying a controlling stake of the partially state-owned telco. Sunday Times’ Business Times reported today that Maseko is now looking for opportunities elsewhere and will not revised the offer submitted by his consortium to buy Telkom. The consortium comprises Maseko’s Afrifund, Axian Telecom and the Government Employees Pension Fund, managed by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC). “We are definitely walking away. The board has made it clear that they are not willing to engage with us at all,” Maseko told Sunday Times Business Times. He added that the consortium…

“It is our hope that this Huawei Innovation Centre will be a springboard for the launch of new local ICT enterprises that create jobs,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa. Speaking at the opening of the Huawei Innovation Centre at Woodmead in Huawei’s Office Park, Ramaphosa added that government hoped the centre would be a springboard for new business processes that would grow SA ‘s economy and support national development goals. The centre brings together Huawei’s various business units in a hub for collaboration with local partners, app developers and ICT-focused SMEs. He said the opening of the centre is a sign…

William Mzimba, the CEO of Vodacom Business, a subsidiary of JSE-listed Vodacom Group, has resigned. Sources told TechFinancials that Mzimba is leaving Vodacom Business at the end of September 2023. Mzimba joined Vodacom five years ago as chief officer of Vodacom Business to replace Vuyani Jarana. Internally at Vodacom, no one gave him a chance to succeed. They whispered that this man from Accenture couldn’t repeat the great feat achieved by Jarana at Vodacom. In the past five years, Vodacom, Mzimba has delivered enormous value at the Vodafone-owned mobile phone company. He ensured that Vodacom Business continued to fire on…

JSE-listed Telkom Group on Friday announced it has rejected an offer of a constortium led by its former CEO Sipho Maseko. Shareholders are referred to the Telkom announcement published on SENS on Monday, 12 June 2023 relating to an unsolicited non-binding indicative letter from a consortium consisting of Afrifund Investments Proprietary Limited, Axian Telecom and the Government Employees Pension Fund, managed by the Public Investment Corporation (collectively, the Consortium) for the acquisition of a controlling stake in Telkom (the Indicative Proposal). “The Telkom board of directors (the Board) having considered the Indicative Proposal, has decided not to continue discussions with…

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…