Author: Gugu Lourie

In a partnership aimed at making it easier and more cost-effective for customers to watch their favourite local and international blockbuster movies and series, MTN subscribers can now sign-up or switch to Viu Premium for only R69 per month. Along with Viu Premium, subscribers will also receive a 3GB MTN streaming data bundle, valid for 30 days, every 30 days. This allows a customer to watch up to 12 hours of Viu’s premium-rated local and international movies and series each month. Customers need to simply add the subscription to their monthly account, or pay with their airtime, to enjoy their…

Scatec ASA today closed the previously announced transaction to divest the Upington solar plants in South Africa. Scatec, a renewable energy company in emerging markets, is headquartered in Oslo, Norway and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange The gross consideration for divestment of Scatec’s 42% equity-share in the 258-megawatt (MW) plants is R973 million (NOK 546 million). The company said as previously communicated the proceeds will be recycled into new investments within renewable energy. “We are very pleased to secure a value accretive transaction, in line with our strategy to optimise our portfolio and recycle capital. South Africa remains a…

JSE-listed grocer Spar today announced that the unprecedented power cuts had a direct impact on the trading performance and profitability of its retailers. The retailer said higher power cuts will impact retailers’ profitability due to the additional energy costs associated with the back-up solutions required during the power cuts. “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,” the company said. Spar…

The FinTech division of JSE-listed retailer Pepkor reported a decline in revenue in the six months to March 31. Pepkor told investors today that its FinTech business reported a 7.8% drop in revenue to R3.7 billion in the first half of the year. The company operates its FinTech division through Flash and Capfin. Pepkor attributed the decline in revenue at its FinTech business to lower revenue recognition at its Flash business. The retailer said revenue from the FinTech segment contributed 9% to total revenue of R40 billion for Pepkor. Pepkor said the Flash business had performed well, increasing profitability by…

Nkwe Platinum hosted a ceremony today to hand over its Social and Labour Plan (SLP) Water Supply Projects to the Sekhukhune District Municipality. The event that marks the completion of Nkwe Platinum Limited’s SLP water supply projects within its mining communities of Garatouw, Maandagshoek, De Kom and Hoepakrantz, which fall under the Makhuduthamaga and the Fetakgomo-Tubatse Local Municipalities. The projects were initiated by Nkwe Platinum Limited to provide access to clean and safe drinking water to communities and livestock surrounding the Zijin Garatau Platinum Mine. A total of 31 boreholes were drilled and/or equipped for the water supply projects across…

Mobile technology has transformed Africa over the past two decades, enabling the continent to leapfrog fixed-lines and join a global digital economy. It has made the internet accessible to nearly everyone, transforming how we live, learn, work, communicate and play. It has become one of the most important economic sectors, catalysing significant job creation and development. For Africa Day 25 May, TCL shares how some facts and numbers about how mobile technology is transforming sub-Saharan Africa.  Mobile penetration is close to 50% Vast distances and underdeveloped infrastructure meant a telephone line was a luxury reserved for the rich in Africa…

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has officially opened the lower 6GHz spectrum band for the provision of Wi-Fi services. The spectrum band will benefit wireless internet service providers. The lower 6GHz frequency band refers to the radio frequency range of 5925 – 6425 MHz, as allocated in the National Radio Frequency Plan. “Annexure B of Radio Frequency Spectrum Regulations, 2015, consists of a list of radio apparatus, the use or possession of which does not require a radio frequency spectrum licence,” said ICASA. “The authority has now incorporated the key lower 6 GHz frequency band (from 5…

Eskom has announced that it will implement Stage 4 and 5 load shedding until further notice. This after breakdowns occurred at several of the power utility’s stations overnight. Stage 4 will be implemented between 5am and 4pm while Stage 5 will commence from 4pm to 5am every day. “Over the past 24 hours, a generating unit each at Duvha, Kriel, Majuba, Medupi and Tutuka power stations were returned to service. “In the same period, a generation unit each at Arnot, Camden, and two generating units at Kriel power stations were taken out of service due to breakdowns. Furthermore, the delay…

The Chairperson of the University of Cape Town Council, Babalwa Ngyonyama, has resigned from her position with immediate effect. In a statement on 22 May, Ngyonyama said the decision to resign from her position did not come easily to her, but was taken after “careful consideration and thorough deliberation” and taking into account the current circumstances of her well-being and health. Last year, the UCT Council decided to set up an independent investigation panel to investigate issues of university governance. The panel consists of Judge Lex Mpati (chair), Judge Azhar Cachalia, Dr Bernadette Johnson and Dr Patricia Hanekom. Ngonyama’s resignation…

Balwin Energy, the solar energy business focused on providing photovoltaic (PV) energy solutions at Balwin’s developments, continues with the rollout of photovoltaic (PV) solutions at all active developments. The developer said Balwin Energy generated 3.3 GWh of energy during the year and is already making a contribution to the group’s profitability, albeit not materially at this stage. The continued roll-out of PV solutions remains a key strategic initiative of the group as it supports affordability by reducing residents’ utility costs, while providing annuity income to the group. The remaining early-stage annuity businesses did not contribute materially to the group’s results. While…

Balwin – a specialist, national residential property developer of large-scale, sectional title estates for South Africa’s growing low-to-middle income population – continues to connect its apartments to fibre. The company’s apartments are designed to appeal to a wide range of home buyers, catering for a first-time, young professional, young family, older family, retirees, as well as buy-to-let investors. The company’s apartments include modern fitted kitchens, prepaid water and solar-assisted electricity, eco-friendly fittings and appliances, and fibre-enabled. The developer generates annuity income through subsidiary company Balwin Fibre which provides high-speed fibre connectivity to homeowners within Balwin’s estates. Today, Balwin announced that Balwin Fibre progressed steadily…

The Information Regulator says it will embark on a robust assessment of political parties’ compliance with the Promotion of Access to Information (PAIA) Act 2, 2000. The Regulator said the assessment is part of its programme of action presented in its Annual Performance Plan 2023/2024 to the Justice and Correctional Services Portfolio Committee. This follows the Constitutional Court’s judgement in the My Vote Counts NPC v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and Another [2018] ZACC 17 case, brought about the amendment of PAIA on 1 April 2021. Information Regulator Chairperson, Advocate Pansy Tlakula, said the PAIA amendment created an…

Dis-Chem Pharmacies has experienced minimal disruption to its business as a result of the power cuts instigated by struggling power utility Eskom. The company attributes this to its early investment in generator capacity. “The group’s strategic early investment in generator capacity has resulted in minimal disruption to our ability to trade but did result in the group’s diesel expense increasing by 65% to R91 million over the corresponding period,” said Saul Saltzman, outgoing CEO of Dis-Chem. The group expects South African consumers to continue to face financial difficulties. “While the group has taken the necessary measures to minimise the operational…

Today, OpenAI announced the official launch of the ChatGPT app for iOS to enable its users to access its popular AI chatbot on the go through smartphones. The ChatGPT app is free to use and syncs your history across devices. It also integrates Whisper, our open-source speech-recognition system, enabling voice input. ChatGPT Plus subscribers get exclusive access to GPT-4’s capabilities, early access to features and faster response times, all on iOS. Discover the versatility of ChatGPT: Instant answers: Get precise information without sifting through ads or multiple results. Tailored advice: Seek guidance on cooking, travel plans, or crafting thoughtful messages. Creative inspiration: Generate…

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) issued today a worldwide appeal calling to increase the value of pledges for digitalising the world from the current $30 billion to $100 billion by 2026. The appeal by the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies includes a focus on raising the level of resources for universal and meaningful connectivity and digital transformation in the world’s least developed countries (LDCs). The announcement of the target was made on World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, observed annually to mark the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and ITU’s founding in 1865. “Tech is…

Liquid Dataport, a business of Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, today announced it has launched the first terrestrial fibre connecting Mombasa to Johannesburg. This new route, including a breakthrough and unique fibre link across DRC between Goma and Kananga, provides multiple landlocked countries with extra redundancy, resilience, connectivity to numerous data centres and cloud resources, and, most significantly, an alternative option in the event of a subsea cable outage between Kenya and South Africa. “Cassava Technologies is committed to making digital inclusion a reality on the African continent. This milestone achieved by Liquid Dataport reiterates our commitment to a…

Bayobab, a wholly owned subsidiary of MTN Group, has teamed up with Africa50, an infrastructure investment platform, to build a terrestrial fibre optic cable network connecting the eastern shores of Africa to those on the continent’s west. Bayobab, formely known as MTN GlobalConnect, has signed a partnership with Africa50 to develop Project East2West. The partnership will invest up to $320 million or R6 billion connecting ten African countries over the years 2023, 2024 and 2025. The Project East2West partnership will help bridge Africa’s connectivity gap by improving broadband access for landlocked African countries and offer substantial improvements for data traffic…

Vodacom said today that the ongoing power outages have been disastrous for the South African economy and the industry as a whole. The telecoms company, which is part of Vodafone, said it has spent more than R4 billion on backup power solutions such as batteries and generators since 2020, and another R300 million in the last financial year on additional operating costs in the form of diesel, security and maintenance. “We remain confident that the ‘virtual wheeling’ pilot project that we’re pioneering with Eskom, South Africa’s power utility company, will be signed off in the near term and that this…

Vodacom today announced that its super-app VodaPay has 3.3 million registered users. “I am particularly encouraged by the traction and transaction volume growth that our VodaPay super- app continues to attract through its 5.7 million downloads and 3.3 million registered users,” said Shameel Joosub, CEO of Vodacom. Vodacom added that VodaPay has registered over 100 mini-apps on the platform and is constantly adding more merchants “as we scale the apps and grow transaction volumes”. VodaPay provides a digital shopping, lifestyle and financial platform for consumers and businesses. “Our financial services strategy is supported by a dual-sided ecosystem across consumers and…

African telecommunications services and managed services provider Seacom says it has suffered a cyber security incident. The incident occurred yesterday and was confined to its hosting environment, Seacom said in a statement. However, the company added that the cyber attack affected a small number of its customers, all of whom have been personally notified and are being kept updated on recovery plans. “Our initial investigation has found that no customer data has been compromised,” Seacom said in a statement. “We want to assure our managed services, corporate and wholesale customers that the impact was limited to a small server environment…

LinkedIn is cutting 716 jobs and will begin phasing out InCareer, its local jobs app in China, by August 9, 2023. “Though InCareer experienced some success in the past year thanks to our strong China-based team, it also encountered fierce competition and a challenging macroeconomic climate,” said LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslanky in a letter to staff. “While these decisions are essential for our business, they also mean that some of our teammates will be leaving LinkedIn for new opportunities. We are committed to providing our full support to those impacted.” LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, plans to open up…

South Africa-based ThisTree Technology Distribution has partnered with NPP Power, the fourth largest manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries in China, to sell and distribute batteries in the South African market to drive the energy transition. NPP operates five different production facilities, including one in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and four in China (Dongguan, Guangzhou, Henan and Hunan). NPP Power has established sales offices in mainland China and overseas offices in North America, Europe and Africa to establish itself as a global player in the energy transition. NPP is entering the South African market for the first time. The company plans…

Wi-flix, the fastest-growing streaming platform in Africa, has expanded its presence to Zambia following the launch of its packages with MTN. The streaming platform is already available in Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria. The streaming service is now available to consumers in the southern African country, providing over 30,000 hours of the best entertainment to Zambian audiences. MTN Zambia subscribers now have access to thousands of hours of unlimited premium content with the launch of Wi-flix in the Zambian market. Users can take advantage of daily, weekly, and monthly data packages starting as low as K1 + free 50MB for a…

The Empire Partner Foundation has today announced it is pioneering a tech week event, and awards program, which will give South African innovators the chance be recognised for their tech contributions at the inaugural event in Johannesburg at Gallagher Estate, on November 6 2023. The tech week and awards extravaganza will see hundreds of tech innovators gather in Johannesburg for the action packed event. The South African Annual Tech for Innovation and Social Impact Awards will be hosted in collaboration with the MICT SETA. This inaugural event celebrates the work of individuals and organisations in the technology sector who have…

Access Bank Plc’s parent company Access Holdco has raised $300 million to further to strengthen the bank’s capital base as proceeds of this will supplement the capital needs of its African expansion strategy. “The investment takes the form of a Tier 1 capital qualifying mandatory convertible instrument and is expected to improve the bank’s shareholders’ funds and total capital ratios,” Access Holdings said in a statement. PAC Capital Limited (PAC) acted as the Lead Financial Adviser and Fund Arranger to Access Holdco on its recently concluded $300 Million Investment Finance Facility. Speaking in relation to the facility, Humphrey Oriakhi, the…