Author: Gugu Lourie

Wingcopter, the German delivery drone manufacturer and service provider, today announced that it has raised $42 million or R672 million from renowned financial and strategic investors. The new funding is part of a Series A extension round, tripling the company’s total equity raise to more than $60 million or R960 million to date. Leading German retailer REWE Group as well as German investors Salvia and XAI technologies came on board as new shareholders. They were joined by Japanese conglomerate ITOCHU and previous backers Futury Capital from Germany and Silicon Valley-based Xplorer Capital. Drone Delivery has gained enormous momentum in the…

Southern Africa is the fastest region in Africa in terms of median download speed of 37.89 Mbps, followed by Northern Africa at 25.63 Mbps, Central Africa at 18.73 Mbps, Eastern Africa at 18.31 Mbps, and Western Africa at 17.00 Mbps,  a report by speed test service Ookla revealed on Wednesday. “When it comes to speeds in select African capital cities, Johannesburg was fastest with a median download speed of 65.54 Mbps — nearly 35% faster than that of the next-fastest city, Cape Town at 48.27 Mbps,” says Sylwia Kechiche, Principal Industry Analyst, Enterprise at Ookla. She added that Gaborone stood out…

Discovery Bank announced today that it will offer Vitality Pay as you Gym to all Discovery clients, including those with a Discovery Account. This is part of making physical activity more accessible for all Discovery clients. It’s easy to use and clients can access more than 170 Virgin Active and Planet Fitness clubs nationwide. Clients simply go to a club, scan the QR code at the entrance, seamlessly pay the access fee of between R75 and R100 (depending on the facility) from either a Discovery Bank transaction account, credit card or using Discovery Miles, and enjoy their workout. As an introductory special…

Over the past year, Discovery Bank has seen strong deposit growth and considerable traction of its shared-value banking model amongst its client base; the appeal of a full service, shared value, digital bank is reflected in Discovery Bank’s strong growth to over 1 million accounts since its public launch in 2020. Discovery Bank has firmly established itself as the leading digital bank in South Africa, operating a full-service branchless bank through its banking app that caters for the full spectrum of the retail market, driving high levels of client engagement, utilisation and value. This value is reflected in the one…

Virgin Active SA announced today that it has appointed Jessica Spira as managing director as of 1 October 2022. This follows the announcement in March of the appointment of Dean Kowarski as the group CEO of Virgin Active globally. Spira, a CA, is a senior investment banking executive with over 22 years of experience in strategic business development, relationship management and deal origination in both debt and equity markets. She joined Rand Merchant Bank in 2001 and now heads the bank’s healthcare and hospitality sector. Kowarski said, “With Jessica as MD and a strong team, Virgin Active South Africa…

Independent investment company Fledge Capital is on the hunt for acquisitions after selling its stake in WeBuyCars. Fledge Capital provides capital solutions to private companies across a wide range of industries. Fledge was founded in 2010 by Louis van der Watt and Konrad Fleischhauer. Together and on their own, they have a track record of investing in unlisted businesses. They sought to formalise their relationship into an investment vehicle, which led to the establishment of Fledge Capital. In 2017, African Rainbow Capital Investments (ARC) became a shareholder in Fledge. ARC is the listed investment vehicle of Patrice Motsepe, the well-known South African industrialist,…

Digital bank TymeBank disclosed on Friday that it is sustaining the momentum of acquiring about 130 000 customers per month. African Rainbow Capital (ARC) said in an update to investors that TymeBank is also making headway in increasing the number of customers with active accounts, which has proved to be challenging, given the tough economic environment with added pressure on consumers. Internationally, TymeBank’s fellow subsidiary company, Tyme Global, based in Singapore, is set to launch a digital bank called GOtyme in the Philippines in October 2022 with its local partners, the Gokongwei family, added ARC. In May 2022, TymeBank announced…

JSE-listed retailer TFG, formerly known as The Foschini Group, reported a 11.7% rise in online retail turnover to R4.4 billion for the year ended March 2022. The retailer said online retail turnover contributed 10,2% to total group retail turnover, evidencing the continuing strong online demand for all its brands. The company added that TFG Africa saw a 18% growth in online retail turnover and now contributes 3,1% to total TFG Africa retail turnover. TFG London reported a 13.8% increase in online retail turnover and now contributes 45,2% to total TFG London retail turnover. The group added that TFG Australia online…

Discovery Bank said on Friday it would immediately refund Vitality clients affected by Comair shutdown. Comair operates Kulula.com and British Airways. “We are saddened by the news released earlier today advising that Comair, one of our longest standing Vitality partners, has stopped operations,” said Discovery Bank. “To assist our clients, for any Vitality member who is a Discovery Bank client and booked a discounted flight departing from 1 June 2022 onwards that has been cancelled due to this issue, Discovery Bank will automatically refund the amount spent on that flight into the Vitality member’s Discovery Bank account by close of…

South Africa’s retailer Mr Price announced today that its Financial Services segment recorded a 6.2% in revenue for the year to end-April 2022. Mr Price said the Financial Services segment revenue increased 6.2% to R697 million. The retailer added that debtors’ interest and fees increased 5.6%, and reported double-digit growth in H2 due to a higher average debtors’ book and a 75bps increase in the repo rate. “The group’s strict credit granting criteria and strong collections and recovery performances positively impacted the portfolio, reflected by the net bad debt to book percentage decreasing to 6.0%, adequately covered by the impairment…

South African retailer Mr Price, which uses cellular handsets and accessories to drive footfall traffic into its stores and online platforms, reported strong growth from its telecoms segment in the year to the end-April 2022. The retailer said the Telecoms segment exceeded one billion Rand in revenue for the first time, increasing 34.4% to R1.2 billion. Mr Price Cellular, launched in 2017, has reported exponential growth since inception and is now available in 374 stores with promising growth opportunities, most notably the rollout of standalone stores. Cellular handsets and accessories gained 130bps of market share, according to Growth for Knowledge (190bps including Powercell in Power Fashion),…

The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) announced on Wednesday that its chairperson Dr Keabetswe Modimoeng has step down to take some time-off after an enervating period. “It is with great regret that ICASA informs the public of the resignation of our Chairperson, Dr Keabetswe Modimoeng,” ICASA said in a statement. The Chairperson, who cited a need to take some time-off after an enervating period, tendered his resignation today, and will commence serving notice to ensure a smooth handover, said ICASA. After a much-needed break, he will consider future options. Dr Modimoeng joined ICASA in April 2016 and has over…

South Africa’s leading digital system aggregator and solution provider, Nexio, a subsidiary of the Vodacom Group, announced today the resignation of Mickey Mashale as CEO. Mashale joined Nexio from Vodacom in August 2020 having previously held the position of Chief Sales Officer at Vodacom Business since February 2018. With over 20 years of experience in the telecoms sector, Mashale has held a number of executive roles during her 10-year tenure with Vodacom and Vodafone including Managing Executive and Head of Region for Vodafone Global Enterprise for Sub-Saharan Africa. “My experience in the last decade as part of the Vodacom and…

South Africa’s first super app, Avo by Nedbank, has announced its appointment as an Apple Authorised Reseller. Apple products are now available on the platform to both South African consumers and businesses, unlocking access to affordable and convenient finance options across the range. With the complete range of Apple products available, including Macs, iPads and iPhones – plus the full complement of accessories – Avo continues to make good on its promise of absolute convenience, ensuring that everything you need can be found in a single convenient shopping experience. “We are extremely excited at the opportunity to market and sell…

JSE-listed Transaction Capital, the owners of SA Taxi, announced today that South African online car marketplace WeBuyCars is eyeing global expansion after setting up shop in Morocco. WeBuyCars is South Africa’s trusted trader of used vehicles. Transaction Capital announced that WeBuyCars recently completed an organic expansion into Morocco and is considering international expansion opportunities in selected markets. “WeBuyCars’ recent organic expansion into Morocco is the first step in our international expansion aspirations. We will continue to explore further expansion opportunities in select markets,” said the company. Transaction Capital Motor Holdco (Pty) Ltd (TCMH) acquired a 49.9% non-controlling interest in WeBuyCars…

SA Taxi owner, Transaction Capital, has published its financial results for the year ending March 2022, outlining the amount of money the taxi industry is spending annually to buy fuel. The group’s data reveals that minibus taxis use 2 to 3 billion litres of fuel per year. Transaction Capital said the taxi industry spent R40 billion on buying fuel in the 2022 financial year. South Africa’s petrol price breached R20 per litre in December 2021. The fuel price hike in April 2022 resulted in the highest fuel price to date at R21.609 per litre. Petrol prices are expected to remain…

South African taxi operators have earned R3.3 million rewards through the SA Taxi Rewards, a minibus taxi rewards programme, JSE-listed Transaction Capital revealed on Wednesday. The rewards programme was launched in April 2018 by SA Taxi, an independent minibus taxi financier, in collaboration with Taxi Choice, the commercial arm of the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO). The SA Taxi Rewards programme was previously known as Black Elite. The SA Taxi Rewards has 52 992 rewards cards. The programme aims to leverage the minibus taxi industry’s purchasing power to negotiate better pricing to benefit minibus taxi operators, associations and ultimately the…

Soweto-born entrepreneurs have teamed up to create a way for ordinary South Africans to buy online without entering their bank details. This innovation opens up possibilities for both businesses and customers to engage without the worry of scams. Airbuy was officially launched in 2019 with a mission to help ordinary South Africans pay and transact online more safely using their phone numbers instead of risking their banking details. This startup vision was to make paying online as simple as buying from a “Spaza Shop”. The startup was co-founded by Soweto-born Wits Alumni, Njabulo Makhathini and Tshepang Kobo. To commercialise their…

Naspers-backed car subscription company Planet42 is targeting expansion opportunities in Mexico and Brazil. Planet42 is a car subscription company that puts cars in the hands of people unfairly ignored by banks. There, every year more than 7 million second-hand cars are bought and sold, but Mexico also faces the social and economic challenge of having a large population of underbanked individuals. After developing a foothold in Mexico, Brazil is the next major market Planet42 is planning on moving into. “Mexico faces similar challenges to South Africa with an incredibly large population of underbanked professionals and substantial transport inequality,” said Grant…

Naspers-owned Takealot Group and Pick n Pay announced today that their two companies have signed a commercial services agreement which will enable customers across South Africa to buy Pick n Pay food, groceries, and liquor on a new platform on the Mr D app. This new service brings together the strengths of Pick n Pay and the Takealot Group. Pick n Pay will bring its tremendous expertise in running fresh food and grocery, its nationwide store network, and its leading Smart Shopper loyalty programme. The Takealot Group will bring its proven ability to satisfy online, its technical expertise, and its…

Online shopping is booming for Pick n Pay Clothing, which in October 2020, created its online shop to lure customers who were impacted by the spread of COVID-19. Today, Pick n Pay informed investors that online clothing sales increased 233% year-on-year, including through its strategic partnership with online retail platform Zando. The retailer also said that its clothing division made excellent progress, with sales growth of 21.0% year-on-year. “The strong performance was driven by solid market share gains across a number of women’s, men’s and childrenswear categories, for the fourth consecutive year. On a two-year compound annual growth basis, clothing…

Pick n Pay asap!, formerly known as Bottles, is delivering value as more shoppers continue to use the app. The retailer informed investors today that it has made progress against a number of its strategic priorities. The refurbishment of key Pick n Pay Select supermarkets, serving our most affluent customers, resulted in a gain in customers. Pick n Pay Clothing delivered market-leading sales growth and increased its market share across several key categories. The company said its on-demand online grocery offer was relaunched as Pick n Pay asap!, resulting in significant growth in the second half of the year. “Relaunch…

When the draft of a Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked to the press, many of us who have been studying privacy for vulnerable individuals came to a troubling realization: The marginalized and vulnerable populations whose online risks have been the subject of our attention are likely to grow exponentially. These groups are poised to encompass all women of child-bearing age, regardless of how secure and how privileged they may have imagined themselves to be. In overturning Roe, the anticipated decision would not merely deprive women of reproductive control and physical agency as a matter…

THElatest data released today shows that the value of Vodacom’s mobile money platform, M-PESA, continues to scale at an impressive rate with transaction values exceeding R5.3 trillion in 2022 financial year. “Alongside M-Pesa, which is expected to further establish itself as Africa’s largest fintech provider through the implementation of an enhanced product roadmap, VodaPay will be instrumental in our quest in connecting the next 100 million African customers so that no one is left behind,” said Shameel Joosub, Vodacom CEO. “M-Pesa across our markets has grown to serve more than 47.1 million customers and 550 000 merchants through 510 000 agents…

Vodacom announced today that its Super App, VodaPay, is gaining traction as more customers sign up to use the platform. The VodaPay super app is available for download from Apple and Android app stores. VodaPay delivers a digital shopping, lifestyle and financial platform for consumers and businesses. “Through our sustained investments into financial, digital and lifestyle services, we remain focused on providing opportunities to enhance our relationship with the 129.6 million customers we serve across our footprint,” said Shameel Joosub, Vodacom’s CEO. “I am particularly excited about VodaPay’s high adoption rate since its launch in South Africa in October last year…