Author: Gugu Lourie

African Rainbow Capital announced on Tuesday that it is selling its shareholding in South Africa’s Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) and Fibre-To-The-Business (FTTB)provider  MetroFibre Networx “The ARC Fund has reached an agreement to dispose of its entire investment in MetroFibre, pending regulatory approval,” African Rainbow Capital informed investors on Tuesday. The company, which launched in 2010, is a high-growth player in South Africa’s FFTTH and FTTB markets. Over the last 10 years, MetroFibre has expanded its service offering to both residential and corporate customers in line with its strategic objective of being a diversified operator. The company is an internet infrastructure company that…

TYMEBANK, one of South Africa’s digital banks, has attracted 3.45 million customers as of 30 June 2021. The digital bank owned by billionaire Patrice Motsepe was launched in February 2019. The bank has no monthly banking fees and in most cases, transaction costs are 30 to 50% lower than what customers would pay at other banks. TymeBank is a digital bank that leverages the use of digital technology to make banking simple and affordable. The bank is focused on acquiring customers who want to benefit from lower banking costs as well as improved customer experience. The business managed to achieve its revenue…

Karooooo, the owner of Cartrack, has acquired the South African-based on-demand logistics provider Picup Technologies for R70 million. The company has acquired 70.1% of Picup Technologies. Founded in South Africa in 2014 – after its founder had a disaster of an experience with a Black Friday delivery, which sparked the famous light-bulb moment: “Logistics needs better tech!”. The vision was to develop technology that would improve efficiencies and reduce transportation costs for shippers and transporters through a single logistics platform connected to a marketplace of verified crowd-sourced drivers across Africa. Uniquely positioned in the on-line delivery operational management software industry,…

To understand the new smart monitors and other pro devices of tech health, we should look to Silicon Valley and the quantified movement of the latest generation. Apple’s Watch records exercise, tracks our moves throughout the day, assesses the amount of time we are stood up and reminds us to get up and move around if we have been sat for too long – let’s not forget Tim Cook’s “sitting is the new factor” line. Routinely evaluating your risk factors for various medical conditions, screening for cancer and other diseases, and assessing your lifestyle habits helps you stay healthy. It’s…

To understand the new smart monitors and other pro devices of tech health, we should look to Silicon Valley and the quantified movement of the latest generation. Apple’s Watch records exercise, tracks our moves throughout the day, assesses the amount of time we are stood up and reminds us to get up and move around if we have been sat for too long – let’s not forget Tim Cook’s “sitting is the new factor” line. Routinely evaluating your risk factors for various medical conditions, screening for cancer and other diseases, and assessing your lifestyle habits helps you stay healthy. It’s…

To understand the new smart monitors and other pro devices of tech health, we should look to Silicon Valley and the quantified movement of the latest generation. Apple’s Watch records exercise, tracks our moves throughout the day, assesses the amount of time we are stood up and reminds us to get up and move around if we have been sat for too long – let’s not forget Tim Cook’s “sitting is the new factor” line. Routinely evaluating your risk factors for various medical conditions, screening for cancer and other diseases, and assessing your lifestyle habits helps you stay healthy. It’s…

To understand the new smart monitors and other pro devices of tech health, we should look to Silicon Valley and the quantified movement of the latest generation. Apple’s Watch records exercise, tracks our moves throughout the day, assesses the amount of time we are stood up and reminds us to get up and move around if we have been sat for too long – let’s not forget Tim Cook’s “sitting is the new factor” line. Routinely evaluating your risk factors for various medical conditions, screening for cancer and other diseases, and assessing your lifestyle habits helps you stay healthy. It’s…

To understand the new smart monitors and other pro devices of tech health, we should look to Silicon Valley and the quantified movement of the latest generation. Apple’s Watch records exercise, tracks our moves throughout the day, assesses the amount of time we are stood up and reminds us to get up and move around if we have been sat for too long – let’s not forget Tim Cook’s “sitting is the new factor” line. Routinely evaluating your risk factors for various medical conditions, screening for cancer and other diseases, and assessing your lifestyle habits helps you stay healthy. It’s…

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has imposed an administrative penalty of R50 million on research firm Viceroy Research and its partners, Mr Aiden Lau, Mr Fraser John Perring and Mr Gabriel Bernarde over a damning 2018 report it published on Capitec Bank. The FSCA said the penalty imposed was jointly and severally payable by Viceroy Research and partners within 30 days from the date of the order. The FSCA said Viceroy Research contravened Section 81(1) of the Financial Markets Act 19 of 2012 (FMA) in that during January 2018 they published false, misleading or deceptive statements, promises or forecasts…

On-demand grocery delivery service Checkers Sixty60 is now South Africa’s number one grocery app. It is South Africa’s first 60-minute grocery delivery service from a supermarket chain, as Checkers relentlessly innovates to respond to customers’ demands for hyper-convenience. The mobile app delivers groceries and drinks at the touch of a button and offers the same value for money for which Checkers is renowned. Users can track the status of their order and delivery in real-time. “The on-demand grocery delivery app has scaled rapidly, operating nationwide from 233 stores which serve as micro-fulfilment centres,” Shoprite informed investors today. “Sixty60 becoming the…

The Shoprite Xtra Savings Rewards Programme attracted a surprisingly high 20.3 million clients over the 53 weeks to 4 July 2021, reassuring investors that the rewards programme will fuel customer spending. The Xtra Savings Rewards Programme was launched by the Shoprite supermarket chain in October 2020. “Consumer response on both counts has been unrivalled, with the Xtra Savings Rewards Programme signing up over 20.3 million members,” the company informed investors on Tuesday. The success of the launch of the Xtra Savings Rewards Programme during the previous financial year in the Checkers (including Checkers Hyper) chain, has gained traction and the…

South African Airways (SAA) today informed loyal customers that it has Voyager virtual membership card. Customers can access the virtual card by downloading the latest version of the SAA Voyager App which is available on the App Store, for iOS, and Play Store for Android. “We at SAA Voyager are certainly very excited that the waiting is finally over! Effective today, 6 September 2021, you are once again able to utilise your accumulated Voyager miles for redemption on SAA and all Voyager program partners,” SAA said in a newsletter to customers. “Before you book, please note that we have become…

Telkom has revealed the September Big Deal, which is data-packed and here to save you big bucks. The SmartBroadBand 20GB Wireless September big deal offer with 80GB of data is available for R249 a month. The price for SmartBroadband Wireless shall be available for the period from 01st September 2021 and end 30th September 2021. The September big deal 80GB data of the month is a Post-paid or Top-Up SmartBroadband 20GB Wireless data offer. The Telkom September Big Deal includes the following: 20GB Anytime data 20GB Night Surfer data Plus Recurring 20GB Anytime data Recurring 20GB extra Night Surfer data Huawei…

African payments company pawaPay has secured a $9 million or R134 million seed raise. The round was co-led by MSA and UK-based investment fund 88mph, with participation from Vunani Capital,  Kepple Ventures and Zagadat Capital. The capital will be deployed to scale pawaPay’s operational presence, find more talent to join the team, and expand into new markets on the continent. Founded in 2020, pawaPay is focused on the mobile money infrastructure provided by telecommunications companies (telco) in Africa. Each telco in each country provides its own unique mobile money product, which makes the mobile money infrastructure as a whole  -…

Telkom today named Lunga Siyo as the new CEO of Telkom Consumer effective 1 October 2021. Siyo is set to take over from Serame Taukobong when he assumes the position of Group CEO Designate. Making the announcement, Telkom GCEO Sipho Maseko said, “as CEO of Telkom Small and Medium Business, supported the transition of Yellow Pages from a print to a digital business.” Siyo joined Telkom just over three years ago. Using his experience in the mobile and financial services sector, he led the introduction of Telkom’s value propositions in FinTech, e-commerce and mobile payments. “Lunga’s experience in mobile and…

Standard Bank Mobile announced today the introduction of fixed LTE starting from R139 a month for 20GB of anytime data. The operator said its fixed LTE offers Standard Bank customers a subsidised router and data. The company added that data allocations vary depending on which bank account you hold. Customers can also top up their data with recurring or once-off data bundles depending on their needs. “We are able to offer customers an opportunity to purchase devices for less, to access affordable and even in some cases, free data – simply for banking with us! Giving back value to individuals…

The Cabinet has reminded South Africans to submit their applications for the R350 COVID-19 Grant to support people who have no income. Applications for the grant opened on Friday, 6 August 2021. In a statement on Thursday, the Cabinet said it is conscious of the hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent public violence in some parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. The Cabinet said the R350 per month grant is an important safety net for families who would otherwise be devastated by the scourge of poverty and unemployment. People between the ages of 18 and 60, who have…

Old Mutual is scouting for investment opportunities in the InsurTech industry as Africa’s oldest insurer seeks to enhance every aspect of our business through technology. Old Mutual, founded in Cape Town in 1845 and generates about 80% of its revenue in South Africa, announced today plans to expand its investments in innovation. The insurer said this would be done through a new collaboration with venture capital firm Anthemis Group. The company said through Anthemis Insurance Venture Growth Fund (AIVGF) it will deploy capital focused on series B and C companies in InsurTech. “While we have a number of investments in…

MTN Group is taking complete control of aYo, a mobile micro-insurance joint venture with SA’s third-biggest insurer Momentum Metropolitan. The insurer is exiting the partnership. “We concluded an agreement to increase our shareholding in aYo to 100% as MMH exits the partnership,” MTN informed investors. “At the same time, we have announced a strategic alliance with Sanlam, which will help to accelerate our InsurTech growth on the continent, in line with our pan-African strategy. “ The aYo platform will form the base of the alliance with Sanlam, said the telco. The company said aYo insurance business had more than 13.6 million registered…

MTN’s Mobile Money (MoMo) business is riding high, adding millions of new users and attracting agents. MoMo allows users to purchase airtime, prepaid electricity, and pay for their municipal bills and DSTV subscriptions. Registered mobile money accounts in Africa grew 12% to 562 million in 2020, while monthly active accounts were 161 million, an 18% increase, according to the GSMA’s State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2021.08.16 The report also found that total transactions hit 27.5 billion (up 15%) valued at $495 billion or R7.3 trillion (up 23%). It has 171 active mobile money services. MTN seems to…

Phuthuma Nhleko, former CEO and executive chairman of MTN Group, has stepped down from Africa’s biggest mobile phone company’s international advisory board (IAB). “MTN wishes to advise shareholders that Phuthuma Nhleko has stepped down from the IAB, effective 6 August 2021,” the MTN statement reads. As announced at its inception, the IAB is MTN’s non-statutory body and does not have any fiduciary responsibility. “Phuthuma’ s contribution to the IAB, since 2019, has been invaluable and the board of directors of MTN wishes to extend its gratitude for his exemplary leadership and dedication to MTN and to his role as a member…

MTN Group on Thursday disclosed that its instant messaging platform, Ayoba, had reached 8 million monthly active users as of June 2021. Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator by subscribers said Ayoba has added 2.5 million new users since December 2020. MTN said the instant messaging platform has now been integrated into 18 MTN markets. “We rolled out an updated version of Ayoba, which includes music, gaming, channels and money transfer services.” In Nigeria, MTN’s biggest market and Africa’s populous market, the digital business continued to gain traction on the back of a strong partner ecosystem and the uptake of products…

MTN Group announced on Thursday it had initiated an exit of Syria, by abandoning the operation given the regulatory actions and demands that make operating in the market untenable. “We reserve our right to seek redress through international legal processes given the actions of the Syrian authorities that have left us with no other choice than to exit,” the company said in a financial results note to investors. MTN said in the first quarter Syria operation represented less than 1% of MTN Group EBITDA, before deconsolidation in February 2021. On 25 February 2021, the Administrative Court of Damascus placed MTN…

MTN GlobalConnect, a digital wholesale and infrastructure services company and an operating company in the MTN Group, is making inroads into the rest of the African markets as it clinches new fixed wholesale deals. MTN informed investors on Thursday that MTN GlobalConnect has recorded a healthy commercial and financial performance, signing new fixed wholesale deals to the value of $27.3 million or R400 million in total contract value terms during the first quarter. The company added that the unit also delivered growth in external revenue of 40.0% year-on-year to $45.5 million or R668 million (total revenue of $248 million or…

MTN SA has committed R10 million to support qualifying spaza shops in KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng that were decimated in the unrest. In the days following the unrest. MTN SA CEO Godfrey Motsa made a public plea for big businesses to work closely with small and micro-businesses to help re-establish and support those entities that were amongst the hardest hit during the rioting and looting. MTN has completed its review of the spaza shops with which it already has existing relationships, that were impacted by the unrest. Next week, MTN will open applications for other spaza shops that may be…