Author: Gugu Lourie
S outh Africa’s FinTech investment platform Revix aims to expand its operations into Europe and the Middle East. The platform with offices in Cape Town and London is also not discounting setting up operations into the rest of Africa, especially in key markets of Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt. “We would love to grow more into Africa,” Sean Sanders, the founder, and CEO of Revix, told TechFinancials in an interview. “The big conundrum we face in Africa is the regulation side of things.” Sanders said Africa was very slow to adopt cryptocurrencies regulations and introduce new innovative regulations. “As a…
South African-founded Revix is bringing simplicity, trust, and excellent customer service to the crypto investment space. The FinTech investment platform with offices in Cape Town and London enables South Africans to invest in a bundle of the top cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Gold, and more. Revix was founded in 2018 on the principle that everyone should invest their own money and become their wealth manager. The company’s customer growth has mirrored the exponential rise in the cryptocurrency market, which is valued at over $2 trillion or R29 trillion – making the digital asset class more valuable than Apple. Sean Sanders, the founder,…
Swiss Investment Company Crypto Valley Venture Capital will use its new Cape Town office to look for early-stage startups in Africa. More and more blockchain applications are being implemented across the African continent. According to the 2020 Global Crypto Adoption Index, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria have the highest rates of crypto and blockchain adoption worldwide. It was highlighted that there is a very high understanding of the potential of this technology in South Africa in particular. Crypto Valley Venture Capital’s goal in Africa, together with partners from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the Federal Department of…
In the new 2022 AMG SL Roadster, Mercedes-Benz has designed the touchscreen to be adjusted electrically into a more vertical position. The German carmaker said in a statement that the touchscreen’s portrait format offers clear advantages, especially for navigation, as well as more space ergonomically. The first 300 SL Roadster is one of the most famous automobile icons. It’s minimalist and high-quality interior inspired the designers to create the interior for the new Mercedes-AMG SL. For the new edition of the icon, they created a mix of analogue geometry and digital world – called “hyperanalogue”. A good example of this…
The Volkswagen (VW) Group has unveiled a bold new auto business strategy that aims to transform the group into a software-driven mobility company with a strong focus on its powerful brands and global technology platforms, providing synergies and scale as well as opening up new profit pools. Herbert Diess, the CEO of VW, laid out the strategy on Tuesday stating that VW is setting new priorities to leverage the opportunities arising from the electric and digital era of mobility, with sustainability and decarbonization as integral parts of its new strategy. “We set ourselves a strategic target to become global market leader…
The country’s communications watchdog said on Tuesday that it had received reports of vandalism of communications infrastructure, including 113 network towers. The attacks have resulted in the disruption of communication services, closure of some community radio stations and vandalism of network facilities. “We call on the communities to assist in guarding and protecting this critical infrastructure, and to exercise the highest levels of patriotism in this regard. Any disruption of communication services could prove disastrous and result in increased mortality as emergency calls may be directly affected,” said Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) chairperson Keabetswe Modimoeng. The community can…
President Cyril Ramaphosa will today address the nation on government’s response to persistent public violence in parts of the country. The exact time of the President’s address will be announced in due course, the Presidency said in a statement. The address follows the announcement by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) that it has commenced with pre-deployment processes and procedures in line with a request for assistance received from the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS). The request entails SANDF support for police operations in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. “In terms of Section 201(2)(a) of the Constitution,…
Virgin Galactic, a vertically integrated aerospace and space travel company, announced that the flight window for the next rocket-powered test flight of its SpaceShipTwo Unity opens July 11, pending weather and technical checks. The vehicle will set off for the 1.5-hour mission above New Mexico at about 4 pm local time. For the first time, Virgin Galactic will share a global livestream of the spaceflight. Audiences around the world are invited to participate virtually in the Unity 22 test flight and see first-hand the extraordinary experience Virgin Galactic.com is creating for future astronauts. The livestream will be available to watch…
Coca-Cola is planning to open a digital delivery centre in Johannesburg and will be recruiting people in data analytics and software engineering roles. Two months ago, Coca-Cola established a new digital hub in Dublin to help accelerate its digital transformation, creating 40 jobs in its first phase. The Dublin hub is one of six worldwide and will create jobs for data engineers, software developers, data analysts and technical experts. Recruitment is already underway. Johannesburg rounds out the list and serves as the latest example of Coca-Cola’s savvy investment in its global digital network. Like other service centres, this teams’ efforts…
Cape Town or the Mother City has been named as one of the best cities for remote working in the Work-from-Anywhere Index. The index, which attempts to quantify the characteristics that make a city-friendly to remote work, is published by the Berlin-headquartered accommodation rental platform Nestpick. The study compares and analyzes 75 cities according to 16 diverse factors to create a final ranking based on a total score. The cities were selected from a list of global locations renowned as popular destinations for relocation and livability, including those who have demonstrated willingness to encourage foreign-employed workers to move there. The…
Pick n Pay said today it had opened additional capacity in response to the high demand in online shopping on its scheduled delivery platform www.pnp.co.za. In Gauteng particularly, where the third wave is resulting in more people distancing and isolating, the retailer has increased delivery slots by 65% on the platform. “We have moved quickly to add delivery slots – particularly in Gauteng – to make sure that we respond to increased demand for online shopping during this time,” says John Bradshaw, retail executive: Omnichannel at Pick n Pay. The retailer says that certain areas in Cape Town experiencing high…
Mercedes-Benz announced today that it has sold a total of 121,500 plug-in-hybrids and all-electric cars worldwide in the first half of 2021. Deliveries of plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars more than quadrupled in just six months, reaching 121,500 units, reflecting a 305% increase compared to the same period last year. The German carmaker said in a statement that in total, the xEVs made up 10.3% of total Mercedes-Benz Cars sales in the first half of 2021. Around 39,000 all-electric vehicles were delivered from January to June showing a 291.4% rise versus the corresponding period in 2020, including more than 19,000…
China has ordered ride-hailing service provider DiDi Chuxing off the country’s app stores until future approval after correction and review. South China Morning Post reported that the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a short statement on Sunday that Didi’s app, often referred to as the Uber of China, has seriously violated the country’s laws and regulations by illegally collecting users’ personal data. As such, the agency has told China’s app stores to remove the app indefinitely, one of the harshest punishments for an internet company. It has also ordered DiDi to take corrective measures and comply with regulations,…
The European Union (EU) has launched a digital COVID Certificate, which allows people to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, a recent negative test result, or past COVID-19 infection. The certificate will be available in a national language and English said the EU. The certificate consists of a QR code displayed on a device (like a smartphone or a tablet) or printed, and a digital signature, verified via EU Gateway. The certificate is issued for free by their national authorities and recognised by all EU 27 member states as well as Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. The EU said if a country is not ready…
BMW i Ventures, the venture capital arm of BMW Group, is spending $300 million or R4.2 billion to invest in early-and-mid-stage tech startups that operate in the transportation, manufacturing, supply chain, and sustainability industries. Founded in 2016, BMW i Ventures is the BMW Group’s venture capital unit for investing in fast-growing technology start-ups. The aim of this unit is to make financially attractive investments that create strategic value-added for the BMW Group. With a broad focus that includes areas such as digital vehicle technology, autonomous driving, shared and on-demand mobility, electromobility, Industry 4.0 and customer innovation, BWM i Ventures is…
Zoom announced it has bought Karlsruhe Information Technology Solutions – Kites, a start-up dedicated to developing real-time Machine Translation (MT) solutions. Kites was founded in 2015 and has academic roots with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, where co-founders Dr. Alex Waibel and Dr. Sebastian Stüker are faculty members. “We are continuously looking for new ways to deliver happiness to our users and improve meeting productivity, and MT solutions will be key in enhancing our platform for Zoom customers across the globe,” said Velchamy Sankarlingam, president of Product and Engineering at Zoom. “With our aligned missions to make collaboration frictionless – regardless…
Microsoft Office suite – Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and their siblings – is for free for South Africans between the ages of 8 – 24. The offer is under the Mahala scheme, which will enable young people to be able to activate Microsoft licenses for the Microsoft Office 365 suite and 5TB OneDrive cloud-based storage services free of charge. The Mahala.ms offer is part of a broader “Digital Skills Hub”, which aims to position South Africa as a smart, connected, and competitive global player. Through the Digital Skills Hub, brought to you by Microsoft SA and SAtion, the organisation says it…
I recently met Mobit founder, Njabulo Maphumulo, at MaAgnes Ndlovu’s spaza shop in Hambanathi. The place was lively. There was a boy washing a minibus taxi while playing a popular song by Emtee titled: Ghetto Hero. Hambanathi is in Tongaat, about 10km from King Shaka International Airport in Durban. Not far from the taxi other youngsters were standing in groups peering into their smartphones. A few giggling girls were buying mobile data from the spaza shop. The lyrics of Ghetto Hero goes: “Without you I’m nothing. You turned me into something, yeah. I wanna be, I wanna be a ghetto hero, yeah yeah. I wanna be,…
The Google Assistant-powered Lenovo Smart Clock 2 has a wireless charging dock, which can also act as “a soft, ambient nightlight.” The new Lenovo Smart Clock 2 takes nightstands by storm (sans prying camera for visual privacy). Built for the bedroom, or wherever you need a clock that does it all, the Lenovo Smart Clock 2’s updated design, seamless tubing, and compact footprint blends in with nearly any home décor. Its fabric soft-touch, the organic-looking exterior is offered in three fashionable yet neutral hues: Shadow Black, Heather Grey and Abyss Blue. The Lenovo Smart Clock 2 with a wireless charging dock helps eliminate…
Naspers has published its integrated annual report for 2021, showing what its top executives were paid in the last year. Bob van Dijk, CEO of Naspers and its European-listed spin-off Prosus, took home the largest salary at the group in 2021, earning R235 million or $16.6 million) for the year. Van Dijk total remuneration consists of: Fixed remuneration of $1.48 million or R20.9 million Short-term incentives of $1.42 million or R20.1 million Long-term incentives of $13.6 million or R192 million Pension, Medical insurance, life and disability insurance of $1,42 million or R20.1 million While Naspers and Prosus chief financial officer…
Big data, Artificial intelligence (AI), and business intelligence capabilities are at the heart of Vodacom’s efforts to enhance customer experience. The Vodafone-owned company intends to embed itself in the lives of customers. Vodacom Financial and Digital Services are using data analytics to help spot trends and identify customer behaviour patterns. The analytics allows the Vodacom South Africa subsidiary to better meet customers’ demands. This also enables the company to make the right decisions underpinned by real-life data. “We are currently investing a lot around data analytics, big data, and AI to understand different behavioural insights of our customers to ensure…
The VodaTrade platform developed by Vodacom Financial and Digital Services is starting to come alive ahead of the launch of its Super App. The Super App, known as VodaPay, will be the central hub for its financial services and e-commerce offerings. It will be hosting most of South Africa’s leading retail brands across all key verticals for both consumers and merchants. VodaTrade is a supplier portal, where the small supplier will go digital and connect with big business partners. VodaTrade is a one-stop interface for small businesses to interact with all aspects of their trade. Some key features include analytics,…
Technology is changing how business is conducted, and companies such as Vodacom Financial and Digital Services are at the centre of this transformation. Lenders have already taken to the Internet to loan out money and applications can be done online, even via smartphone or USSD code. For those looking to get loans, this is just the beginning of exciting new things to come. Vodacom Financial and Digital Services, a subsidiary of Vodacom South Africa, is positioning itself to be at the centre of that excitement. Vodacom Financial and Digital Services have created Africa’s first Super App with Alipay. Vodacom Financial…
Naspers announced today it had spent $54.8 million (R786 million) to buy out non-controlling shareholders in Takealot, South Africa’s largest online retailer. As a result, the JSE-listed company now holds a 100% interest (96% fully diluted) in Takealot. Naspers added that this deal resulted in the cancellation of the written put option liability for this subsidiary which will be derecognised. The group is assessing the impact of this transaction on equity. Furthermore, Naspers announced that the Takealot group in South Africa also had a solid year, growing revenue by 55% to $606 million (R8, 6 billion). At the same time,…
EdTech (education technology) is a considerable focus for Prosus, which invests in companies that help democratize access to quality education worldwide. Prosus, one of the largest technology investors in the world, announced today that after just five years of investment, it would reach well over 500 million learners every month in this rapidly growing sector. “We see exciting opportunities to deepen their learning experience over time,” the Naspers-owned company said. “If this past year has shown us anything it is that technology can fundamentally change a sector and enable it to scale much quicker, and this is especially true in…