Author: Gugu Lourie

Vodacom said it is not yet considering selling any stake in its mobile money entity M-Pesa Africa. Instead, the Vodafone-owned entity aims to grow the business further. “We think it’s too early to have that conversation now,” Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub said on Tuesday. “Maybe two, three years down the line it will be a different conversation because we still want to unlock value. “Because if you do it early, yes, we know we can get multiples of 25x and upwards, and we’ve had a lot of unsolicited offers coming through in that regard. But we’re not in that space…

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) has released a green paper on the South African roadmap to the production of electric vehicles. Trade, Industry and Competition Minister, Ebrahim Patel, said the purpose of the green paper is to establish a clear policy foundation. He added that this will enable the country to coordinate a long-term strategy that will position South Africa at the forefront of advanced vehicle and vehicle component manufacturing. “The strategy is complemented by a consumption leg, and a focus on increasing competitiveness in the global race to transition from the internal combustion engine era, into…

By the end of the year, Google is bringing its Android Automotive operating system to more than ten car models from Volvo, General Motors and Renault. The Android Automotive operating system is an Android-based infotainment system that is built into vehicles. The car’s system is a stand-alone Android device that is optimised for driving. Google said in a statement that with the Android Automotive operating system, the entire infotainment system is powered by Android, and users can access Google Assistant, Google Maps, and more apps from Google Play directly from the car screen without relying on a phone. See a…

Vodacom’s total financial services customers, including Safaricom, rose by 12.9% or 6.6 million to 57.7 million in the year ended 31 March 2021. The Vodafone-owned telco said financial services now generates revenue of R19.3 billion. The group said service revenue generated from Financial Services was up by 18.9% to R2.4 billion. “Our Financial Services’ result reflects our execution capability in this space. Revenue growth was underpinned by our Airtime Advance product, where we advanced R12.0 billion in airtime during the year, an increase of 21.1%,”  said Shameel Joosub, Vodacom Group CEO. “The number of Airtime Advance customers increased 17.3% to…

Vodacom Business service revenue rose by 11.3% to R15.9 billion in the year to end-March 2021, supported by innovative work-from-home solutions. Vodacom announced today that fixed service revenue grew by 6.5%, excluding wholesale transit, supported by strong growth in cloud and hosting and connectivity revenue. The Vodafone-owned company added that Internet of Things (IoT) connections grew by 6.4% to 5.6 million, with revenue growth at 32.8% to R1.1 billion. The telco added that mobile contract customer revenue increased by 5% to R20.8 billion, a resilient performance given the economic backdrop. “Within the mobile contract segment, Vodacom Business continued to deliver…

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…

Cisco announced today plans to buy privately-held, U.S.-based Socio Labs, a modern event technology platform that provides event organizers with everything they need to successfully host in-person, virtual or hybrid events of any size and format. The purchase price was undisclosed. Together with Webex, Socio Labs and recently acquired audience engagement technology from Slido will enable Cisco Webex to deliver the industry’s most comprehensive hybrid event management solution. “The future of events, like the future of work, will be hybrid,” said Jeetu Patel, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco Security and Collaboration. “With that comes increased complexity of…

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…

South African company Ulink is bringing Virtual Reality solutions into schools in South Africa. Virtual reality is a simulated experience that can be similar to or completely different from the real world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment, education and business. Ulink is ensuring that South Africa is ahead of the curve, taking this new technology into the education space, and empowering our children’s development by factoring in the advancement of technology and adapting learning accordingly. The company is placing the focus on how the technology can be used to aid learning. There are clear educational benefits to be drawn…

Global tech investors Prosus announced plans to buy up to 45.4% of shares in its parent company, Naspers.  Post the transaction, Prosus free float would double to more than $100 billion (R1.4 trillion), increasing liquidity, market index weightings and enhanced trading dynamics. The Prosus board believes that the company will benefit from the step-up in size of its free float resulting from the proposed transaction. This transaction is expected to bring increased liquidity, improved market index weightings as a Top 20 STOXX 50 company, and enhanced trading dynamics, creating value for both Prosus and Naspers shareholders over the long term.…

Transaction Capital, the owners of SA Taxi, is in talks to buy an additional stake in WeBuyCars, a South African online car marketplace. The JSE-listed company informed investors today that it has entered formal negotiations with WBC Holdings (WBC Holdco), the holding company of WeBuyCars, and its shareholders to conclude a transaction in the short term. Transaction Capital said the deal would result in Transaction Capital Motor Holdco holding 74.9% of the shares in and acquiring control of WBC Holdco. Founders of WeBuyCars would have the remaining 25.1% stake. The company currently holds a 49.9% stake in the South African…

Phuthuma Nhleko, former MTN Group executive chairman, has been appointed as an independent non-executive director of the JSE. His appointment is effective 1 July 2021. The JSE also announced that Nhleko has also accepted the board’s invitation to serve as chairman-designate and will assume the role of JSE board chairman, with effect from the annual general meeting to be held in May 2022. “The board extends a warm welcome to Phuthuma and looks forward to his contribution and leadership,” said the JSE. Nhleko has extensive experience, both in South Africa and globally, in telecommunications, organisational strategy development, operations, M&A, corporate…

The South African government is embarking on developing regulations that will guide and regulate the implementation and roll-out of autonomous vehicle technology (AVT). In its Annual Performance Plan for the financial year 2020/21, the Department of Transport disclosed that we could not avoid the imminent changes in our road transportation system as a country. “These regulations, therefore, will ensure that the country remains competitive towards what the world will be offering. The country will be in a position where it can trade and operate the vehicles with autonomous technology,” the department said. The rest of the world is confronted with…

Twitter is officially adding the Tip Jar feature to the platform to enable users to send money directly to their favourite accounts. Starting today, everyone using Twitter in English can send tips to applicable accounts on Twitter for iOS and Android. “You drive the conversation on Twitter and we want to make it easier for you to support each other beyond Follows, Retweets, and Likes. Today, we’re introducing Tip Jar – a new way for people to send and receive tips,” Esther Crawford, Twitter’s Senior Product Manager, wrote in the company’s blog. “We $ee you – sharing your PayPal link…

The Estonian government’s e-Residency programme, a pioneer of the world’s first digital residency initiative, has launched a new digital ID card collection in Johannesburg. Many people have traveled from country to country while they remote worked over the past decade, but there were limited ways to do so legitimately until recently. Antiquated visa systems required travelers to define themselves as entrepreneurs or workers and required a company to sponsor their stay — an expensive, bureaucratic route with few guarantees. Instead, most people chose to label themselves as “tourists” but risked deportation if the authorities caught them out. For more read:…

The Facebook Oversight Board has ruled to uphold the decision to ban former US President Donald J. Trump from the social media network. Facebook’s Oversight Board acts as a quasi-court over the company’s content decisions. The former president was banned from both Facebook and Instagram in January following the Capitol Hill riots. The Oversight Board said it has upheld Facebook’s decision to suspend Trump’s access to post content on Facebook and Instagram on January 7, 2021. However, as Facebook suspended Trump’s accounts ‘indefinitely,’ the company must reassess this penalty, it said. “Within six months of this decision, Facebook must reexamine…

Attacq, the owners of Mall of Africa in Midrand, has launched SHôPING, a new app to offer online shopping. The app, launched in April 2021, allows The Mall of Africa’s customer and merchant community to access the Dashpay transaction platform. the platform facilitates in-mall navigation, wallet-less shopping and cashless gift card solutions, consolidating communication channels and offering a seamless customer experience to take the brick & mortar experience into the digital space. SHôPING is set to benefit merchants by increasing basket sizes as customers make use of a bespoke virtual currency – ZAKA – which can be earned and spent…

Crystal Partners, a newly launched female-owned and led South African investments entity, wants to be the premier choice partner for global and local companies seeking to establish and expand their footprint on the African continent. The investment firm has appointed sixteen specialists to seek agriculture, energy, technology & innovation, health, and mining opportunities. The company has been established as the Alternative Investment arm of the Sandton-based pan-African diversified investment company Beryl Group, focusing on proprietary investments. It holds equity interests in a balanced portfolio of medium and large capitalised companies spanning three core sectors: Logistics and Rail, Coal, and Financial…

The MoMo, a mobile money service, for MTN is gaining traction with its South African subscribers. Since its relaunch in South Africa in January 2020, MoMo has performed well, with approximately 3.1 million registered users on 31 March 2021, said MTN. “The focus remains on scaling the MoMo business and deepening financial inclusion through driving adoption as well as innovative and relevant service offerings,” the company informed investors today. Also read: Why the Relaunch of MTN’s MoMo is More Than a Mobile Money Service in SA? MoMo allows users to purchase airtime, prepaid electricity, and pay for their municipal bills…

MTN has received bids for the sale and lease back of some of its 13 000 South African telecommunications towers. Last December, MTN announced it was looking to sell and lease back part of its tower portfolio. “MTN SA continues its work in exploring a potential sale and leaseback of its passive tower infrastructure,” said Ralph Mupia. “Having issued invitations to offer expressions of interest in this regard, MTN SA has received over 20 responses and has engaged financial advisors to assist with the process. “We anticipate that this process will be concluded by the end of Q3 2021.” Under…

MTN Group announced today that it has established its first FibreCo in Zambia as part of its Ambition 2025 strategy to spin off fibre business. In March, MTN announced plans to demerge its Fibre and FinTech business and to bring third party investors to unlock value trapped in the company. MTN has 85 000 km of fibre network across the African continent and intends to seek partners to expand its footprint. The company will need about $500 million investment over the medium term to invest in the expansion of its fibre business into an open-access network. “GlobalConnect’s fibre development and separation projects are also…