Author: Gugu Lourie

MTN Group said on Wednesday that it expects to spin off its FinTech Business before the end of the first quarter in 2022. In March, MTN announced plans to spin off its FinTech Business. For more read: MTN Set To Spin Off Fibre, FinTech Businesses, Invite Third Party Investors “The FinTech separation project is progressing well, in line with our Ambition 2025 strategy,” Ralph Mupita, MTN Group CEO, said on Wednesday. “MTN Rwanda recently received a license to operate a separate fintech entity bringing the number of separated entities to 12 (out of 16 fintech markets). “We continue…

MTN Group announced on Wednesday that it had lost 1,7 million customers in the quarter ended 31 March 2021 hit by new SIM registration regulations in Nigeria. The company said excluding the Nigeria subscribers were up 3.4 million. MTN now has 277.9 million subscribers. On Monday, MTN Nigeria announced that its subscribers dropped by 5 million to 71.5 million due to the effects of customer churn and the regulatory restrictions on new SIM sales and activations. Last December, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) announced that the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) directed the NCC to embark on…

UK-based EV startup Arrival is working with Uber to design and build an affordable, purpose-built electric vehicle for the ride-hailing industry. The startup said the Arrival Car is expected to enter production in Q3 2023. Arrival will collaborate with Uber drivers in the design process over the coming months to ensure the Arrival Car reflects the needs of professional drivers and their passengers, with the final vehicle design expected to be revealed before the end of 2021. The Arrival Car will address the global need to shift ride-hailing and car-sharing services, with over 30 million estimated drivers across the ride-hailing…

Sony Interactive Entertainment has made a minority investment in Discord, a popular gaming-focused chat app. Sony will integrate the gaming-focused chat app with PlayStation’s own built-in social tools. “At PlayStation, we’re constantly looking for new ways to enable players around the world to connect with one another, form new friendships and communities, and share fun experiences and lasting memories,” Jim Ryan, President & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment said. “It’s in this spirit that we’re excited to announce a new partnership with Discord, the communication service popularized by gamers and used by more than 140 million people every month around…

Standard Bank has launched a service status page to keep customers up to date about the status of banking services and offerings, following the extended disruption to banking services. Yesterday, the bank said it had identified a hardware issue that impacted its Mobile App, Internet Banking and ATMs. The issue has now been resolved and services across all banking channels are now fully restored. We apologise for the frustration that such disruptions cause you, the bank said on Twitter. Standard Bank said today it has launched a new service status page to give you real-time status of our banking services…

Dell Technologies is selling Boomi, a provider of cloud-based integration platform as a service (iPaaS), to investment firm Francisco Partners, and private equity firm TPG, for $4 billion (R57 billion). This is part of a strategy by the company to shave off its debt problem created when they bought EMC in 2015. In April, Dell announced plans to spin off its 81% equity ownership of VMware, forming two standalone public companies. The tech firm acquired VMware as part of the $67 billion (R963 billion) EMC acquisition in 2015. Under terms of the planned spin-off, VMware will distribute a special cash dividend of $11.5 –…

Verizon is to sell Verizon Media for $5 billion to New York Stock Exchange-listed Apollo Global Management. Verizon will retain a 10% stake in the company, which will be known as Yahoo at the close of the transaction and continue to be led by CEO Guru Gowrappan. Verizon Media comprises iconic brands such as Yahoo and AOL, as well as leading ad tech and media platform businesses. The corporate carveout will allow Verizon Media to aggressively pursue growth areas and stands to benefit its employees, advertisers, publishing partners and nearly 900 million monthly active users worldwide. “We are excited to…

Telkom has unveiled the May Big Deal, which is data-packed and keeps you connected for next to nothing. The SmartBroadBand 20GB Wireless LTE SIM-Only May big deal offer with 20GB of data is available for R99 a month. The Telkom March Big Deal deal includes the following: 10GB Anytime data 10GB Night Surfer data LTE MiFi router R99 Once-off activation fee Connects up to 16 devices Why the May Big Deal? Enjoy the convenience of connecting instantly, anywhere and at any time. No landline required, no technician needed. Just insert your SIM card, plug it and enjoy a fast, reliable connection. And…

YeboYethU, the broad-based black economic empowerment arm of Vodacom, says it is trying to find thousands of elusive shareholders who are yet to claim millions of rand in dividend payouts.   Last August, YeboYethu announced it was looking for thousands of shareholders owed close to R74 million.   “As things stand, 11 515 shareholders have not claimed dividends with a total value of R66 178 220.60,” a Vodacom official told TechFinancials.   The revelation that just over R66 million was yet to be claimed suggests that YeboYethu has only paid out R8 million to investors.   Some of the reasons…

Paxos, a blockchain infrastructure company, has raised $300 million (R4,3 billion) from previous investors Declaration Partners, PayPal Ventures, Mithril Capital, Senator Investment Group, Liberty City Ventures, WestCap and more. To date, Paxos has raised more than $500 million (R7,2 billion) in funding and with a valuation of $2.4 billion (R29 billion). Paxos is one of the fastest-growing fintech startups in the world and its technology powers crypto brokerage services of PayPal and PayPal-owned Venmo. Venmo enables millions of users to buy, hold and sell bitcoin and a handful of other major cryptocurrencies. “Demand for our enterprise solutions has accelerated much faster than we could have…

In February, MultiChoice SA – the pay-TV operator invited 22 000 Phuthuma Nathi shareholders, who did not receive dividends between 2006 and 2020, to claim their payouts. However, few shareholders have responded to the call to claim their money. Collen Dlamini, Corporate Affairs Executive Head for MultiChoice SA, told TechFinancials that only about 3 000 shareholders have claimed their money so far. This implies that close to 19 000 other Phuthuma Nathi investors have not claimed their money. Dlamini said MultiChoice SA must still payout R173 million of unclaimed dividends for Phuthuma Nathi. The Randburg-based company has also used social media to inform Phuthuma…

Blockchain developer platform Alchemy announced today it has raised $80 million (R1,1 billion) from Coatue and Addition, valuing the company at ½ billion dollars (R7,2 billion). The company’s platform powers over $30 billion (R428 billion) in transactions for tens of millions of users in 99% of countries worldwide. The blockchain company is fast becoming the blockchain world’s version of Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, offering over 200 fully-featured services from data centres globally. Alchemy’s developer platform powers the blockchain industry by providing developers with the tools they need to create mainstream blockchain applications.…

South Africa is among the top countries with the highest perceived risk of job automation, with 53% of respondents saying that the risk of having their job automated has increased over the last year, says Rudi van Blerk, Principal and Recruiting Director at Boston Consulting Group, Johannesburg. He added that this is more than the global average of 41% of respondents fearing job automation. “Additionally, 31% of workers in the digitisation and automation fields have a significantly lower perceived risk of automation in South Africa than 46% globally.” As a result, South Africans are more willing to retrain for new…

The FinTech business of retailer Pepkor, previously Steinhoff Africa Retail, continues to report strong growth. Pepkor informed investors today that its FinTech business increased revenue by 3.1% to R4.5 billion for the six months ended 31 March 2021. The company operates its FinTech division through FLASH and Capfin. Pepkor said revenue growth momentum in the FLASH business continued at double-digits as it invests in new products, channels and geographies. The FLASH business has enabled people in townships and rural areas to start their own businesses using FLASH Business devices while existing shop owners are able to increase their business by…

Woven Planet Holdings, the subsidiary of Toyota, is buying  Level 5, an autonomous vehicle division of Lyft, for $550 million (R7, 8 billion). Lyft is one of the largest ride-hailing companies in the world. This marks the first major deal for the newly established Woven Planet. The deal will bring together world-class scientists and software engineers from Level 5, Woven Planet, and researchers from Toyota Research Institute (TRI), already working together with Woven Planet. The resulting combined “dream team” of approximately 1,200 will represent one of the most diverse, well-resourced and talented groups in this field. “This acquisition advances our…

When Andile Ngcaba – a South African tech entrepreneur and founder of Convergence Partners – moved to Silicon Valley in California, United States, few people paid attention. He set up his office in Mountain View, the suburb, where big tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn are headquartered. Ngcaba was daring enough to swim with the sharks of the tech industry. “If you swim with sharks, make sure you have the appetite of a whale,” to quote Matshona Dhliwayo, a Canadian-based philosopher and entrepreneur. Speaking to TechFinancials, Ngcaba confirms he has “been part of the Silicon Valley community for…

Eventhose with little interest in private equity space have likely heard of Convergence Partners, owned by ICT industry veteran Andile Ngcaba. The Rosebank-based company is a pan-African ICT–focused private equity player, delivering enhanced investment returns while underpinning Continental development. Convergence Partners has a proven record of accomplishment of developing new investment opportunities and actively adding value to investments across the lifecycle of ICT assets. Private equity firms play an essential role in the economy: They can help small enterprises grow and, in turn, generate returns for investors. Brandon Doyle, a co-founder of Convergence Partners, who serves as CEO, told TechFinancials…

MTN’s black economic empowerment scheme, MTN Zakhele Futhi, gets R75 million bailout to avert a cashflow crisis. The liquidity of MTN Zakhele Futhi has been impacted by MTN’s decision not to declare a dividend in its financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2020. The scheme is a ring-fenced special purpose vehicle aimed at facilitating investment by previously disadvantaged South Africans in MTN Group (MTN). MTN had suspended its final dividend as it focuses on faster debt reduction at its holding company even after posting a surge in 2020 earnings. Furthermore, on 10 March 2021. MTN announced that as a result of…

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority has launched the globally utilised Med Safety App to improve the reporting of adverse effects of medicines and vaccines, thereby promoting pharmacovigilance and medicine safety in the country. The purpose of the data reported through the Med Safety App is to contribute to the understanding of medicines’ safety profiles of marketed medicines, including that of COVID-19 vaccines. The App is designed to simplify and promote the reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs), including adverse events following immunisation (AEFIs). “In an era where mobile technology is predominant, this application will be a huge…

SA’s investment company Founders Factory Africa (FFA) has partnered with Small Foundation, a Dublin-based philanthropic foundation, to design, build and scale over 18 agtech startups across sub-Saharan Africa. As part of the Small Foundation investment, African early-stage agtech Founders and entrepreneurs can apply to join the Founders Factory Africa Venture Scale or Venture Build portfolios FFA will invest cash of $100,000 (R1,4 million) -$250,000 (R3, 6 million) and hands-on technical support to the entrepreneurs to grow their venture A full-time team of digital and technical experts based in Johannesburg, Nigeria, Kenya and London will build and grow the startups across…

YeboYethu, the broad-based black economic empowerment arm of Vodacom, announced that Thebe Investment Corporation had sold its 11,33% stake in the business to Mineworkers Investment Company. YeboYethu said Thebe Investment Corporation, through Main Street, has disposed of its entire beneficial interest of more than 5,99 million or 11,33% shares to Mineworkers Investment Company through MIC Investment Holdings. The details of the deal, such as the price paid by Mineworkers Investment Company, were not disclosed. The Vodacom YeboYethu empowerment scheme was established in 2008 and allowed black people to purchase Vodacom SA shares at a discount. This year marks the thirteen…

E-commerce company Wish has announced a strategic partnership with the South African Post Office (SAPO) to strengthen its logistics capabilities and customer experience for South African consumers. Wish will be working directly with SAPO to create a more consistent and efficient experience for the customers in South Africa, the US company said in a statement. The benefits will include: Average 50%+ faster transit times End to end tracking visibility and delivery confirmation Customers to receive bundled shipments for multiple items SMS and physical notifications on deliveries awaiting collection “Our mission at Wish is to democratize e-commerce and make it affordable,…

Prominent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have raised concerns over Telkom’s fibre pricing, which they say is “suspect” – but the country’s biggest fixed-line telephone group insists its pricing is “not anti-competitive”. Telkom Retail is currently offering a 25/25Mbps fibre package on the Openserve network at R449 per month – the cheapest on the market. Telkom is also running a promotion for a 25/5Mbps package for R399 per month on a 12-month contract. This week ISP executives told MyBroadband the pricing from Telkom was “suspect” considering the wholesale costs associated with this product. To remain competitive, ISPs need to purchase products on Openserve’s…

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has revealed that tech firm EOH must pay back over R40 million earned unduly from the Department of Defence (DoD). The SIU said this follows the investigations into the R250 million Microsoft Software Licences procurement contracts awarded by the DoD to EOH. The investigation unit said the probe has uncovered irregularities relating to the procurement process and also overpricing of Microsoft Licenses amounting to more than R40 million. On 12 July 2019, the SIU was directed to investigate the procurement of Microsoft software licences by the DoD and payments made to the tech firm for…

European Union (EU) lawmakers have laid out their first-ever legal framework on artificial intelligence (AI), which addresses the risks of AI, facial recognition and positions Europe to play a leading role globally. The lawmakers today proposed new rules and actions to turn Europe into the global hub for trustworthy AI. The proposals aim to guarantee people and businesses’ safety and fundamental rights while strengthening AI uptake, investment, and innovation across the EU. The proposed rules include prohibitions on a small number of use-cases considered too dangerous to people’s safety or fundamental rights, such as a China-style type of AI-enabled mass…