Author: Gugu Lourie
aYo, a mobile micro-insurance joint venture between MTN and SA’s third-biggest insurer Momentum Metropolitan, is firing on all cylinders. MTN Group announced on Wednesday that aYo insurance joint venture had 11 million registered policyholders and 6 million active policies as of December 2020. The company said in total, aYo generated $6,4 million (R106 million) in service revenue and $10,5 million (R172 million) premium income. aYo provides you with a fast, convenient and easy to use insurance right on your cell phone. You enjoy hospital and life insurance cover through airtime deduction (Recharge with Care) or when you send MoMo (mobile money) to your family or…
MTN is planning to demerge its Fibre and FinTech business and to bring third party investors to unlock value trapped in the company. Ralph Mupita, MTN CEO, said Wednesday MTN plans to separate the two businesses are already underway structurally. “Further to our previous announcement regarding our intention to focus on our pan-Africa strategy, we completed a comprehensive strategy review in Q4 2020 and are excited to introduce ‘Ambition 2025’,” he said. At its core, Ambition 2025 sets the context of how we will drive the business forward to take advantage of the digital acceleration trends, capture growth opportunities and reveal…
MTNGroup announced on Wednesday that it has attracted 29 million new subscribers in 2020 and grew adjusted headline earnings per share (HEPS) by 52%. HEPS is South Africa’s main profit gauge. The company also recorded a four-percentage point increase in return on equity to 17% and a more than doubling in operating cashflow to R28,3 billion. MTN Group now has more than 280 million customers as of December 2020 in 21 markets. As well as managing the risks of COVID-19, MTN Group remains alive to the opportunities presented by the pandemic, particularly the accelerated need for digitalisation evidenced in the…
Discovery Bank said that it is well-positioned for growth as it flirts with 300 000 customers in the six months to end-December 2020. The bank, which is powered by the country’s largest medical aid provider Discovery Health, said value drivers are trending in the right direction and is well-positioned for growth. The bank has 556 000 accounts held by 298 000 clients; Discovery disclosed on Tuesday in a presentation for the Domestic Medium Term Note Programme “non-deal” roadshow. The company informed investors that any forecast financial information in the presentation is unaudited and has not been reviewed or reported on by its external auditors.…
ICASA has resolved to exhaust all legal avenues in respect of the planned spectrum auction, the Chairperson of ICASA, Dr. Keabetswe Modimoeng, said on Tuesday. Yesterday, Telkom and e.tv secured an interdict against communications regulator ICASA, preventing the spectrum auction planned for later this month from taking place until the merits of their case can be heard by the high court. The auction was scheduled to take place by no later than 31 March 2021 — this will now not happen. “We have never been so close to licensing high demand spectrum. We were literally three (3) weeks away from…
Iconic beauty products firm Avon plans to leverage the vast appetite for mobile services in Africa to grow women entrepreneurs. Angela Cretu, Avon CEO told TechFinancials, that the emerging markets in Africa and the Middle East have immense potential. “The younger population, coupled with the growing disposable incomes from the increasing middle class, make for a very compelling case for expansion and investment,” says Cretu. “Africa and the Middle East have a young tech-savvy population that is open to using digital services. “We’re seeing a huge uptake of digital services in Africa and we plan to leverage the…
Thabo Mokgatlha has been appointed as the new chairman of YeboYethu, the black economic empowerment (BEE) scheme of Vodacom. BEE is designed to widen the South African economy’s ownership, mainly in white hands 26 years after apartheid. Mokgatlha will replace Zarina Bassa, who will step down with effect from the next annual general meeting, scheduled for 27 July. He is the CEO of Baphalane Ba Mantserre Investment Holdings and serves as a non-executive director on various other boards. Baphalane Ba Mantserre Investment Holdings is the investment holding arm of the Baphalane Ba Mantserre Community Trust. The Baphalane Ba Mantserre Community is a…
Square, the digital payment company, run by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, has bought Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter’s streaming platform Tidal. As part of the transaction, Jay-Z will move to Square’s board of directors. Square is paying $297 million (R4,5 billion) in cash and stock for a “significant majority ownership stake”, and existing artist shareholders will be the remaining stakeholders. Tidal will operate independently alongside Square’s other ventures. Jay-z bought Tidal for $56 million (R852 million) in 2015 and announced plans to turn it into the first artist-owned streaming service, following a star-studded launch featuring Madonna, Daft Punk, Kanye West and more.…
Turntide Technologies (Turntide), which makes a smart motor system for buildings that can sharply reduce energy consumption, has completed an $80 million funding round. The funding is backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Robert Downey Jr.’s FootPrint Coalition Ventures, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Keyframe Capital, Fifth Wall’s Climate Technology Fund and Captain Planet LP. The company produces the Smart Motor System, which it says is designed around its revolutionary switched reluctance motor (SRM) technology. SRMs have been used for decades in environments that demand 100% dependability. But recent advances in supporting technologies have permitted Turntide to develop a patented,…
Customers can now deposit cash directly onto their bank card at the till point in any Shoprite, Checkers or Usave store. Together with other established in-store services like cash withdrawals, money transfers, and bill payments, this new functionality means shoppers can now perform the most basic banking tasks at all supermarkets within the Shoprite Group. This move is similar to the one launched by Pick n Pay last year in partnerships with TymeBank. The Shoprite Group said cash deposits at till points offer customers a range of benefits, including low transaction costs and unbeatable convenience. The company has 1 700…
The future of Volvo Cars is electric and the new Volvo C40 Recharge is the latest manifestation of its commitment to a zero-emission future. The C40 Recharge has all the benefits of an SUV but with a lower and sleeker design. It is based on the CMA vehicle platform and the first Volvo model in history designed as pure electric only. Greg Maruszewski, managing director at Volvo Car South Africa, said the launch of the Volvo C40 Recharge marks yet another significant step when it comes to Volvo Cars’ commitment to minimising its environmental impact and making the cities of…
Liquid Telecom, a pan-African telecommunications group, ensured continuity of service to its customers during the recent outages of the SEA-ME-WE 5 and EIG submarine cables. The company operates an intelligent subsea cable system that automatically reroutes network traffic during such outages, thus ensuring service reliability on our resilient architecture. This differentiates Liquid Telecom from other wholesalers that do not have access to similar infrastructure. “With over 57,700 km of submarine cable fibre linking Africa to Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Liquid Telecom’s subsea network is extensive and offers low latency to global destinations. Keeping our customers connected is and has…
Alaris Holdings, South Africa’s antenna specialist, announced on Monday it has acquired UK-based Linwave Technologies. In January, Alaris informed investors that it is in talks to buy a UK firm. The JSE AltX firm, which listed since July 2008, said it has long been on the lookout for opportunities to widen its already substantial footprint. Alaris Holdings Group CEO, Juergen Dresel, has indicated previously that Alaris set out to complement the Group with strong RF/microwave electronics design and RF assembly capabilities. Linwave Technologies fits this strategic requirement like a glove. A share purchase agreement was signed on Friday 26 February, with…
Klarna has become the highest-valued private FinTech in Europe and the second-highest worldwide. The Swedish buy now, pay later behemoth and upstart bank announced on Monday secured $1 billion USD in an equity funding round to accelerate international expansion and further capture global retail growth. The new funding values Klarna at $31 billion at a post-money valuation. The funding was confirmed today by the company in a statement after it was leaked to the media. Klarna enables consumers to shop, pay and bank in a smarter way, designed to fit the lives they lead, not the requirements of the traditional…
MTN Group announced on Monday that its Nigerian operation has attracted 12.2 million new customers in 2020. The telco said it added 12.2 million new subscribers in the year to end-December to reach 76.5 million customers. The company also said active data customers rose by 7.4 million to 32.6 million, supported by growth in gross connections and expanding its 4G network. Data traffic rose by 126.5% and average usage by 64%. The company said it added 8.2 million new smartphones to its network, bringing its smartphone penetration to 45.9% versus 41.9% in 2019. “Our performance demonstrates the strong operational and…
Telkom today unveiled the March Big Deal, which is data-packed and here to save you big bucks. The SmartBroadBand 20GB Wireless LTE SIM-Only March big deal offer with 80GB of data is available for R199 a month. The Telkom March Big Deal deal includes the following: 20GB Anytime data 20GB Night Surfer data Plus 20GB Anytime data 20GB extra Night Surfer data Huawei or D-Link router for an extra R70 Out of bundle rate for data: 30c per MB R99 Once-off activation fee Why the March Big Deal? Enjoy the convenience of connecting instantly, anywhere and at any time No landline…
Convergence Partners, a leading tech investor in Africa, will buy 100% of Ctrack’s operations in Africa and the Middle East from Nasdaq-listed Inseego Corp for an undisclosed amount. The deal is funded through Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund (CPDIF), which is its maiden transaction. Ctrack is a telematics software-as-a-service digital infrastructure platform providing fleet management, insurance and weather telematics solutions and asset tracking solutions to its subscribers in Africa and the Middle East. The business’ IoT and data analytics capabilities are a vital component of an emerging sector in Africa. They are a good fit with CPDIF’s strategy of identifying…
In a new report titled the State of Electric Vehicles in South Africa, out of more than 10-million cars on South African roads, only about 1,100 are electric.
The primary mandate of MTC around the management of the broadband network asset is to connect the CoJ and enable smart City, thereby bridging the digital divide.
“We are in discussions in establishing a manufacturing and assembling plant in Africa for Africa.”
South Africa’s Imperial Logistics announced it has acquired an e-commerce solutions company Parcel Ninja for an undisclosed amount. The JSE-listed firm said on Tuesday Parcel Ninja acquisition will provide specialised warehousing and distribution management in e-commerce, direct to consumers and to informal markets. Parcelninja is a specialised warehousing and distribution management business that offers a full suite of warehousing and fulfilment services to South African online shops. Started in 2013 by Justin Drennan, Ryan Drennan, and Terence Murphy, we launched our first commercial services in October 2014. Its three founders are experienced entrepreneurs, starting WantItAll, helping grow Superbalist, which was sold to…
Patrice Motsepe’s TymeBank has attracted foreign investment of more than R1.6 billion from investors in the UK and Philippines. The digital bank said the new investors are UK-based Apis Growth Fund II, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners, and the JG Summit, which is one of the largest and renowned conglomerates in the Philippines and owned by the Gokongwei family. The company said both these investors are experienced in financial services in emerging markets. African Rainbow Capital (ARC) has made an additional investment to ensure it maintains its position as anchor shareholder in Tyme. Following the completion of…
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday announced a proposal to use $3.2 billion in emergency funds to subsidize broadband service for millions of households. The aim is to assist families struggling to pay for internet service during the pandemic. If approved, the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program could provide $50 a month to millions of households, and more in tribal lands. The FCC is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the U.S. The acting chairwoman of FCC, Jessica Rosenworcel, announced that under the proposal, qualifying households…
Netflix today launched a new feature called “Downloads For You”, which will automatically download recommended shows or movies to your mobile device based on your tastes. The feature is being rolled out globally starting today and soon will start testing on iOS. Three years ago, Netflix introduced Smart Downloads so you can find the next episode of your favourite show – even when you’re on the go. Now, we want to make discovering your next new favourite series or film quick and easy whether you’re connected or not, said Patrick Flemming, Netflix’s director of product innovation. “Today, we’re launching Downloads For You,…
The EoT team at Bosch Research will deploy a node on the network and assist in testing the first phase of Fetch.ai’s next-generation blockchain with a view to running nodes and applications on the v2.0 main-net after it is launched in March 2021.