Author: Gugu Lourie

Coinbase, the biggest U.S. crypto exchange, announced yesterday plans to become a publicly-traded company. The company will be the first major crypto exchange to go public. The cryptocurrency exchange was founded in 2012 and allows users to buy and trade decentralized tokens like bitcoin and ethereum. In a blog post, the company said it proposed direct listing of its Class A common stock. Coinbase Global, Inc. previously announced on December 17, 2020, that it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC. “The Form S-1 is expected to become effective after the SEC completes its…

Horizon Metrics, a South African black youth-owned tech startup, plans to roll out national innovation labs across the townships. Innovation labs, also known as accelerators, business incubators, are business units that employ agile startups’ methods to devise novel ideas that can either disrupt or complement the overall company. Innovation labs are a safe place for organizations to run experiments and iterate on projects or dream up novel ideas. The Rosebank-based Horizon Metrics, founded in 2017, is already reinvesting into the townships nationwide by launching their first of many innovation labs called Technify Me. The innovation labs are aimed at driving…

The High Court in Pretoria has turned down MTN’s application for a declaratory order seeking clarity from the taxman regarding the correct Value Added Tax (VAT) for certain types of pre-paid vouchers or tokens. MTN took the South African Revenue Services (SARS) to court because it was disputing how VAT is attributed to discounted vouchers. The question was whether VAT must be accounted for on the discounted amount paid for a voucher or its stated monetary value when used as payment for goods or services. The dispute dates back to 2017 when MTN requested SARS to issue a ruling confirming…

South Africa’s AI, Data Systems and IoT startup Aizatron is developing future-focused technology. The startup has developed an award-winning facial recognition application, and a facial recognition smart bell. It is also able to iterate and pivot its products rapidly to meet its customer requirements. It also drives digital transformation for its customers and addresses their challenges quickly with technology. As a result, Aizatron has snapped several industry awards for its solutions and service to the enterprise market. The Cape Town-based startup services large enterprises, distributors, global consulting companies & other technology services firms. Aizatron, founded three years ago, is powered…

Revue, a Dutch startup that allows users to publish and monetize email newsletters, has been bought by social media giant Twitter. Twitter is where people go to see and talk about what’s happening in the world. It’s where writers, experts and curators – from individual creators to journalists to publishers themselves – go to share their written work, spark meaningful conversations and build a loyal following. In a blog post, Twitter Product Lead Kayvon Beykpour and VP of Publisher Products Mike Park, said these writers and long-form content curators are a valuable part of the conversation. “It’s critical we offer…

Mohamed Yusuf Khan, a former Cell C employee, is ready to spill the beans about a ‘multi-million rand identity scam’ and the unsavoury goings-on at the struggling mobile phone operator. He also alleges a Cell C staffer accepted cocaine as payment for his part in the alleged fraud. The so-called fraud that occurred between 2018 and 2019 may amount to R100 million. The KwaZulu-Natal ‘scam’ involves bogus customers taking out Cell C cellphone contracts using fraudulent identification card (IDs) with the correct details, unknown ID pictures, fabricated payslips and bank statements victims’ real work and home details. TechFinancials can today…

Retailer Pepkor, previously Steinhoff Africa Retail, said its FinTech segment reported revenue growth of 5.8% for the three months to end-December. The company announced that its FLASH business reported 15.7% growth in revenue boosted by an increased basket of virtual products offered to consumers. The company operates its FinTech division through FLASH and Capfin. The group added that its FLASH business continues to invest in new products, channels and geographies to widen its ecosystem as the growing trader base continues to be an attractive avenue for partners. However, Pepkor said Capfin’s performance was impacted as a result of curtailed credit…

The investors in Welkom Yizani have accepted the Media24’s cash offer to buy out all the shares in the black economic empowerment share scheme. Welkom Yizani holds a 15% stake in Media24; a print media dominated operation within the Naspers stable. Media24 is one of the largest media companies in the country with massive exposure to the struggling print media. Its assets include well-known titles like City Press, Daily Sun, Beeld, Rapport and a host of knock and drops and magazines and printing assets. The media group has proposed to pay R15.70 per Welkom Yizani ordinary share. “We appreciate the…

Facebook is taking a giant leap on how it works with the media industry as it launches its first Facebook News in the UK. This is Facebook’s first market outside of the U.S. for its dedicated, curated news portal. The portal will launch with a number of new partners, including Channel 4 News, Daily Mail Group, DC Thomson, Financial Times, Sky News and Telegraph Media Group. These are in addition to outlets already announced including The Economist, The Guardian, The Independent, STV and hundreds of local news sites from Archant, Iliffe, JPI Media, Midlands News Association and Reach as well as…

A 44-year-old former IT manager for mobile network service provider Cell C was arrested by the Hawks in connection with an alleged tender scam amounting to R64 million Mohamed Ismail Adamjee appeared in the Palm Ridge Commercial Crimes Court on Friday facing charges of fraud and corruption. The case was postponed to January 26 for a bail application. More arrests are expected. The National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya commended the team for the arrest and looks forward to seeing all those involved have their day in court. “The suspect was an Information…

South African retailer Mr Price uses cellular handsets and accessories to drive footfall traffic into its stores and online platforms. Driving in-store traffic is the daily mission for every brick-and-mortar retail business. Catching the customer’s eyes and attracting them to a store and the cash register has always been a challenge for retailers. However, Mr Price’s footfall tactic of positioning cellular handsets and accessories as a strategic offering is paying off for the retailer. On Friday, the JSE-listed retailer reported a 5.8% rise in total retail sales for the 13 weeks ended 26 December 2020 and attributed this growth to cellular…

Ovex, a Cape Town-based cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Wednesday a strategic investment from quantitative cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research, developer of the 5th largest crypto derivatives exchange in the world by trading volume, FTX. Founded in February of 2019, Ovex is a South African cryptocurrency exchange platform, specializing in OTC trading and arbitrage, offering South Africa’s largest selection of digital asset markets. The company is dedicated to improving the efficiency of the crypto market in South Africa and improving financial market inclusivity. Ovex has partnered with several leading cryptocurrency companies and firms, including Invictus Capital, Hyperion, and TrueUSD. With $270…

The SABC has called for an inquiry to determine licence conditions and tariff structure for digital sound broadcasting (DSB) services. “The Authority must conduct an inquiry to determine the licence conditions, obligations, and tariff structure for signal distribution including the regulatory regime for multi-channel distribution services and convergence,” the public broadcaster said in a submission to ICASA. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) will be holding (virtual) public hearings on the draft DSB Regulations, 2020 on 20 and 21 January 2021. On 13 November 2020, the Authority published a Draft DSB Regulations 1, and the deadline for written…

In a submission to the country’s communications watchdog ICASA, broadcaster Primedia has recommended that the regulator ensures final Digital Sound Broadcasting (DSB) regulations make no mention of the switch-off of analogue sound broadcasting services. The Independent Communications Authority (ICASA) will be holding (virtual) public hearings on the draft DSB Regulations, 2020 on 20 and 21 January 2021. On 13 November 2020, the Authority published a Draft DSB Regulations 1, and the deadline for written representations thereon was 29 December 2020, which was subsequently extended by notice to 8 January 2021. By the closing date, ICASA had received fifteen written submissions…

Naspers announced on Wednesday a R250 million ($17 million) investment in AgriTech business Aerobotics. The Series B round that was oversubscribed was led by Naspers, one of the world’s most powerful and lowest-flying investment firms, with significant participation from Platform Investment Partners, FMO: Entrepreneurial Development Bank and Cathay AfricInvest Innovation. Last May, Naspers invested a R100 million investment in Aerobotics, through its earlystage business funding initiative Naspers Foundry. Aerobotics is a subscription-based artificial intelligence (AI) company that provides intelligent tools for the agricultural industry to manage its crops. Aerobotics, founded by James Paterson and Benji Meltzer in 2014, is a…

Microsoft has invested in Cruise, General Motors (GM) driverless car unit, pushing the company’s valuation to $30 billion (R447 billion). The global tech company has invested R29 billion ($2 billion) in funding in cruise. Cruise was bought by GM in 2006 for $1 billion (R14.9 billion). Founded and headquartered in San Francisco, Cruise’s goal is to drive change by building the world’s most advanced self-driving, all-electric, shared vehicles that safely connect people to the places, things, and experiences they care about. Cruise and General Motors on Tuesday announced they have entered a long-term strategic relationship with Microsoft to accelerate the…

The South African financial regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) supports the liquidators of Mirror Trading International (MTI) to recoup money paid to investors. MTI is a bitcoin Ponzi scheme started in South Africa. The FSCA has finalised its investigation into Mirror Trading International (Pty) Ltd (MTI) and will share its report with the liquidators appointed by the Master of the High Court. The appointed liquidators are Mr. AW van Rooyen (Investrust Insolvency Practitioners), Mr. H Bester (Tygerberg Trustees), Mrs. J Barnard and Mrs. D Basson (Tshwane Trust Co). The FSCA said in a statement that it understands that…

DeHaat, an Indian online platform technology-based platform offering end-to-end agricultural services to farmers, has raised $30 million (R453 million) in a new financing round to help the business scale up in both size and scope. The funding round has been led by Prosus, which is owned by South Africa’s Naspers. RTP Global co-invested in the round with participation from existing investors, Sequoia India, FMO, Omnivore & AgFunder. DeHaat, which is Hindi for village, aim to aggregate 10 million Indian farmers while helping them to also increase their profitability. The platform integrates a digital marketplace with a rural network of last-mile…

This week embattled Cell C informed the market that it had started migrating its contract and broadband customers to rival Vodacom.    TechFinancials first reported in October 2020 that the embattled mobile phone operator was trying to appoint a managed services provider to handle its contract and broadband customers.    At the time Cell C would neither deny nor confirm the development.   We reported that the troubled mobile phone company was in talks with Comm Equipment Company (CEC), a handset financing company owned by JSE-listed Blue Label Telecoms, which also owns 45% of the operator.   The move to…

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…

Global streaming giant Netflix has today published its first-ever diversity and inclusion report to ensure transparency about its numbers. Founded in 1997 before it became a streaming giant that it is today, Netflix was a DVD rental firm competing with the neighbourhood video rental stores. Now, the US-based firm has evolved into a multi-billion streaming and production company with a long list of award-winning TV shows and movies that over 150 million subscribers enjoy globally. The streaming giant said in the report that it has made good progress over the last three years in diversity and inclusion of other races…

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…