Author: Gugu Lourie
The Cape Town High Court has granted a provisional liquidation order against Mirror Trading International (MTI), a bitcoin Ponzi scheme. “The Master of the High Court will now appoint a provisional liquidator to urgently take control of the assets and liabilities of MTI,” said Luitingh and Associates in a statement today The liquidation case was brought by Vezi & De Beer Inc on behalf of their client, Anton Lee. Luitingh and Associate lodge one of the two applications for liquidation against the bitcoin Ponzi scheme MTI. Read: MTI CEO goes AWOL, lawyers pull out (Dec 22) MTI does not know if…
MTN Group has strengthened its board of directors’ gender diversity with the appointment of two women executives. Africa and the Middle East biggest mobile phone operator announced on Monday that Nosipho Molope has been appointed as an independent non-executive director. Her appointment is effective, 1 April 2021. Gosa – a sell-side analyst and experienced deal maker The South African-based telco also announced that Noluthando Gosa has been appointed as an independent non-executive director of MTN Group. Her appointment is also effective, 1 April 2021. Gosa holds a BA (Hons) Communications from the University of Fort Hare, has completed a Post…
Pick n Pay announced on Wednesday that it has completed the integration of Bottles – the on-demand delivery app – as the on-demand service of Pick n Pay Online. The retailer said this allows customers to get their online grocery and liquor order delivered within as little as 60 minutes. This offering adds to the retailer’s two other successful services – an online scheduled delivery service, and Click n Collect. The retailer further said that the app will soon be integrated with Pick n Pay’s Smart Shopper loyalty programme. “By early next year, on-demand customers will earn Smart Shopper points…
MTN has dished out more than R135 million in ordinary shares to executive directors due to Africa’s largest mobile phone operator’s Performance Share Plan. “In accordance with paragraph 3.63 of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements, shareholders are advised that the following directors of MTN as well as of major subsidiaries of MTN were awarded and accepted shares, which are subject to performance conditions, in accordance with the MTN Performance Share Plan,” the company informed investors on Tuesday. MTN CEO Ralph Mupita received 530 800 shares at a value of R33.5 million with a vesting period of three years from 21 December…
PremierCredit, an online microlending platform operating in Zambia and Zimbabwe, has raised $650 000 (R9.7 million) from South Africa’s Enygma Ventures. Branded as a unique purpose fund, Enygma Ventures is a Venture Capital Fund that invests in female founders and entrepreneurs in Southern Africa. PremierCredit has extensive plans to grow and serve the SADC (Southern African Development Community), a Regional Economic Community comprising 16 Member States. Since 2019 PremierCredit has been offering microloans in Zambia, supporting local entrepreneurs and small scale traders, many of whom are women, increasing their access to capital and the ability to grow their businesses. “After…
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has opened a criminal case against Mirror Trading International (MTI), a South African registered company offering Forex trading services by using an automated system to trade. The company, which is founded by Johann Steynberg from Polokwane, claims on its website to have more than 90 000 active members in 177 countries. The company’s head office is in Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa. There are two satellite offices – one in Randburg, Gauteng and one in Strand, Western Cape, South Africa. Using Bitcoin as its base currency, the company claims it uses advanced digital software and artificial…
NTT Ltd., the global technology services provider, today announced that Abhijit Dubey will succeed Jason Goodall as Global CEO for NTT Ltd. Dubey takes the role following over 20 years with global advisory firm McKinsey & Company. “We are looking forward to welcoming Abhijit to the NTT family in 2021 to lead the next generation of our business,” Goodall, current Global CEO for NTT Ltd. said. “He shares our passion for the technology industry and the role that technology can play in helping make the world a better place. He brings many years’ experience of our industry and context, as well…
Vodafone-backed AST SpaceMobile is preparing to launch a space-based mobile network targeting 49 largest countries in the equatorial regions, including Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya, and Tanzania – from 2023. These markets are served by Vodafone affiliates Safaricom and Vodacom. The AST SpaceMobile project launched in March is backed by Vodafone and Rakuten. AST SpaceMobile will be the first service of its kind to connect standard mobile phones at 4G and 5G speeds using AST SpaceMobile’s patented space-based network. The first tranche of AST SpaceMobile’s launch plans will involve the use of 20 satellites to offer seamless,…
Zimbabwean telecoms billionaire Strive Masiyiwa has been appointed to the board of Netflix, says the streaming giant. Masiyiwa replaces Susan Rice who has resigned to join US president-elect Joe Biden’s administration. He owns Liquid Group, Liquid Telecom South Africa, and the Econet Group – a telecommunications and technology group with operations and investments in 29 countries in Africa and Europe. Also recognised globally for his leadership contributions in a number of areas outside of business including his mentorship of millions of young entrepreneurs across Africa, who will create jobs for the next generation. “We are delighted to welcome Strive to the…
Telkom announced on Monday that it is supporting the green economy in the township of Khayelitsha in Cape Town. South Africa views a green economy as a sustainable development path based on addressing the interdependence between economic growth, social protection, and natural ecosystem. Telkom has made a commitment to keep four Buy Back Centres in Khayelitsha connected to the internet in order to remain operational after the launch of a recycling project called GreenUp. A buy back centre is a depot where individual waste collectors, reclaimers and street waste pickers can sell their recyclable waste. GreenUp is a tripartite initiative between the…
Absa has partnered with local training NGO WeThinkCode_(WTC_) to probe the transformation of South Africa’s digital skills landscape by focusing on practical ways of reforming youth employability. Together, they are rewriting the future of technology students by focusing on candidate selection and matching, a demand-led curriculum, retention and ultimately the employment of graduates. This collaboration looks beyond potential candidates being strong in maths and science, for example, to see if they show other aptitudes for coding and programme design. The relationship between Absa and WeThinkCode_ has deepened since they first partnered in 2016 and the collaboration is tailored to become…
The Nigerian government has initiated a review of subscriber registration and ordered mobile operators, such as MTN, to suspend sale of new SIM cards. In a statement on its website, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said in line with the government desire to consolidate the achievement of the SIM Card registration exercise of September, 2019, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), has directed the NCC to embark on another audit of the Subscriber Registration Database again. “The objective of the audit exercise is to verify and ensure compliance by Mobile Network Operators with the…
Seacom announced on Thursday it has tapped Oliver Fortuin, MTN Group Chief Enterprise Officer, as its new CEO. Fortuin, who will replace Byron Clatterbuck, will take over the reigns on January 4, 2021. He has worked for over two decades in the ICT sector, across South Africa and the rest of Africa, with industry-leading organisations such as IBM, BT, and, most recently, MTN. “The Seacom team has built an excellent data connectivity platform in the markets where we operate. We now hope to expand upon this, as well as to develop more industry-leading services that today’s corporate customers in Africa…
South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has no dedicated staff assigned to assist with the grant funding appeals process of the Special R350 COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD). Bridget Masango, a DA Shadow Minister of Social Development, reveled on Thursday that SASSA was relying on 10 staff members to deal with appeals, in addition to their other responsibilities. “That is 10 people who need to assess thousands of rejected applications.” This was revealed in a Parliamentary question submitted by the DA to the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu. In winding down the system, both the final payment date and…
The shares of Etion spiked Wednesday on anticipation of the struggling JSE-listed company announcing disposal of its various operating subsidiaries/divisions. The diversified digital technology company announced the end of October 2020 that it is considering selling off business units to create shareholder value for its investors. Etion stock open on Wednesday at 35c share, up 2.94% giving the company R191 million market value. The stock has spiked 17% in the past seven days. In the past 30 days, Etion stock swelled by more than 112% and more than 200% in the past 90 days. “The upward stock push driven by…
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has issued its 2020 South Africa FinTech study, which points out that the financial technology market is growing fast. The study uncovered that there are 220 active and operational FinTechs in South Africa and this number is expected to grow as technology adoption increases. The pace of change and innovation in the FinTech space in South Africa is rapid and on the rise. It has become even more so in the last year as the effects of the global coronavirus pandemic drove widespread digital adoption and catapulted upstart FinTech firms into the mainstream. This…
Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has signed her performance agreement with President Cyril Ramaphosa promising to cut data prices by 50%. “As stated in the State of the Nation Address on 13 February 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed performance agreements with all Ministers to strengthen the capacity of the State and increase accountability, “These agreements – which are based on the targets contained in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework – will be made public so that the people of South Africa can hold those who they elected into office to account. The agreement between Ndabeni-Abrahams and President Ramaphosa was signed on…
South African Convergence Partners, which is owned by ICT industry veteran Andile Ngcaba, has spent R75 million ($5 million) to acquire an additional stake in fast-growing FinTech Player Channel VAS. Convergence Partners exercised preferential and exclusive rights to acquire the stake as a result of an intra-consortium rebalancing of the holdings of another member of the Ethos consortium through which Convergence Partners is partially invested. Last week private equity firm Ethos announced that it has sold its 1.4% stake in FinTech player Channel VAS. The company said it has has sold a 1.4% stake in Channel VAS at a consideration of $5 million (R76.6 million). Ethos…
New Wave, a company co-owned by ICT industry veteran Phumlani Moholi has been awarded a contract for smart power management by SqwidNet, an Internet of Things (IoT) network operator in South Africa. Moholi’s company said this partnership will see New Wave undertaking to deploy and manage 1500 CabiSense devices in Sqwidnet’s network over a period of 3 years. “CabiSense is a network and power infrastructure solution that we’ve created and manufactured locally. It is designed to enhance the monitoring and management of network elements remotely in a manner that’s geared towards improved cost-efficiency and increased network availability,” says Moholi, an…
MTN Group announced on Friday it had appointed Tsholofelo Molefe as a new Group Chief Financial Officer (GCFO). Molefe has resigned with immediate effect at Telkom.Molefe, joined Telkom on 1 July 2016 as Deputy CFO and was appointed as Group CFO two years later. In her two-year tenure, she derisked the balance sheet, optimised working capital management through structural changes and enhanced the capital allocation framework to focus on return on investment. Prior to working at Telkom, Tsholofelo was the Finance Director at Eskom as well as the CFO for First National Bank’s Personal Banking division. She is also a…
Telkom announced on Friday it has appointed Dirk Reyneke as the acting chief financial officer (CFO) after the resignation of Tsholofelo Molefe. Molefe will also join the MTN Group board and take over from Sugentharan Perumal who has been acting in the position of GCFO since 1 September 2020. Perumal took on that role following the appointment of Ralph Mupita as MTN’s new president and CEO, replacing Rob Shuter. For more read: MTN Taps Telkom CFO As New Finance Chief Reyneke, current CFO of Openserve for the past 18 months will take over the position of Telkom Acting Group CFO,…
Netstar, a subsidiary of JSE-listed technology company Altron, has set up an office in Malaysia and is exploring expansion opportunities in Indonesia. The company pioneered the vehicle tracking and stolen vehicle recovery industry in South Africa in 1994. Netstar operations extend into Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zambia, and the organisation has customers throughout the rest of Africa and Australia. “We have set up an office in Malaysia with a local partner and are looking at expansion throughout South East Asia with Indonesia being the next market we are focusing on, our Australian operation has offices throughout that country,”…
Media group Media24 announced on Thursday plans to buy out all shareholders of Welkom Yizani, its black economic empowerment share scheme. The media group is proposing to pay R15.70 per Welkom Yizani ordinary share. The proposal is subject to the approval of Welkom Yizani shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for 22 January 2021. Investors paid in a subscription of R10.00 per share at the establishment of the scheme in 2006. Then scheme’s shares were listed for trading on an over the counter platform on 9 December 2013. The shares were stuck at R10.00 for more than a year and…
Vodacom announced on Wednesday that pre-orders for new Apple iPhone 12 family, including iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 12, and iPhone 12 mini are set to begin on Friday, 11 December. The sales of the iPhones is set to start on Friday, 18 December 2020. “Vodacom is excited to soon offer the eagerly anticipated new iPhone 12 family, including iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 12, and iPhone 12 mini,” the Vodafone-owned company said in a statement. The newly designed iPhone 12 models feature expansive edge-to-edge Super Retina XDR displays for a brighter, more immersive viewing experience,…
South Africa’s private equity firm Ethos announced on Wednesday that it has sold its 1.4% stake in FinTech player Channel VAS. The company said it has has sold a 1.4% stake in Channel VAS at a consideration of $5 million (R76.6 million). “In line with the Board’s stated strategy of optimising capital allocation and enhancing shareholder value, Ethos Capital has sold a 1.4% stake in Channel VAS at a consideration of US$5 million (R76.6 million),” the company said. “The sale consideration has valued Ethos Capital’s stake in Channel VAS at $36.7 million (a 16% premium to the valuation as at…