Author: Gugu Lourie

Unemployment in South Africa has soared to 30.8% in the last three months, the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the third quarter of 2020 revealed. The rise was a 7.5% increase from the second quarter. This comes after Stats SA in September reported that despite the South African economy shedding 2.2 million jobs due to the COVID-19 lockdown, unemployment in the country dropped to 23.3% in the second quarter of 2020. According to the report, released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Thursday, “The number of employed persons increased by 543 000 (3.8%) to 14.7 million compared to…

The new BMW iX SUV has been revealed as the brand’s first purpose-built electric SUV with two electric motors. The German carmaker says the BMW iX is the symbol for a new era of mobility at BMW. It is the first representative of a trailblazing generation of cars poised to redefine the driving experience, the feeling of space inside and the relationship between vehicles and those on board. The German carmaker said in a statement that the design and technology of the BMW iX form an overall package that lays the foundations for what is, in many respects, a new kind of driving…

Telkom considers its stock to be undervalued and will continue to explore ways to unlock trapped value, CEO Sipho Maseko told investors on Tuesday. “It is our core belief that we remain undervalued as a company,” Maseko said of his company’s share price. “Our market capitalisation is not a true reflection of our intrinsic value and there is a massive evaluation gap. We will explore ways to unlock this trapped value in this conglomerate.” On Tuesday, Telkom said that unlocking value from its portfolio of businesses is a key component of its capital allocation framework and will afford management…

With summer fast approaching, Vodacom is raising the bar this year with the launch of the Summer ShakeOff 2020 campaign. 2020 was a year filled with difficulties, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic putting many South Africans under pressure. Many would like to shake off the negativity of 2020 and look toward the opportunities that 2021 has to offer. As a result of massive customer engagement in the 2019 Shake!Up Summer campaign, the country’s leading network has introduced new interactive gamification and rewards campaign called Summer #ShakeOff 2020. This year’s exciting new game, enabled through a Daily or Mega…

Telkom, South Africa’s biggest fixed-line telephone group, on Monday posted a 25.4% rise in headline earnings per share (HEPS) to 219 cents for the six months to end-September 2020, bolstered by the growth of its mobile phone unit. HEPS is South Africa’s main profit gauge. The company said this was driven by an 18.8% growth in operating profit because of a 6.3% growth in group EBITDA. This was partially offset by an increase in the effective tax rate from 29.9% in the prior period to 34.8%. Telkom informed investors on Tuesday that its mobile business performed exceptionally well, despite the…

The new affordable HTC Wildfire E Lite smartphone deceptively looks like any other budget handset, but it packs features only associated with high-end mobile phones.    This smartphone brand had disappeared from the local market for some time. It is now back in South Africa intending to recapture the interests of former and new customers.   HTC smartphones are back on the market courtesy of an ICT firm, Evercomm, which obtained the exclusive rights to relaunch the phone brand in South Africa.   The HTC Wildfire is an affordable smartphone that performs as well as, if not better, than many…

Vodacom has launched its latest “Red Hot Dealz”, offering not-to-be missed super value SIM-only data bundles on a 24-month contract. The Red Hot Dealz are available from 6 November until 6 December 2020. The Vodafone-owned operator is offering a 50GB data mega-deal, consisting of 20GB of anytime data and 20GB of Night Owl data plus a free 10GB video ticket, for R199 per month over 24 months. Through this deal you stand to save R1 200. The deal comes with a free Vodafone Mobile Wi-Fi Router if you extend the contract to 36 months. See more Red Hot Dealz below and you…

swiftVEE is targeting global expansion after the South African AgriTecth startup secured $1.5 million (R23.6 million). The investment round was led by Sybtropico, an unlisted company specialising in Agri investments across the fruit, vegetable, and livestock industries and a private syndicate. The industry is investing heavily in technology to create farm-to-fork solutions that optimise food production across the value chain in fruit, veg and livestock. Founded in 2016 and officially launching in 2017, swiftVEE is an agricultural trading platform that helps the buyers and sellers of livestock connect in real-time through the use of third-party “livestock agents”. Livestock agents are…

JSE announced on Thursday that it has agreed the terms of a commercial arrangement with Globacap Technology (Globacap) to establish a blockchain-enabled private placements platform. The company said the platform will enable the raising of infrastructure finance and to allow small-to-medium sized issuers to raise capital in South Africa. The deal includes digital registry services, and remains subject to licensing approval requirements. “As private capital markets continue to grow in importance, and are an increasingly attractive alternative source of capital for issuers, the JSE intends to create a centralised platform for issuers to effectively and efficiently raise capital,” the JSE…

JSE and Nasdaq-listed listed Datatec announced on Thurday that its subsidiary Logicalis Group has acquired a 65% interest in iZeno, a specialist in Digital Transformation solutions based in Singapore. iZeno has a team of 85 skilled employees who have delivered, implemented and optimized enterprise solutions to more than 300 clients across finance, manufacturing, banking, gaming, healthcare, telecom and retail industries. The company is headquartered in Singapore with additional operations in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. The deep skills iZeno has in DevOps, application modernization, customer experience and hybrid cloud strongly enhances the scope of services offered by Logicalis and will accelerate the…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has highlighted preparation – through the Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) project preparation roundtable – as the key to unlock South Africa’s post COVID-19 economic recovery. “This roundtable is the beginning of a more dedicated and structured approach to project preparation. It paves the way for greater private sector participation in this crucial stage of the project life-cycle. The South African government is committed to financing project preparation,” he said. The President delivered the opening address at the ISA project preparation roundtable at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand on Tuesday. The ISA project preparation roundtable aligns with…

Thousands of South Africans from every nook and cranny of the country painted the country pink on Saturday as they walked with a purpose and to make a difference in different locations across the country to pledge their support to the fight against breast cancer in the first-ever virtual Avon Justine iThemba Walkathon. The 15th edition of the Avon Justine Walkathon, which is the biggest breast cancer awareness walkathon in the Avon world, was hosted virtually due to lockdown restrictions on social gatherings. Nonetheless, the event was coordinated from the nerve centre at the Avon Justine Head Office in Johannesburg…

Huawei, rain and Wits University have jointly launched South Africa’s and Africa’s first 5G laboratory, which gives students access to a live 5G environment to build knowledge of the revolutionary technology’s applications for the local market. The 5G Innovation Lab, situated at the Wits Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, is part of a longer-term joint innovation programme between business and the leading academic institution. It is aimed at driving innovations to promote social progress for South Africa in the digital era or fourth industrial revolution (4IR). In terms of the collaboration, Huawei provides its end to end 5G solution, supported by…

The boss of Etion, Teddy Daka, and Dr Snowy Khoza, the chairman of the group, have resigned from the diversified digital technology company. The resignation of Daka is effective from 31 January 2021 and that of Dr Khosa is effective 31 December 2020. Daka will remain as a non-executive director of the board of Etion. The JSE-listed firm said the decision by Daka to step down follows a strategic decision by the board to dispose of its various operating subsidiaries/divisions. For more read: Teddy Daka’s Etion Explores Asset Sale to Create Shareholder Value The company announced last week that it…

MTN South Africa attracted 1.9 million new customers to its Bozza network for the quarter ended 30 September 2020. The mobile phone company said this pushed its total local subscribers to 30.9 million. “The majority of additions were prepaid customers, reaching a total of 24,3 million and marking the largest quarterly increase in nearly 18 months. Postpaid subscriber numbers remained broadly flat at 6,6 million, primarily as a result of churn on short-term COVID-19 related deals,” the company informed investors on Friday. “Excluding the net impact of these deals, the postpaid subscriber base increased 168 100 for the quarter.” MTN…

The Dutch arm of South African internet titan Naspers, Prosus announced on Friday plans to acquire up to $5 billion (R82 billion) in total of Naspers and Prosus shares. The company said this was a further step to crystalise value for shareholders. The deal follows earlier actions such as the unbundling of MultiChoice Group and the listing of Prosus on Euronext Amsterdam last year. The company added that the purchase of Naspers and Prosus shares also represents a meaningful investment in the group’s strong internet portfolio. It is regarded as a good use of capital, given full market valuations evident in…

Canal+ has increased its shareholding in pay-TV operator MultiChoice to 12% as the Vivendi’s own company continues to see value in the South African-based firm. MultiChoice on Thursday informed investors that Canal+ has increased its stake to 12% of the company’s total ordinary shares in issue. “As a publicly held company, MultiChoice regularly engages with its strategic partners and maintains an open dialogue with the investment community,” MultiChoice said. “The group’s policy is not to comment on its individual shareholders nor on its interactions with them. The company remains committed to acting in the best interests of all shareholders and to create…

JSE-listed Etion is considering selling off business units to create shareholder value for its investors. The diversified digital technology company did not specify how much it hopes to raise from asset sales. In  August, Teddy Daka, the boss of Etion, told TechFinancials that is looking to take the company internationally as he aims to cut business risks associated with slower growth in South Africa. The firm, which is seeking expansion opportunities in Latin America and South-East Asia, informed investors on Wednesday that its board had initiated an investigation into various options available to Etion to unlock value for its shareholders.…

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on Wednesday said that the South African government will spend an additional R6.8 billion to finance the R350 COVID-19 grant for the jobless, hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Tabling his Medium-term Budget Policy Statement, Mboweni said the special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant reached six million people. Mboweni added that the cabinet has decided to extend the Social Relief of Distress grant to the end of January 2021. “Because this grant is so effective in reaching the unemployed, we propose to redirect R6.8 billion from the public employment programme allocation,” he said. “The temporary increases in…

The new S-Class is described by Mercedes-Benz as a luxury saloon that does full justice to its innovative tradition. “The new generation will once again set the pace in the automotive industry: The S-Class offers trailblazing innovations in all areas, from safety and comfort to efficiency,” Prof. Dr. Uwe Ernstberger, Head of S-Class and C-Class model series product group, explains. “One common theme is systematic digitalisation, both during the development process and in the vehicle itself. Intelligent networking of different systems gives our customers tangible added value.” In short, this luxury saloon does a great job of showcasing new technology. The new Mercedes-Benz…

The new Jaguar E-PACE has a more assertive stance and luxurious appearance plus is connected to various technology solutions. The 2020 E-Pace follows on from the recently overhauled XE, XF and F-Pace. At the front, the changes include a revised lower aperture incorporating a distinctive blade element. A new grille mesh design with diamond detailing is influenced by the Jaguar heritage logo and features a contemporary Noble Chrome finish, while new side fender vents feature the iconic Leaper emblem. Advanced LED technology is fitted to S models, while Premium LED headlights with Auto High Beam Assist feature on SE and…

Vodacom in KwaZulu-Natal is ramping up measures to fight the theft at base station sites, which causes millions of rand worth of damage each year. Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal’s base stations are increasingly being targeted by theft and vandalism, which can leave entire communities without communication. The company said the region is experiencing more than 70 incidents of vandalism reported on a monthly basis. The region is losing R6.5 million per month from vandalism, a cumulative R80 million per annum. In most cases, the theft has resulted in significant site downtime, leaving entire communities in parts of the province with no connectivity.…

MTN announced on Monday that Ferdi Moolman will step down as CEO of MTN Nigeria. Moolman will return to South Africa, where he will assume the new role of Group Chief Risk Officer. He will be replaced as CEO by Karl Toriola, current vice president for MTN Group’s West and Central Africa (WECA) region. Both appointments are effective from 1 March 2021. “Karl brings extensive technical and commercial experience, as well as a deep understanding of the Nigeria market to the role,” commented MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita. “Karl started his MTN career in his home country at…

FibrePoynt, Thabure Towerco and Phuthanang Youth Trust have installed a pilot network in Central Western Jabavu, Soweto. The pilot network offers the high-density township, situated south of Johannesburg, a cost-effective fixed internet solution for the home. The solution will enable the introduction of digital solutions such as eLearning in this community. FibrePoynt is owned by global firm Poynting Antennas. Thabure Towerco develops, owns, and leases out telecoms’ infrastructure. Phuthanang is a community-based organisation focusing on youth empowerment and skills development. In this case, FibrePoynt’s low-cost technology alternative gave coverage to up to 300 families in the high-density township. During this…

Capitec Bank, South Africa’s largest digital bank, wants to democratise stock trading through creating new modern investing platforms. The bank is targeting its 4 million app customers by making investing in the stock market easier. Capitec announced on Friday that it has added the EasyEquities investing platform to its new banking app, allowing its clients to invest in shares on stock markets in South Africa and the US. “The partnership brings our clients greater accessibility to a variety of investment options in an affordable and simplified way,” says Francois Viviers, executive of marketing and communications at Capitec. “We currently…