Author: Gugu Lourie

Founders Factory Africa (FFA) announced today that it has selected RxAll, an AI-hyperspectral platform for authenticating drugs,  into its venture scale programme. Launched in 2018 and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, FFA is backed by Standard Bank and Netcare Group. RxAll was founded by Adebayo Alonge, a Nigerian pharmacist, who developed a handheld nano-scanner called ‘RxScanner’ that detects fake drugs in real time after fake medicine nearly killed him. RxAll enables hospitals, pharmacies and patients in Africa to buy high quality, non-counterfeit medicines online by authenticating and delivering drugs through their curated marketplace. RxAll is dedicated to providing high quality…

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 decision by MTN Group would affect MTN Zakhele Futhi’s ability to pay expected preference dividends. MTN Zakhele Futhi scheme, which is listed on the JSE, has entered discussions with MTN and the preference share funders to find solutions to mitigate the impact. “Further to the cautionary announcements dated 3 August 2020 and 6 August 2020, MTN Zakhele Futhi shareholders are advised that the funding from MTN in the amount of…

MTN Zakhele Futhi, the black economic empowerment scheme of MTN Group, has tapped lawyer Belinda Mapongwana as its chairperson. Mapongwana will replace Sindisiwe Mabaso-Koyana, who will be stepping down given her appointment to the board of MTN Group. But she will remain a director of MTN Zakhele Futhi. Mapongwana’s appointment is effective from 16 September 2020. MTN’s Zakhele-Futhi is a ring-fenced special purpose vehicle aimed at facilitating investment by previously disadvantaged South Africans in MTN Group (MTN). It holds about 77 million shares in MTN, amounting to 4% of MTN’s issued share capital. It also has about 89 000 shareholders…

Rudo wants to disrupt the personal care services industry in South Africa by providing convenience, safety, and opportunities to the beauty market. Inspired by Uber, a leader in online marketplaces disruption, Rudo is one of the latest online platform technologies aiming to disrupt specifically in the fashion beauty care industry. Rudo is an intelligent tool that relieves the burden of booking management to beauty practitioners as well as salons. It is a data-driven tool that markets the right services and products to the right audience. The new app will also enable hyper-personalisation of direct-to-home beauty services. In South Africa, hair salons…

Valenture Institute, a global tech-enabled high school, has secured $7 million (R114 million) investment backed by GSV Ventures. The Institute is a global online high school offering a curriculum recognised by the world’s leading universities. Valenture Institute was founded by South African-born entrepreneur Robert Paddock, who was also co-founder of Getsmarter, a transformative digital education company successfully acquired by Nasdaq-listed 2U in 2017. With the goal of becoming the biggest online high school in the world by 2028, this investment will certainly add fuel to Valenture Institute’s already raging fire. The school was established as a fully-fledged online offering pre-COVID,…

Discovery Bank announced on Wednesday that the number of new clients was 45 916 as of 30 June 2020 versus 197 in 2019, with average customer advances of R20 500. The digital bank said it now has 489 000 as of 13 September 2020 versus 370 000 accounts at end June. The bank, which is powered by the country’s largest medical aid provider Discovery Health, said this performance was pleasing. The year under review represented the first year of the bank’s operation. The bank said that given the onset of COVID-19, it implemented three strategies, namely: Ensuring the successful migration of over 220 000…

TymeBank, a digital bank that is owned by billionaire Patrice Motsepe, announced on Tuesday that its partnership with the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) has been delayed. The bank is targeting 12 million churchgoers of Zion Christian Church (ZCC) as clients. The partnership was announced in February, but the spread of COVID-19 pandemic has delayed its finalisation. For more read: Patrice Motsepe’s TymeBank Targets 12m ZCC Members “The impact of COVID-19 on the bank has resulted in the delay in the roll out of its partnership with the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) as well as a change in its unsecured personal…

South African mobile data network operator Rain is now valued at more than R15 billion by its parent company African Rainbow Capital (ARC). The valuation places Rain above Telkom, South Africa’s biggest fixed-line telephone group, which is valued at more than R12 billion on the JSE. In an investment update published on Tuesday, ARC said: “The ARC Fund’s investment in Rain increased from R2, 5 billion at 30 June 2019 to R3, billion at 30 June 2020, mainly as a result of a fair value write-up of R479 million (2019: R364 million).” ARC owns 20.7% stake in Rain. Rain, partly…

South Africa’s gig economy, which is made up of freelance, short-term, and on-demand work, is growing. Since the lockdown was imposed at the end of March to combat the coronavirus, it has become apparent that the digital economy has enormous challenges and opportunities. Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel recently said South Africa’s digital economy has the potential to create 4.5 million positions. But he said for this to materialise there had to be the “right policy mix”. Precautions to tackle COVID-19 under the lockdown have seen thousands of workers work remotely. This type of flexibility has also seen the gig…

Investec has told the Information Communication Technology Union (ICTU) to direct its questions about the Believe Phantom Option Share Scheme for Cell C workers to the mobile phone company’s management. Three years ago, on 1 September 2017, Cell C management awarded shares in the Believe Phantom Option Share Scheme to workers. The shares were based on the company’s audited financial results for 2016. At the time, the share price was R31.06. Investec, the banking and wealth management group, is the administrator of Cell C’s Believe Phantom Option Share Scheme, also known as the Believe Share Scheme. The first vesting date for the Believe Share…

The Information Communication Technology Union (ICTU) wants Blue Label Telecoms to explain how the JSE-listed company can zero rate its stake in Cell C but remain the mobile phone operator’s main revenue generator. ICTU, which is an affiliate of the South African Federation of Trade Unions led by Zwelinzima Vavi, is the sole worker representative at Cell C. The union wants to know if Blue Label Telecoms is using Cell C as a “piggy bank.” Blue Label Telecoms, Nasdaq, and JSE-listed Net 1 have all written down to zero the value of their stakes in Cell C. Last month, Blue…

The Information Communication Technology Union (ICTU) has asked Investec to explain the ‘devaluing’ of the “Believe Phantom Option Shares Scheme (Believe Share Scheme)” awarded to Cell C workers a few years ago. In a memorandum seeking clarity on the matter, the ICTU says: “We require Investec to make available the audited financial reports received by Investec from Cell C, which informed Investec as the fund administrators to render the share scheme to be deemed to have lost monetary value.” The union added: “We question and require a detailed explanation of the non-communication on the share scheme to the registered individual shareholders from…

Telkom has announced the appointment of new board members after the retirement of independent non-executive directors Santie Botha and Khanyisile Kweyama. Botha and Kweyama will retire from the board with effect from 25 September and 31 December 2020, respectively. South Africa’s biggest fixed-line telephone operator informed investors on Wednesday that they will be replaced by Alphonzo Samuels and Hemmanth Singh. “Telkom welcomes Messrs Samuels and Singh to the Board of Directors, and looks forward to their contributions to the company,” Telkom said in a statement. “The company also extends its gratitude to Botha and Kweyama for their contributions over the…

Luno, one of the largest crypto exchanges in Africa, has been bought by New York-based Digital Currency Group (DCG). Luno is backed by Naspers and Rand Merchant Investments (RMI), through its fintech investment arm, AlphaCode. Both have sold their stakes to BCG. It is a global cryptocurrency company that makes it safe, easy to buy, sell, store and learn about cryptocurrencies with over 5 million customers in more than 40 countries. DCG is a global enterprise that builds, buys and invests in blockchain companies. It is also an investment firm that has backed more than 160 blockchain companies around the…

The arrival and rapid rise of the digital economy presents South Africa with an opportunity to reverse the pervasive, triple scourge of unemployment, inequality and poverty. But to harness the promised benefits of digitalisation, South Africa must create a commercial and regulatory environment designed to extract those benefits and distribute them in a way that ensures inclusive economic growth. The South African competition watchdog, the Competition Commission, has published a paper title “Competition in the Digital Economy” which aims to inform its government and corporate stakeholders of its approach to regulating competition in the digital economy. As an open economy,…

Checkers, Africa’s largest supermarket group in November 2019 introduced its new rewards programme, called Checkers Xtra Savings. The programme was to compete with Pick n Pay’s SmartShopper and Woolworths’ WRewards. The Checkers Xtra Savings Programme gives customers extra cash savings on more than 1,000 products every month. Checkers has revealed that it has signed up 4.7 million customers since inception in November 2019. “It delivered from day one on the group’s objective to ensure our customers save more every day,” the company informed investors on Tuesday. “This has been further entrenched with the successful launch of our personalised offers programme.…

The opportunities for mobile payments arrive at a pivotal time. African countries such as Nigeria and Ethiopia are now welcoming more investment in mobile services, according to a new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) titled Five Strategies for Mobile-Payment Banking in Africa. The COVID-19 crisis has provided a further opportunity. Mobile payments make social distancing easier, and these new digital solutions can help businesses and consumers cut their day-to-day expenses at a time of financial stress. At the same time, many African economies have strong and resilient fundamentals, including a young, fast-growing population and ongoing improvements in the business environment and governance.…

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is now changing gears and informing operators that the auction for the high-demand spectrum will be completed no later than 31 March 2021. That’s noteworthy considering the regulator promised to auction the 4G and 5G spectrum by 31 December 2020. None of this is all that surprising, however, mainly because the goalpost has been shifted several times by the regulator and government. ICASA announced today that the Invitation To Apply (ITA) for both the Wireless Open Access Network (WOAN) and the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) spectrum, also known as high demand spectrum…

Telkom has introduced a SmartBroadband SIM-only 1TB LTE deal for R999 that can be subscribed to on a 24-month contract with a device or on a month-to-month contract. The SmartBroadband Wireless post-paid LTE data product is available only on Telkom LTE/LTE-A 2300MHz and 1800MHz coverage. The SmartBroadband 1TB Wireless post-paid data offer, includes 1000GB anytime data per month. “Telkom’s SmartBroadband Wireless is bringing you something bigger than big with the first-ever Terabyte offer in South Africa,” the company said. “For a limited time only, you could be one of the first customers to take advantage of this crazy, game-changing deal…

The new S-Class is described by Mercedes-Benz as a saloon that uses digitisation for a car that responds empathetically to the needs and wishes of its driver and passengers. The S-Class stands for the fascination of Mercedes-Benz: legendary and traditional engineering expertise defines the luxury segment in the automobile industry. No date yet for delivery in South Africa, but the new S-Class can be experienced with all the senses – seeing, feeling, hearing and smelling – while offering numerous innovations in the areas of driver assistance, protection and interaction, according to Mercedes-Benz. The German carmaker says with this new saloon…

As a company that stand for women, Avon believes that behind every woman, there is a compelling and inspiring story to tell. This is the story of Myrtle Moodley, Avon Independent Business Owner.

Audi connect will be introduced into the local market with the imminent arrival of the new Audi A4 which is due in October. The technology brings real-time online connectivity to the driving experience with a host of features linking the car, driver and environment via the smartphone. With completely integrated in-car connectivity, the new Audi A4 becomes a digitally connected hub for the driver. Audi connect takes the comfort and enjoyment of driving the new Audi A4 to a whole new level, by providing a range of infotainment, entertainment, remote safety and service functions. The technology focuses on integrating the…

Today, SuperSport’s long-time channel line-up will permanently disappear with an all-new sport-specific offering designed to make navigation and content discovery easier than ever. SuperSport viewers on DStv will be able to enjoy special dedicated channels for leagues and sports, among them the PSL, the Premier League, La Liga, rugby, cricket, golf, tennis, motorsport and several others, which will now have a home to call their own. Not just live sport will be housed in these channels: supplementary programming such as magazine shows and highlights will add to the overall package. “Although there are channel changes, no customers will be getting any…

MTN Group has appointed Sugentharan Perumal as chief financial officer (CFO) following the appointment of the previous CFO, Ralph Mupita, as the new MTN Group CEO. “The company continues with its rigorous recruitment process for the GCFO position, and in the interim the board has appointed Sugentharan Perumal as MTN Group’s acting GCFO,” the company informed investors on Tuesday. A chartered accountant for over 15 years, Sugen has extensive financial and accounting experience. He has served as an external auditor of MTN Group and held various key executive and board positions within the group. He is currently acting CFO of…

The latest compact super-sportscars from the Mercedes-AMG stable have landed in South Africa. Promising outstanding performance, the ultimate driving dynamics and expressive design, the new Mercedes-AMG compact A 45 S 4MATIC+ Hatch and CLA 45 S 4MATIC+ are set to reassert their leading positions in their segments. The Mercedes-AMG A 45 S 4MATIC+ will be priced at R1.1 million and the Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 S 4MATIC+ at R1.2 million. We have completely redesigned our 45 models – from the engine and transmission through the chassis, the elaborately constructed drivetrain to the body structure and of course the design itself –…