Author: Gugu Lourie

China has ordered ride-hailing service provider DiDi Chuxing off the country’s app stores until future approval after correction and review. South China Morning Post reported that the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a short statement on Sunday that Didi’s app, often referred to as the Uber of China, has seriously violated the country’s laws and regulations by illegally collecting users’ personal data. As such, the agency has told China’s app stores to remove the app indefinitely, one of the harshest punishments for an internet company. It has also ordered DiDi to take corrective measures and comply with regulations,…

The European Union (EU) has launched a digital COVID Certificate, which allows people to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, a recent negative test result, or past COVID-19 infection. The certificate will be available in a national language and English said the EU. The certificate consists of a QR code displayed on a device (like a smartphone or a tablet) or printed, and a digital signature, verified via EU Gateway. The certificate is issued for free by their national authorities and recognised by all EU 27 member states as well as Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. The EU said if a country is not ready…

BMW i Ventures, the venture capital arm of BMW Group, is spending $300 million or R4.2 billion to invest in early-and-mid-stage tech startups that operate in the transportation, manufacturing, supply chain, and sustainability industries. Founded in 2016, BMW i Ventures is the BMW Group’s venture capital unit for investing in fast-growing technology start-ups. The aim of this unit is to make financially attractive investments that create strategic value-added for the BMW Group. With a broad focus that includes areas such as digital vehicle technology, autonomous driving, shared and on-demand mobility, electromobility, Industry 4.0 and customer innovation, BWM i Ventures is…

Zoom announced it has bought Karlsruhe Information Technology Solutions – Kites, a start-up dedicated to developing real-time Machine Translation (MT) solutions. Kites was founded in 2015 and has academic roots with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, where co-founders Dr. Alex Waibel and Dr. Sebastian Stüker are faculty members. “We are continuously looking for new ways to deliver happiness to our users and improve meeting productivity, and MT solutions will be key in enhancing our platform for Zoom customers across the globe,” said Velchamy Sankarlingam, president of Product and Engineering at Zoom. “With our aligned missions to make collaboration frictionless – regardless…

Microsoft Office suite – Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and their siblings –  is for free for South Africans between the ages of 8 – 24. The offer is under the Mahala scheme, which will enable young people to be able to activate Microsoft licenses for the Microsoft Office 365 suite and 5TB OneDrive cloud-based storage services free of charge. The Mahala.ms offer is part of a broader “Digital Skills Hub”, which aims to position South Africa as a smart, connected, and competitive global player. Through the Digital  Skills Hub, brought to you by Microsoft SA and SAtion, the organisation says it…

I recently met Mobit founder, Njabulo Maphumulo, at MaAgnes Ndlovu’s spaza shop in Hambanathi. The place was lively. There was a boy washing a minibus taxi while playing a popular song by Emtee titled: Ghetto Hero. Hambanathi is in Tongaat, about 10km from King Shaka International Airport in Durban. Not far from the taxi other youngsters were standing in groups peering into their smartphones. A few giggling girls were buying mobile data from the spaza shop. The lyrics of Ghetto Hero goes: “Without you I’m nothing.  You turned me into something, yeah.  I wanna be, I wanna be a ghetto hero, yeah yeah.  I wanna be,…

The Google Assistant-powered Lenovo Smart Clock 2 has a wireless charging dock, which can also act as “a soft, ambient nightlight.” The new Lenovo Smart Clock 2 takes nightstands by storm (sans prying camera for visual privacy). Built for the bedroom, or wherever you need a clock that does it all, the Lenovo Smart Clock 2’s updated design, seamless tubing, and compact footprint blends in with nearly any home décor. Its fabric soft-touch, the organic-looking exterior is offered in three fashionable yet neutral hues: Shadow Black, Heather Grey and Abyss Blue. The Lenovo Smart Clock 2 with a wireless charging dock helps eliminate…

Naspers has published its integrated annual report for 2021, showing what its top executives were paid in the last year. Bob van Dijk, CEO of Naspers and its European-listed spin-off Prosus, took home the largest salary at the group in 2021, earning R235 million or $16.6 million) for the year. Van Dijk total remuneration consists of: Fixed remuneration of $1.48 million or R20.9 million Short-term incentives of $1.42 million or R20.1 million Long-term incentives of $13.6 million or R192 million Pension, Medical insurance, life and disability insurance of $1,42 million or R20.1 million While Naspers and Prosus chief financial officer…

Big data, Artificial intelligence (AI), and business intelligence capabilities are at the heart of Vodacom’s efforts to enhance customer experience. The Vodafone-owned company intends to embed itself in the lives of customers. Vodacom Financial and Digital Services are using data analytics to help spot trends and identify customer behaviour patterns. The analytics allows the Vodacom South Africa subsidiary to better meet customers’ demands. This also enables the company to make the right decisions underpinned by real-life data. “We are currently investing a lot around data analytics, big data, and AI to understand different behavioural insights of our customers to ensure…

The VodaTrade platform developed by Vodacom Financial and Digital Services is starting to come alive ahead of the launch of its Super App. The Super App, known as VodaPay, will be the central hub for its financial services and e-commerce offerings. It will be hosting most of South Africa’s leading retail brands across all key verticals for both consumers and merchants. VodaTrade is a supplier portal, where the small supplier will go digital and connect with big business partners. VodaTrade is a one-stop interface for small businesses to interact with all aspects of their trade. Some key features include analytics,…