Author: Gugu Lourie

Transport minister Fikile Mbalula has stated that South Africa’s minibus taxis (as well as Uber and Bolt) and Shoholoza Meyl will be banned from the road during the lockdown. Trains will not be operating, long-distance has been shut down in terms of Shosholoza Meyl, Mbalula told 702. “This affects everybody, that includes Uber, Bolt and e-hailing systems and taxis.” On Monday, President Cyril Ramphosa announced a 21-day lockdown of the country effective from midnight on 26 March. Also read: Coronavirus: How To Make Donations To SA’s COVID-19 Solidarity Fund The South African Government has set up a Solidarity Fund, which…

Netcare, one of South Africa’s largest private hospital groups, announced on Wednesday that visiting hours at hospitals have been suspended, except in specific special circumstances, as a further precaution against the spread of COVID-19. Today, the number of local coronavirus cases have increased to 709. “In light of the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, we needed to take extraordinary measures to protect all healthcare teams and our patients who cannot be discharged,” says Dr Richard Friedland, Netcare chief executive officer. The following measures will apply: All visiting hours for general wards, ICUs and the high care units will be suspended with…

All South African restaurants, takeaways and food delivery will be closed during South Africa’s 21-day coronavirus lockdown, said Minister of Tourism Mmamoloko Kuyabi-Ngubane. In a letter to the restaurant industry on Tuesday, Kuyabi-Ngubane said: “In compliance with the nation-wide lockdown it should be noted that ALL restaurants, cafes, bars, coffee shops will be required to comply with the nation-wide lockdown for 21 days.” “Such service providers have NOT been included on the list of what has been deemed essential services during the lockdown and will NOT be permitted to operate and will thus need to be closed for the duration,”…

The South African Government has set up a Solidarity Fund, which South African businesses, organisations and individuals, and members of the international community, can contribute to Ameliorate the impact of the coronavirus. “The Fund will focus efforts to combat the spread of the virus, help us to track the spread, care for those who are ill and support those whose lives are disrupted,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa. “The Fund will complement what we are doing in the public sector.” This Fund will be chaired by Ms Gloria Serobe and the deputy Chairperson is Mr Adrian Enthoven. The Fund has a…

As part of a swift and extraordinary action to deal with coronavirus, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced measures to assist businesses that may be in distress and a windfall for some individual taxpayers. “Using the tax system, we will provide a tax subsidy of up to R500 per month for the next four months for those private-sector employees earning below R6,500 under the Employment Tax Incentive,” said Ramaphosa. He added that this will help over 4 million workers. The South African Revenue Service will also work towards accelerating the payment of employment tax incentive reimbursements from twice a year to monthly to…

South Africa’s online florist NetFlorist is venturing into the delivery of fresh fruits and vegetables. The service is available to potential customers around Johannesburg North and Pretoria as people stay at home due to Covid-19 pandemic. As the country’s leading national B2B Fruit and Vegetables wholesaler and distributor, Fruitspot has partnered with NetFlorist to ensure the safe and timeous delivery of fresh produce, South Africa’s online florist said on its website. “When we’re delivering produce to the recipient, we ensure that our fruits and veggies arrive as fresh and as delicious as the day they were picked. To accomplish this, low-tech, inexpensive…

Struggling mobile phone operator Cell C, which destroyed shareholder value for JSE-listed firm Blue Label Telecoms, on Monday reported a R4 billion operating loss for the six months to 31 December 2019. Strangely, Cell C CEO Douglas Craigie Stevenson believes the green shoots of the turnaround strategy, which was implemented from March 2019 onwards, are now visible. The company’s full-year operating loss came in at R3.94 billion versus R7.36 billion loss in 2018. The company attributed the improvement to operational improvements and right-sizing. The group revenue was down to R15.2 billion versus R15.7 billion in 2018. The company also lost 2.9…

In these uncertain times, only one thing is really certain, and that’s that every company and its dog wants to tell you what it’s doing in the wake of the Corona crisis. Yet amidst the benign platitudes, gloomy headlines and pervasive uncertainty, here’s some really, really good news: TymeBank, South Africa’s first digital bank, will honour their commitment to their customers and keep their interest rate unchanged at 10%. Worth noting is that TymeBank has taken this decision before the Reserve Bank makes its announcement later today and likely cuts the benchmark interest rate by a considerable amount. TymeBank’s bold…

South Africa’s communications watchdog on Thursday called on mobile operators to offer free services during the coronavirus situation. The country has recorded the highest number of people in Africa who have tested positive for Covid-19 or coronavirus. “ICASA (The Independent Communications Authority of SA) is requesting all network service providers to heed the call to enable the country to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, by facilitating easy and affordable (and/or free) access to data,” the regulator said in a statement. The regulator added that it was engaging the sector on possible ways of radiofrequency spectrum relief for the duration of…

African Rainbow Capital Financial Services Holdings (ARC FinHoldCo) announced on Thursday that it has invested R300 million South Africa’s first fully digital bank TymeBank. ARC FinHoldCo increased its holding in TymeBank to 100% over the course of the year, new partners were introduced resulting in a sell-down of control to 65.5% at 30 June 2019. The bank, which is backed by billionaire Patrice Motsepe, said it was embarking on a capital raise which will see the ARCH FinHoldCo interest diluted further. TymenBank is adding 3 500 and 4 000 customers per day, with about 40% of bank accounts being active…

South African mobile data network operator rain, which recently launched its intelligent 5G transport network, continues to invest in its 5G network across the country, said investors African Rainbow Capital (ARC). In an investment update published on Thursday, ARC said: “Overall, the growth prospects for Rain remain optimistic.” The company said Rain’s revenue growth has been encouraging and significant progress was being made to further improve on network performance and stability. “Rain is well-positioned to become a major player in the 5G data market,” said ARC. ARC added that during October 2019, Rain launched the country’s first 5G network for…

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…

aYo, a mobile micro-insurance joint venture between MTN and SA’s third-biggest insurer Momentum Metropolitan, seems to be winning the minds, hearts and wallets of existing and new customers. In 2017, Momentum Metropolitan and MTN launched aYo, a micro-insurance joint venture. It began its roll-out in Uganda in January 2017 and has also been deployed in Ghana and Zambia. With insurance penetration low in many countries in the African region, aYo aims to draw on the resources and capabilities that both companies provide to improve this and offer relevant, accessible and easy-to-use insurance solutions to consumers. “Our aYo joint venture recorded…

The hybrid BMW i8 Coupé and the BMW i8 Roadster will make way for a new range of all-electric models. BMW announced on Wednesday that the production of its i8 plug-in hybrid sports car will end next month, nearly six years after it was introduced in a big way to the German automaker’s lineup. This is the final stretch on the way to the “Hall of Fame” of BMW sports cars for the i8. The BMW i8 started its worldwide success story as a unique symbiosis of futuristic design and pioneering technology. The BMW Group’s first plug-in hybrid model paved…

The SA Post Office announced on Wednesday that Coronavirus or COVID-19 delays mail to and from the Far East. he South African Post Office advises its clients that it cannot accept mail destined to the following countries: China Malaysia Indonesia Taiwan South Korea Sri Lanka Vietnam Bangladesh and Kuala Lumpur The Post Office said mail to Hong Kong is not affected. The airline carriers currently used by the SA Post Office for transport to and from these countries are unable to uplift mail due to challenges caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, it added. “As a result, mail from these counties…

MTN, Africa and the Middle East biggest mobile phone operator delivered a strong set of results for the year to end-December 2019, as it signs up more data and mobile money service customers plus mobile telephony subscribers. “We added 18 million customers to reach a total of 251 million and increased our data users by 17 million to 95 million and our fintech customers by 7 million to 35 million,” said Rob Shuter, the CEO of MTN Group. “This growth is central to our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life. We also saw improvements in…

The latest data released today by MTN shows that the number of active Mobile Money (MoMo) users increased by 7,5 million to a total of 35 million, generating a monthly ARPU of $1,15 in the year to end-December 2019. “The value of MoMo transactions in the year was $96,1 billion ()R1.54 trillion), with 9 200 transactions processed per minute (up from 6 800 per minute in 2018),” the company said. The launch of MoMo in South Africa and Afghanistan brings to 16 the number of markets in which we are currently live. “In November we launched MTN Homeland, a mobile remittance…

MTN Group on Wednesday disclosed that its instant messaging platform, Ayoba has reached 2 million monthly active users. To ensure Africa doesn’t miss out on the instant messaging revolution, MTN launched its own instant messaging platform, Ayoba, in March 2019. “Ayoba is now live in 12 markets and has registered two million monthly active users,” said  MTN’s CEO, Rob Shuter. Ayoba was integrated into 12 MTN markets and is also available across multiple markets on the Google Play Store and via the Ayoba website as an OTT offering. MusicTime! is now live in six MTN markets. “We plan to continue…

Rob Shuter, MTN Group CEO, would be stepping down from his role at the end of his contract in March 2021, Africa and the Middle East biggest mobile phone operator announced on Wednesday. “The board thanks Rob for the contribution he has made and continues to make, to MTN. The succession process will be concluded during the year, enabling a seamless handover,” the company said in a statement. MTN group chief technology and IT officer Charles Molapisi has been appointed to the group executive committee and the fixed contract of the group chief operations officer, Jens Schulte-Bockum, has been extended…

Cape Town-based Privacy-by-Design startup that specialises in secure data sharing for businesses, Omnisient, has secured undisclosed pre-Series A funding from Nedbank CIB, Investec and Compass Venture Capital. Omnisient has created intersect.ai, the secure data exchange platform that ensures companies can protect personal information and intellectual property while sharing data internally or externally. Since launch, the intersect.ai platform has gained major traction amongst SA businesses, including leading banks, insurers and retailers. “Consumers now demand speed, ease and convenience in every sphere of life – and businesses can only meet these needs if they have seamless access to data on consumer behaviour,…

According to the Statistics SA’s Living Conditions Survey, approximately half (49,2%) of the adult population in South Africa are living below the upper-bound poverty line and the severity of poverty measures are larger for female-headed households compared to households headed by males. It is this grim reality that has compelled global beauty and personal care company, Avon Justine, to launch a poverty alleviation programme in 2010 known as Thuthukisa, which loosely translates to building together. This initiative is the first of its kind within the company and has, to date, invested approximately R600 000 in two early childhood development projects…

Sebata Holdings, a JSE-listed firm, takes a big bet on a South African startup that is making pool care a hassle-free experience and its solution monitors your pool water quality 24/7. Pro Automation is a startup that strives to bring innovative, smart and simple solutions to the connected home Internet of Things (IoT) market. Sebata is buying 30% in Pro Automation, which has developed a device that is changing the way we maintain our pools. Pro Automations’ Pool Sense product has transformed the complex and costly management of pool maintenance since its launch in December 2018, allowing owners to monitor and…

Few years ago, most telematics software users had a primary need for GPS location of vehicles on a map for dispatching. Today, if a business hasn’t evolved from track and trace, it has not evolved. But MiX Telematics sees a possible future business opportunity that could have huge growth potential in the coming years. The JSE-listed global fleet management and the vehicle-tracking company is exploring opportunities in commercial fleet managers who are seeking effective technology solutions to enhance their operations and bottom-line. ABI Research,a global tech market advisory firm assessed the market from the end user’s perspective and found that…

South African-based fleet management Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider, MiX Telematics announced that global security group G4S has selected it to assist in modifying driver behaviour across their Cash Division in the UK. The R4.6 billion company – which in August 2013 listed on the New York Stock Exchange –said this implementation will cover a further 1,500 vehicles throughout the UK. The contract was awarded on the basis that the global player believes MiX’s products to be the gold standard for safety, improving efficiency and alleviating impact on the environment, said the JSE-listed company. “For many years, MiX has helped G4S address…

South African-based vehicle tracking firm Cartrack may be sold to a Singaporean investor. Cartrack provides services related to stolen vehicle recovery, fleet management and insurance telematics through Software as a Service (SaaS). The company competes with JSE-listed DiDigicore, which was acquired by US-based technology firm Novatel for R1.1 billion. It also competes with JSE-listed Mix Telematics and Tracker. The JSE-listed company informed investors on Monday that it has received an expression of interest from a foreign investor. It added that the investor is proposing a transaction that could ultimately result in the restructuring of the company such that shareholders would hold shares, pursuant to…