Author: Gugu Lourie

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…

Telkom has unveiled its Big Deal for March 2020, which would enable you to turn your home or office into a connection hub. The SmartBroadband 80GB Wireless is an LTE data offer, which includes 40GB Telkom anytime data a month and 40GB night surfer data a month. The deal includes the following: 40GB Anytime data 40GB Night Surfer data A R99 Once-Off SIM activation fee D-LINKAC1200 DB router This deal offer is available from 1st March until 31 st March 2020. The subscriber who depletes their inclusive allocated data bundle can buy/top-up with the LTE/LTE-A Once-off data bundles which expire within…

Ellies, the maker of satellite dishes and TV aerials, is planning to retrench close to 200 workers at its subsidiary, Ellies Electronics. The equipment manufacturer has served trade unions with section 189 notices. It added that Ellies Electronics will enter into a formal consultation process with relevant stakeholders, regarding the restructuring of its goods receiving, warehousing, distribution, logistics and head office functions. The company attributed the restructuring to ongoing financial losses experienced by Ellies Electronics. “The restructuring will result in the rationalisation of overheads and the realisation of other efficiencies required to restore profitability and ensure the existence and longevity of…

SelfSure, a new fintech in South Africa, has come up with a smart way to solve the problem faced by many car owners when they put in a claim after an accident. After paying premiums each month to cover their vehicles, consumers are often shocked at the thousands of rands they still need to pay to cover the excess. The brainchild of an actuary, Proud Chitumba, SelfSure’s Excess Wallet ensures that you pay zero excess no matter the size of your claim while reducing your car insurance premiums without having to change your insurer. Chitumba explains, “South African policyholders believe…

As part of its plans to roll out payment service bank seamlessly in Nigeria, MTN says it has registered about 108,000 mobile money agents across the country since August when it began the super-agent service. “We launched a super-agent service in August and are pleased with the initial rollout and uptake of the service,” said MTN Nigeria CEO, Ferdi Moolman. “We continue to make good progress with the expansion of our super-agent network and are confident that the expanded service offerings will position us to effectively drive broader financial inclusion as well as roll out the payment service bank seamlessly,…

MTN will invest about N600 billion (R32 billion) in Nigeria’s network, Africa’s largest mobile phone operator announced on Sunday. The investment will be made over the next three years. The South African-based company said this investment will enable it to accelerate its 4G network expansion, deepen population coverage and support the Federal Government’s broadband initiative. “We are excited about the possibilities that the transition to digital presents for our business, and the growth and development of Nigeria.” Expanding 4G network coverage to deliver highspeed internet to more people nation-wide and data revenue growth remain in focus, said the company. “We…

JSE-listed technology group Blue Label Telecoms has returned to profit for the first time in years, buoyed by Cell C write down. The company has lost 80% of its value over the past two years due to its investment in struggling Cell C. The group, which owns 54% of struggling mobile phone operator Cell C, and Net 1 have written down to zero the value of their stake of the embattled mobile network which last year reported an R8 billion loss in the year to June, hit by impairments. Consequently, Cell C’s financial results did not have an impact on Blue Label’s…

A new South African startup is trying to introduce the world to the country’s multicultural and deeply awesome creative talent. The startup, Fierce, is primarily focused on servicing the international market through facilitated ‘offshoring’, a term gaining traction amongst clients seeking exceptional skills from cost-effective markets. Unlike outsourcing, offshoring is primarily a geographic activity. In the West, goods are expensive because the staff required to produce and distribute them are costly. In the developing world, by contrast, vast inexpensive labour pools provide an easy bedrock for a low-cost economy. Offshoring takes advantage of these cost differentials by relocating factories from…

The global startup economy is worth nearly $3 trillion, a rise of 20% in two years. That’s the size of a not-so-small economy, larger than the GDP of the UK, France, or Brazil. Technology-driven startups aren’t just contributing to economic growth, in many ways, they are economic growth. The 2019 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) has just been published by Startup Genome in partnership with the Global Entrepreneurship Network. It is the world’s most comprehensive and widely-read research on startups. South Africa’s finance minister Tito Mboweni wants to see a flourishing startup industry tapping into that $3 trillion markets. “Start-ups will ignite the economy,” Mboweni said during his South Africa’s…

South Africa seems to be headed to a thriving FinTech industry to bring financial inclusion, finance minister Tito Mboweni surprisingly announced FinTech plans on Wednesday. “South Africa is moving with the fourth industrial revolution,”  said Mboweni. “We are determined not to be left behind. We are relaxing regulations to help our flourishing FinTech sector.” What is FinTech? FinTech (Financial technology) is used to describe new tech that seeks to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services, according to Investopedia. ​​​ At its core, fintech is utilized to help companies, business owners and consumers better manage their financial…

The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) will focus on rolling out SA Connect, implementing digital migration and submitting new Bills to Parliament, over the medium-term. This was disclosed in the Estimates of National Expenditure (ENE) document, which highlights plans and projected spending in national government over the medium-term expenditure framework period. The DCDT says the new model for the implementation of broadcasting digital migration over the medium term includes the provision of vouchers to indigent households for devices that will allow analogue televisions to receive digital signals, and compensation to the South African Post Office for the costs…

The new digital bank Discovery Bank has proudly stated on Thursday that deposits had grown strongly to R1.2 billion; total credit card spend was R2.6 billion and total credit limits granted was R2.5 billion – with over R1 billion in credit facility used. But the bank, which is powered by the country’s largest medical aid provider Discovery Health, is not enticing enough customers as compared to its rival TymeBank. Discovery disclosed on Thursday that as at 18 February 2020, Discovery Bank had 78 000 clients with 180 000 accounts, nearly half of which had never held a Discovery Card before. “Early…

By now you’ve probably heard about MoMo, a mobile money service. MoMo is back in the limelight that’s because MTN has relaunched the service in South Africa. The service enables customers to use their mobile phones, and other devices, to send and receive money. MoMo also allows users to purchase airtime, prepaid electricity, and pay for their municipal bills and DSTV subscriptions. In September 2016, MTN revealed it was withdrawing the MoMo offering in the country due to a lack of commercial viability. The service was first launched in 2012 when MTN partnered with the South African Bank of Athens,…

President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed plans for a new smart city in Gauteng that he promised in his maiden 2019 state of the nation address. The new democratic South Africa’s city is to be driven solely by technology. During the State of the Nation Address (SONA), Ramaphosa said a new smart-city is taking shape in Lanseria, which 350,000 to 500,000 people will call home within the next decade. This city that is referred to as a truly post-Apartheid city will be situated in Lanseria, which has Lanseria International Airport, a privately owned international airport that is situated north of Randburg and Sandton…

US allegations of Huawei using lawful interception are nothing but a smokescreen – they don’t adhere to any form of accepted logic in the cybersecurity domain, the Chinese telco giant hit back in a statement. The company said it has never and will never covertly access telecom networks, nor do “we have the capability to do so”. U.S. officials say Huawei can covertly access mobile-phone networks around the world through “back doors” designed for use by law enforcement, as Washington tries to persuade allies to exclude the Chinese company from their networks, according to the Wall Street Journal. Intelligence shows…

Herotel, which brought free Wi-FI to the city of Tshwane, is now targeting to bring affordable internet to all South Africans. To fast track its vision of Everyone Connected, the company founded by Alan Knott-Craig Jr is consolidating its fibre assets and wireless internet service provider brands under the Herotel name, with a fresh national trademark. Founded in 2014 with the stated goal of providing a single national fibre and wireless broadband provider that can better service South Africa’s growing internet connectivity needs, Herotel currently services around 83 000 home and business internet users. Operating in over 400 towns, Herotel claims…

The New Development Bank (NDB), which is partly owned by South Africa, is fully committed to supporting China’s fight against coronavirus. The coronavirus, which was first detected in Wuhan, has killed thousand of people. There have now been more than 40,000 cases of the new coronavirus worldwide, which has been declared a global health emergency. The death toll in China stands at 1,016. The NDB said in a cautious statement appreciated China’s ‘great efforts and effective measures’ aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus. “We are confident in China’s epidemic prevention and control ability as well as measures taken…