Author: Gugu Lourie

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…

An all-female team of South African young architects has been selected to design the 2020 Serpentine Pavilion. The team consist of Sumayya Vally, Sarah de Villiers and Amina Kaskar of Counterspace, a Johannesburg-based architect firm. All three will be 30 years old in 2020. The trio has just become the youngest ever to be commissioned to build the Serpentine Pavilion in Kensington Gardens, London. The pavilion is scheduled to be open from June to October. The trio wrote in a statement that using both innovative and traditional building techniques, Counterspace’s design will be based on gathering spaces and community places around the city, folding…

Glafit, a Japanese mobility startup company, today is launching the Micro mobility scooter – X-SCOOTER “Last One Mile (LOM) crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. Having been involved in the automobile industry for more than 15 years, glafit had always wanted to launch a fun & exciting vehicle that fits people’s modern lifestyle. In 2017 May, the startup launched its first product, Hybrid Bike GFR-01, on a Japanese crowdfunding platform and set an all-time record for the amount raised with over $1.2 million (R18 million). “We have continued our development to launch our second product, X-SCOOTER LOM, in the global market through…

EOH, JSE-listed technology group, announced today that Andrew Mthembu, a proven executive with vast industry experience, will assume the role of chairman. His appointment is effective on 6 February 2020. Mthembu replaces the late Dr Xolani Mkhwanazi, who was chairman of the board at the time of his passing on 4 January 2020. For more read: Prominent Businessman Dr Xolani Mkhwanazi Passes Away Mthembu joined the EOH board in June 2019. He was appointed the lead independent director last year and led the board in the absence of Dr Mkhwanazi as a result of his illness. Mthembu is the chairperson…

ANC chairperson and  has urged the government to close  South African Airways (SAA) and SA Express. According to a report by The Sunday Times, Mantashe said if SAA wanted to survive, it should start to make a profit and stand on its own. He added that otherwise it should be closed down or taken over by a more capable entity. Mantashe was speaking at the ANC’s 108 celebrations in Komga, Eastern Cape. “Anyone who can manage to run it should take over. Do you know that we even pay cheaper rates at FlySafair? That airline is much cheaper than SAA…

JSE-listed Balwin Properties is planning to build a Munyaka, a R9 billion development in Waterfall, Midrand. Construction of the spectacular lagoon, boundary wall, gatehouse, lifestyle centre and show apartment block has already commenced with the balance of apartments being rolled out over the next eight years. “Munyaka, which translates to “Crystal” in Venda, is set to be the crown jewel in our development portfolio,” Steve Brookes, founder and CEO of Balwin Properties said. “We have worked very closely with our architects to bring something exceptional to South African sectional title buyers and believe that it will not only set a…

Telkom mobile network is experiencing disruptions and customers are angry while others are even labelling the company an abusive network operator. In a tweet, Telkom advised its customers as follows: “Dear customers, we are currently experiencing disruptions on our mobile voice and data network which may affect your connectivity. Our team of technicians are working on resolving this. We thank you for your patience and apologise for the inconvenience caused” Dear customers, we are currently experiencing disruptions on our mobile voice and data network which may affect your connectivity. Our team of technicians are working on resolving this. We thank…

Universal Partners is merging three tech talent specialists Xcede, TechStream and Etonwood to create a £100m (R1.9 billion) revenue company. The merger has been funded by private equity firm Universal Partners and Investec Bank. The merged firms will share a group parent company branded as TechStream Group, headquartered in London and operating across its current global office network in New York, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Singapore, Malaga and Cape Town. It will employ 220 people. Founded by Paul Beeke, TechStream is an internationally recognised human capital business. The merged company will specialise in talent for cloud transformation, digital transformation, cybersecurity, data…