Author: Gugu Lourie
by Ylva Rodny-Gumede The year 2016 will go down in history as the year in which fake news really took centre stage. It played a decisive role in major events such as the outcome of the US elections and the British Brexit vote. In South Africa, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, newspaper editors and journalists have become among the most prominent targets for fake news peddlers. The common denominator of fake news – fictional pieces of information or narratives – has been that lies are used to discredit individuals, as well as their viewpoints and agendas. Fake news, misinformation, propaganda and hoaxes…
by Staff Writer The AMG and Benz seem to have declared war on the Audi’s RS 6 Avant with the launch of the new E 63 4MATIC+* Estate and E 63 S 4MATIC+* Estate. The world premiere of the two performance estate models will be at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2017. Sales release is in April 2017, with the market launch scheduled to start in June 2017. We hope it will then grace our shores. From launch, the E 63 S 4MATIC+ Estate will be available as the exclusively configured “Edition 1” for around one year. The paintwork in designo…
by Gugu Lourie South African-based fleet management Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider, Mix Telematics has passed 600 000 subscriber mark for the first time in the business history as more customers see value in its solutions. The R2.2 billion company – which in August 2013 listed on the New York Stock Exchange – on Thursday announced that it has added 20 000 new subscribers in the third quarter to end-December 2016, pushing its total base to above 600 000. Mix Telematics develops its fleet management solutions using a SaaS model in South Africa, where it takes advantage of savings on costs of…
by Staff Writer MTN, Africa and the Middle East biggest mobile-phone operator, agreed to increase its stake in tower group IHS in exchange for a stake in Nigeria Tower InterCo, the parent company of INT Tower, which is the telecom tower operator in Nigeria. The South African-based firm will swap 51% shareholding in Nigeria Tower for an additional stake in IHS Group. This will enable MTN to up its shareholding in IHS Group to about 29% from 15%, enabling the telco to diversify its tower infrastructure exposure. IHS Group is the largest independent tower operator in Africa, Europe and the…
by Staff Writer Vodacom informed investors on Wednesday that its Internet of Things (IoT) customers increased by 29.3% to 2.8 million in the third quarter to end-December 2016. The customers of Vodacom Business, an enterprise division of Vodafone-owned Vodacom, continues to adopt IoT solutions. IoT, previously machine-to-machine, is the remote wireless interchange between two or more predefined devices or a central station without a direct relationship with an end customer, in order to support a specific business process or product. Customer enthusiasm for the IoT is growing across sectors, fueling more than $75 billion in mergers & acquisitions by major…
by Staff Writer South African-based Vodacom’s latest promotions seem to be paying off, as the telco added more than 1.6 million customers in the third quarter ended 31 December 2016. Vodacom, which is owned by British mobile phone giant Vodafone, announced on Wednesday that it added 690 000 new subscribers in South Africa and 876 000 in its International operations, pushing its total active customer base to 65.2 million. To compete aggressively against its rivals – MTN, Cell C, FNB Connect, Telkom and Virgin Mobile, etc – Vodacom has been running a range of promotions to distinguish itself from its competitors. Some…
by Gugu Lourie The crippled South African Post Office (Sapo) is targeting e-commerce and financial services as a way to salvage its declining business. The organisation, which is led by Mark Barnes who assumed the CEO position in January last year, is collaborating with various partners to make its e-commerce plans a reality. Barnes said in a statement on Tuesday that Sapo was focusing on e-commerce in collaboration with the Universal Postal Union, and local and international players to make a case for South Africa being an e-commerce hub for the Southern Africa region. He added that as part of…
by Gugu Lourie Cardtronics, which defines itself as the world’s biggest operator of non-bank ATMs, announced on Tuesday that it would acquire South Africa’s independent ATM provider, Spark ATM Systems. The Nasdaq-listed ATM giant didn’t disclose the amount it would pay for the South African independent ATM provider, which has a growing nationwide network of about 2,600 ATMs. The deal, which is the first for Cardtronics in the African continent, would make South Africa an anchor market in Africa for the US-based operator on non-bank ATMs. Spark ATM Systems is the independent ATM deployer in South Africa, installing and operating…
by Dominique Collett, head of AlphaCode, a Rand Merchant Investments club for fintech startup entrepreneurs From digital banks to mobile-payment solutions, technology is set to change the South African financial services landscape at a pace that will continue to surprise even the most hard-core non-believer. Digital banks On the banking front, 2017 will be the year of the digital bank, both globally and locally. In South Africa, we will see Discovery Bank and CBA Tyme – both digital banks – start operating and it should be interesting to see how the market responds. SME financing Politicians and economists tell us…
by Gugu Lourie ICASA, South Africa’s telephone regulator, is kick-starting a process to review the fees charged by Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Telkom to handle calls from other providers, a move that could hit revenues for phone firms and pave way for cheaper calls. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) said in a statement on Monday that the review is in line with the Electronic Communications Act that governs the sector. The Mobile Call Termination (MTR) regulations were contentious and challenged in court by mobile phone operators. ICASA said on Monday that it is inviting interested stakeholders…
by Megan Willis We live in an age where most of us have an online presence. Many of us have numerous accounts on social and professional networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. And singles among us are increasingly turning online to find love. So how do the images we post of ourselves online influence the first impressions others form of us? While it’s often said we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, the reality is that we all do. It takes only the briefest glance of a face, for us to form first impressions on a range of social…
by Brooks Marmon Donald Trump’s bleak inauguration speech has attracted attention for, among other things, employing the phrase “America first”. The term was popularised by the famed aviator Charles Lindbergh and is associated with anti-Semitic and Nazi sympathisers who sought to keep the US out of World War II. But Lindbergh and the America First Committee are not the only 20th century white nationalists to use the term. The small band of racist whites in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, employed a version of it as protest against the onset of decolonisation and the spread of black rule across Africa. In the late…
by Gugu Lourie South Africa’s tech firm EOH is quietly tapping into the fastest growing industry of providing eGovernment solutions to support governments to provide public services online through one stop-platforms – an approach that makes it easier to access public services. According to the United Nations eGovernment Survey 2016 this approach makes it easier for people to interact with public administration and get adequate and holistic responses to their queries and needs. Encouraging innovation through e-government In an effort to make public institutions more inclusive, effective, accountable and transparent, as called for in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,…
by Core Gaming Core Gaming Systems announced on Friday that Nintendo Switch will be available for R5,599 in South Africa. The breakthrough home video game console, which not only connects to a TV at home, but also instantly transforms into an on-the-go handheld, will launch as part of the global roll-out on Friday 3 March. “Nintendo Switch offers a completely new gaming experience that South Africans will love – we are thrilled to introduce this unique gaming console locally at the same time as the rest of the world,” says Matthew Grose, General Manager for Core Gaming Systems. In addition to participating…
by Staff Writer Finding the right broadband service provider is proving to be difficult in South Africa as stiff competition for the customers pocket is hitting up, a Cape Town-based start-up is bringing a solution for data-hungry consumers. FiberTiger, a new comparison website that was launched in December 2016, helps you navigate the murky world of fibre packages and providers available in South Africa. The website features sliders for customers to select desired Internet service and network provider, download speeds, shaping, capping, capacity, data and pricing. . The comparison website was borne from a personal need to quickly and easily compare…
by Marietjie Theron-Wepener Ford South Africa has suffered huge damage to its reputation thanks to its poor handling of a crisis involving some of its Kuga cars. The global car manufacturer’s local operation has been forced to recall more than 4 000 Kuga Ecoboost 1.6 litre models manufactured between December 2012 and February 2014. Ford South Africa’s CEO Jeff Nemeth announced the recall after over 40 cases of engine fires had been reported. To aggravate the situation, one death allegedly resulted from a Ford Kuga exploding in December 2015. There can be little doubt that the Ford Kuga crisis has hurt…
by Staff Writer MTN, Africa and Middle East biggest mobile phone operator by subscribers, will work with Omnicom as its integrated global agency. The telco said in a statement that the appointment of Omnicom follows a rigorous evaluation process, which began in March 2016, when six major global agency networks were invited to tender. Three agencies proceeded to the second round late last year, with Omnicom selected based on having met the functional and commercial requirements. These requirements were scope of work and specialisation, industry and geographic track record, proposed resources (footprint, team and transformation agenda), and specified risk and financial parameters.…
by Craig Heckrath, product development manager at Intervate Many of us have experienced the simplicity and convenience of hailing an Uber. It certainly seems like the 180-degree opposite of South Africa’s fragmented, informal (and sometimes unreliable) public transport networks. But what if we could use the principles and the technology that made Uber great, and apply them to our urban public transport systems? Could we bring order to the chaos, and improve the lives of millions of commuters? The answer to both questions is a resounding ‘yes’. In fact, the sensors, the geolocation technology, and the strong smartphone penetration are…
by Staff Writer SAP Africa announced on Thursday that its skills development initiative, Skills for Africa, has been awarded the prestigious Hasso Plattner Founders’ Award for 2016. This is the highest employee recognition at SAP, awarded annually by SAP CEO Bill McDermott, to an individual or a team from around the globe. SAP Africa Skills for Africa affords participants the opportunity to develop world-class IT and business skills (with exacting global SAP certification) and then translates the training into internships and employment with customers and partners of SAP. In doing so, this programme contributes to creating sustainable workplaces for the…
by Fraser Allison If unexpected packages start showing up at your door, you might want to have a word with one of your smart devices. Earlier this month, a six-year-old in Dallas asked her family’s Amazon Echo smart speaker for a dollhouse. And Alexa, Amazon’s Siri-like artificial assistant, promptly ordered one to their house. A San Diego TV news show picked up the story, and inadvertently repeated it when one of the news anchors commented: “I love the little girl, saying ‘Alexa ordered me a dollhouse’.” Overhearing this, several other Amazon devices in homes across San Diego attempted to buy more…
by Staff Writer JSE and Nasdaq-listed tech firm Net1 announced on Tuesday it has acquired a strategic stake in Bank Frick, which is based in Balzers, Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is the sixth-smallest country in the world. It lies in the heart of the Alps between Switzerland and Austria. It is a is a doubly landlocked German-speaking microstate in Central Europe.[8] It is a constitutional monarchy with the rank of principality, headed by the Prince of Liechtenstein. Net1, which facilitates payments between institutions and individuals without easy access to banking services, has bought 30% stake in Bank Frick. As part of the deal, the…
by Staff Writer When we speak about Africa’s development, we refer not only to the rich natural resources at the continent’s disposal. More relevant to us today and more sustainable than resources, is the rise of its middle class. The growth of this band of people is key to improving investor confidence, financial inclusion and contribution toward the formal economy and is therefore is of utmost importance to economic development. A consequence of the emergence of this middle class is rapid urbanisation, with most seeking a better future and job prospects in the developed cities. Mass-migration Research shows that by…
by Gugu Lourie A search for a great customer experience has led South Africa’s Bidvest Car Rental to be innovative and introduce a keyless car rental fleet for the local market. The launch of the keyless car rental fleet with the introduction of their app known as Snappdrive is aimed at redefining car rental market in the country. The app will allow users to locate their car, via their phones built-in GPS, as well as unlock and start their vehicles without a physical key. With telematics, Bidvest will be able to track every vehicle, which means real time fleet management for both…
by Staff Writer Social media started life as a way of staying in touch with friends and sharing happy memories. However, the results of the latest global study from Kaspersky Lab indicate that social media now leaves many people feeling negative instead. Post Likes The hunt for likes plays a central role in this, with the majority of people feeling down or upset when they don’t get as many likes as they expect for a post, and with 42% saying they feel jealous when their friends get more likes than them. In addition, the research shows that people feel envious…
by Pat McConnell Consider, for a moment, these two statements from the “Ultimate Guide to Understanding Blockchain Smart Contracts” on a well known Blockchain website: 1) Traditional Contracts “Traditional physical contracts, such as those created by legal professionals today, contain legal language on a vast amounts of printed documents and heavily rely on third parties for enforcement. This type of enforcement is not only very time consuming, but also very ambiguous. If things go astray, contract parties often must rely on the public judicial system to remedy the situation, which can be very costly and time consuming.” 2) Smart Contracts “Smart…