Author: Gugu Lourie
by Staff Writer A new IT skills development fund has been established for graduates from rural and semi-rural KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) to expose learners to the latest technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics, in order to pave the way for South Africa’s future in these areas, according to Saurabh Kumar, CEO at In2IT. The R2.6 million fund has been established by ICTmanaged solutions provider, In2IT, which has partnered with Nedbank and Moving Ahead Development Agency (MADA), a registered no- profit and public benefit organisation responsible for the implementation of National Skill Development, to create a new learnership programme. In2IT…
by Jessica Su As you browse the internet, online advertisers track nearly every site you visit, amassing a trove of information on your habits and preferences. When you visit a news site, they might see you’re a fan of basketball, opera and mystery novels, and accordingly select ads tailored to your tastes. Advertisers use this information to create highly personalized experiences, but they typically don’t know exactly who you are. They observe only your digital trail, not your identity itself, and so you might feel that you’ve retained a degree of anonymity. But, in a paper I coauthored with Ansh Shukla,…
by Staff Writer IBM, global tech giant, is investing about R945 million ($70 million) in building much-needed digital, cloud, and cognitive IT skills to help support a 21st-century workforce in Africa. The initiative is known as “IBM Digital – Nation Africa” provides a cloud-based learning platform designed to provide free skills development programs. The company is targeting to train up to 25 million African youths over five years, enabling digital competence and nurturing innovation in Africa. The tech giant said that this is part of its global push to build the next generation of skills needed for “New Collar” careers. …
by Gugu Lourie Google has launched shopping ads in South Africa as the web giant looks to bring the best possible shopping experience to the consumers. The move means that retailers will be able to sell more products online. The Nasdaq-listed company, headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, wants to turn online browsing into online buying in South Africa. “Google launched shopping ads in South Africa today – three years ago when I was asked whether Google was bringing shopping to SA there weren’t enough advertisers with enough offers to make it work,” Luke Mckend, the country director of Google South…
by WhereIsMyTransport WhereIsMyTransport has announced that data for the entire public transport network of Cape Town is now available on its platform. Integrating data from both formal (i.e. officially provided) and informally-run (i.e. minibus taxis) transport for the South African city, this makes Cape Town the world’s first city to have both its formal and informally-run transport system data captured, integrated and openly available. To celebrate this achievement, the company has created a map of the city’s most active informally-run taxi routes, visualising data from the transport information company’s open platform. Informally-run transport accounts for 80-90% of public transport journeys for…
by SAP Africa Students, SAP Africa partners, customers and executives gathered at Eskom’s Megawatt Park in Sandton for the SAP Skills for Africa graduation ceremony which celebrated the completion of an intense three-month digital skills training programme. Now in its sixth chapter, the job creation initiative provides sustainable jobs to alleviate Africa’s unemployment crisis and included SAP partners and customers such as Eskom, Zimele Technologies, T-Systems, Britehouse, EOH, Accenture, Bosch, Clariba, Consnet, ICTWorx, Cornastone as well as MICT SETA, the government body which facilitates and accelerates the processes of quality skills development at all levels in the MICT sector. “Seven…
by Staff Writer Mercedes-Benz is launching its automotive springtime with attractive editions of its SL and SLC Roadsters. Customers can choose from the SLC RedArt Edition as well as the SL designo Edition. SL designo Edition with even more exclusivity The legendary Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster gains even more exclusivity with the new designo Edition. The special model is characterised by stylish elements and high-quality materials on the exterior and interior. The badges with the designo Edition logo placed laterally between the chrome badges subtly reference the Roadster’s special status. Expressive: Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 RedArt Edition The AMG RedArt Edition for…
by Gugu Lourie The stage to do battle for a connected user is being laid by tech firms – Comsol, Sigfox and Vula Telematix – in a lucrative race to connect homes, farmers, doctors, patients, cars, utilities, and other everyday devices such as fridges and washing machines, etc. to smartphones. In the meantime, telco’s are setting up their Internet of Things (IoT) platforms to lure customers. IoT, previously machine-to-machine (M2M), is a concept of connecting devices – ranging from refrigerators, geysers, smart electric meters, coffee makers, etc. – to the internet. Our smartphones, tablets, laptops and even refrigerators make up…
by David Glance Snapchat’s parent company Snap has filed for its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock exchange. Hoping to raise US $3 billion, the IPO would value Snap at between US $20 and $25 billion dollars putting it at almost twice the expected valuation of Twitter when it went public in 2013. Snap’s SEC filing reveals more details about the company and how CEO Evan Spiegel and CTO Robert Murphy plan to justify the valuation. Snap have positioned themselves as a “camera company” which has been misinterpreted by some as meaning that it will be somehow making…
A mobile phone-based solution for Agri-businesses to interact and transact with Smallholder Farmers. Connected Farmer is an easy to use mobile phone-based enterprise solution for Agri-businesses to interact and transact with Smallholder Farmers. For more read: The Connected Farmer: How Vodacom is Making Farming Cool