Author: Gugu Lourie
It’s every employee’s responsibility to embrace transformation. Despite continuous discussion around women empowerment, women are still a minority in the top positions of South African organisations. By Vanessa Olver, Deputy CEO of Business Connexion This harsh reality was revealed in the Businesswomen’s Association of South Africa’s annual Women in Leadership Census. According to the census, only 34 of the 293 companies measured met the criteria to be classified as a top company. With many various reasons cited for the lack of women leadership, the authors believe that women’s empowerment should be part of an organisation’s DNA and that there should be…
MTN subscribers are in for an entertainment treat following the announcement by MTN that it has zero rated the data usage for streaming content on FrontRow. By Staff Writer The decision to zero rate data usage means that MTN customers who are subscribed to FrontRow can watch thousands of their favourite movies and TV series available on the FrontRow bouquet without incurring any data costs. The zero rating of FrontRow gives its subscribers access to over 2 300 hours of premium content, including TV series such as The Office, Sherlock, 30 Rock and Mad Men, movies, music videos, kids…
For decades, it was cash, cards and checks, but the way we pay has evolved massively in recent years. Internet shopping brought the high street into our homes, mobile payments put power in our pockets, and contactless cards make transactions as simple as ‘tap and go’. By Carey van Vlaanderen, ESET CEO What’s next? It probably comes as no surprise that we expect the smartphone will continue to replace the wallet through apps like SnapScan , but other more out-there payment methods are emerging too. Here are a few trends that could take hold in the years ahead. Biometrics We can already use our fingerprints…
VIDI, South Africa’s first video on demand (VOD) streaming service, is offering anyone who registers on its website the chance to enter a competition to win a 2015 Ferrari 458 Spider worth more than R5 million rand. By Staff Writer The sports car is regarded as one of the most magnificent machines on the road and anyone who registers on www.vidi.co.za can stand a chance of winning what Top Gear described as “a supermodel in the very truest sense of the word”. They will also receive comprehensive insurance for a year as well as a seven-year maintenance plan. The…
MTN customers, like me, who received a call from a courier company offering to deliver a new SIM card can rest assured that this is a genuine offer from the mobile phone operator and not a scam. By Gugu Lourie Initially, I thought was being scammed by a fake courier company asking to deliver a new LTE free SIM card. “I informed the courier consultant that I was not interested in a free new LTE sim card as I was already using one and didn’t see a need to change it.” But, I decided to call MTN to verify the…
isabelo is a smart bench that is Wi-Fi enabled and aims to bridge the technology divide by providing free Wi-Fi in public spaces in African cities. It also brings clients closer to their consumer markets through tailored research which is conducted off the Wi-Fi hotspot. By Gugu Lourie A first for the continent, the bench launched at The Grove Square in Braamfontein, is designed as a stand-alone entirely solar powered, free Wi-Fi hotspot, complete with USB charging points and easy seating that can help attract and bring life back into public spaces. The innovative bench is already proving a popular…
Most of us would like to think scientific debate does not operate like the comments section of online news articles. These are frequently characterised by inflexibility, truculence and expostulation. Scientists are generally a little more civil, but sometimes not much so! By Jonathan Keith There is a more fundamental issue here than politeness, though. Science has a reputation as an arbiter of fact above and beyond just personal opinion or bias. The term “scientific method” suggests there exists an agreed upon procedure for processing evidence which, while not infallible, is at least impartial. So when even the most respected scientists can…
The Western Cape schools will have free high-speed internet access by the end of 2016, to support teaching and learning, said Premier Helen Zille on Tuesday at the launch of eLearning “Game-Changer” at the province’s Legislature building in Cape Town. By Staff Writer The Western Cape Government is investing R3.8 billion over the next 10 years to bring high-speed broadband to all residents of the Western Cape. Over the next decade, R2 billion of the total investment will be on connectivity at schools. The broadband system will provide a Wide Area Network (WAN). A total of 581km of fibre optic cable will…
Following global trends, we are investing in the modernisation of research and development infrastructure, and in particular, new instruments and facilities (like the Centre for High Performance Computing, and SKA) as key components in the drive to ensure that we have the capacity to generate new knowledge. By Naledi Pandor, Minister of Science and Technology Africa is the second-fastest growing region in the world, with seven of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world. This growth can only be sustained through innovation and ensuring that innovation addresses the global challenges Africa faces. As Africans, we must develop solutions to address…
Smile Telecoms Holdings – the operator that offers mobile wireless 4G LTE broadband networks – has raised $365 million (R5.1 billion) of funding to help fuel its expansion in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. By Gugu Lourie One of Africa’s best kept-secret telecoms firms, Smile Telecoms based in Johannesburg has received a $365 million (R5.1 billion) cash injection from South Africa’s biggest pension fund manager, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), and African Export-Import bank – a Cairo-based pan-African financial institution. The money will be used to expand the company’s mobile wireless 4G LTE broadband networks across…