Author: Gugu Lourie
By Johan Nel, CEO of Gumtree South Africa There has been enough said about the prolificacy of collaborative consumption in 2015, a trend where consumers are taking on the roles of producers and service providers. We’ve seen peer-to-peer car- and accommodation sharing (like Uber and AirBNB) take the world by storm seemingly overnight, but there are also numerous peer-to-peer lending services, task-sharing services, peer-to-peer clothing sales, peer-to-peer teaching…the list is endless. Perhaps the oldest of these pivots would be peer-to-peer trading that has happened both offline (the infamous “small ad” section of the newspaper) and online (online classifieds are…
Telkom is attracting more American institutional investors in the equity markets as some South Africans ditch the shares of the country’s largest fixed-line operator. Telkom’s turnaround strategy especially its initiative to cut fat in the business via retrenchments is facing opposition from its unions and ‘making some local investors uneasy’. But United States of America’s institutional investors are picking up majority of the shares being dumped by locals in the equity market, followed by the UK and Germany. Clearly Americans are seeing value in the business, when some South Africans are slowly losing faith. In the year to end- March…
By Gugu Lourie Telkom ex-chief financial officer Jacques Schindehütte would only get R18 million as a ‘golden handshake’ or so said the country’s biggest fixed-line telephone group’s 2015 annual report. It is a victory for Schindehütte and a loss for those who wanted him out of the company? It seems, he won against his detractors. Looking carefully at his total package, it seems as if Schindehütte was paid a settlement fee amounting to close to R11 million. That’s a lovely golden parachute for an executive who didn’t work for the company in 2015 or maybe due to accounting standards…
By Gugu Lourie Vodacom Group, a subsidiary of British mobile phone giant Vodafone, announced on Monday that Ivan Dittrich, Chief Financial Officer and executive director, has resigned from the company to pursue his own interests. He will step down from the Vodacom board with effect from 31 July 2015. Till Streichert, currently Executive Director: Finance of Vodacom South Africa will succeed Ivan as Chief Financial Officer and executive director of the company with effect from 1 August 2015. Till joined Vodacom in February 2014, prior to which he had been CFO of Vodafone Romania. He held a number of senior…
What’s the point of education if Google can tell us anything? By Ibrar Bhatt Can’t remember the name of the two elements that scientist Marie Curie discovered? Or who won the 1945 UK general election? Or how many light years away the sun is from the earth? Ask Google. Constant access to an abundance of online information at the click of a mouse or tap of a smartphone has radically reshaped how we socialise, inform ourselves of the world around us and organise our lives. If all facts can be summoned instantly by looking online, what’s the point of spending years…
No need to wave to get attention at restaurants, just press a button to get the service you require Many times people compliment restaurants for their good food, but they often complain about poor service – but that may be a thing of the past. Dissatisfaction with services is a common irritation in South Africa – it can happen to anyone when they go out to dine with family, friends or loved ones. While there are few methods to check on the quality of service restaurant’s offer, food lovers rely mostly on word of mouth or social media. Ushir…
By Gugu Lourie Buoyed by its rising share price, JSE-listed telecommunications firm Huge Group has set its sights on niche acquisitions in South Africa, where it sees itself as a natural consolidator. Huge Group – which has a market capitalisation of more than R388m –has seen its stock rise close to 300% in the past three years and 164% in the past year. The counter is currently trading at R3.50 a share for a healthy 61% growth in the past 90 days. Huge Group’s strategy has clearly struck a chord with investors. “This price appreciation has strengthened Huge Group’s…
By Thomas Snitch They are called unmanned aerial vehicles but are better known as drones. These are small aerial vehicles with fixed wings or small rotors, are usually powered with batteries, and equipped with a high resolution camera. Drones range in cost from $99 to tens of thousands of dollars. But they are truly a disruptive technology in that they can do what piloted airplanes can but in cheaper, better, and – in many cases – more efficient ways. In less than five years we will see unmanned aerial vehicles being flown on a myriad of missions doing good. They can…
By Staff Writer Denver Courtier (not his real name) is a typical young South African, who claims he is too young to worry about retirement right now. While many people on low incomes believe they do not have enough to save, since their income barely covers the essentials. Looking at your financials today and seeing yourself as you will in the year 2065 is frightening. But finally help is here. Yellowtail is bringing to South Africa an app developed by Figlo that is planning to take you to ‘your retirement age with comfort’. The Goal Gauge app is an…
By Staff Writer In late 2013, Vodacom embarked on a major project to accelerate investment in its network across South Africa. This programme, called Project Spring, has over the past year alone resulted in Vodacom increasing the number of 3G sites by more than 20% to almost 9 000, and more than doubling the number of LTE/4G sites to 2 600. This focus on network investment is continuing into Vodacom’s 2015-2016 financial year, and will result in more than R200 million being spent in the Limpopo region to expand coverage and increase network capacity and speed. “We’ll be bringing faster data…