Author: Gugu Lourie
International travel companies hoping to penetrate the African market must include mobile payments as a strategic initiative, according to recent surveys. By Eran Feinstein Africa has been called the world’s mobile-first continent and the fastest-growing travel market in the world. In order to dominate in the African market, mobile payments must take priority in the corporate agenda. Report: Growth of African tourism From 26 million international tourists in 2000 to 56 million in 2014, according to The World Tourism Organization, African tourism is growing steadily. It is not only African travel and hospitality companies that are poised to gain. International conglomerates,…
Big data is increasingly becoming part of everyday life. Network security companies use it to improve the accuracy of their intrusion detection services. Dating services use it to help clients find soulmates. It can enhance the efficiency and accuracy of fraud detection, in turn helping protect your personal finances. By Jungwoo Ryoo “Big data” is a catchall term for any data set of exceedingly large volume. It could be transaction information at a credit card company, invoice data at an online retailer, meteorological measurements from a weather station. All these data sets have unique characteristics that make it extremely difficult to…
Industry disruptors are forcing traditional organisations to move out of their comfort zones and unless they have a solid innovation strategy and roadmap in place to compete, they run the risk of becoming obsolete. This is the view of Vish Rajpal, group executive of Business Solutions at Business Connexion. “Gone are the days where a slight change to a product or solutions could be classed as innovative. Today’s fast changing business environment demands that real innovation takes place in real time,” says Rajpal. “Organisations can also no longer innovate in isolation. We foresee that we are going to see a…
Telecommunications clearly facilitate economic growth and participation. As such, countries should care about competitive outcomes in this sector. When competition works it can result in expanded services and lower prices, and it can stimulate innovation. By Pamela Mondliwa and Tamara Paremoer The South African record of telecommunications policy and regulation has been poor. Regulations that would allow competitors to access essential infrastructure have been part of government policy since 2007. But they have not yet been implemented. Lengthy delays in digital migration have also prevented telecommunications service providers from rolling out faster broadband. These regulations have disadvantaged competitors and benefited larger incumbents.…
Having concluded an agreement with the Nigerian authorities over a fine imposed for failure to register subscribers, MTN Group has announced a change in the composition of the board of directors of the company, as well as reconstitution of the board of its local operation. The mobile phone operator informed investors on Monday that it has resolved to refresh the board, deepening the commercial experience on both the group and MTN South Africa boards with a view to improving the risk and governance profile of the group. The appointment of new board memebrs is effective 1 August 2016. The MTN…
Phuthuma Nhleko, the chairman of MTN Group, will stand down in two and a half years as the mobile phone operator replaces its top leadership after being hit with a massive fine by the Nigerian authorities. The mobile phone operator hasn’t started compiling a list of possible replacements. Nhleko assumed the position of executive chairman on 9 November 2015 in order to resolve the Nigerian fine or what the firm calls a “very difficult challenges that the company experienced at the time”. Given the appointment of Rob Shuter as group president and CEO, MTN informed investors that Nhleko will revert to…
Vodafone’s CEO of the European cluster Rob Shuter has been named as the CEO of MTN Group, Africa and Middle East’s biggest mobile phone operator. Shuter is also a former CEO of Vodafone Netherlands and ex-Vodacom chief financial officer. By Staff Writer “Rob may commence as soon as it is practically possible in 2017 but no later than 1 July 2017 after the completion of his contractual obligations,” MTN informed investors on Monday morning. Shuter has extensive experience in telecoms and banking having held senior management roles at Vodacom Group, Standard Bank and Nedbank prior to joining Vodafone Group. “MTN…
Independent content creation company Oxyg3n Media is now on the lookout for participants to take part in the hit series, Married at First Sight South Africa. By Staff Writer The series will premiere on Lifetime (DStv channel 131) in early 2017. In Married at First Sight, singles who have failed to find love put their hearts in the hands of a team of experts, who select their perfect partner; the couples then meet for the first time at the altar. After the wedding and honeymoon, the married couples move in together and start their new lives. From the first kiss…
South Africa’s Vodacom paid CEO Shameel Joosub nearly R22 million in total compensation for its financial year 2016, according to the mobile phone operator’s latest integrated annual report. The disclosure makes Joosub among the highest-paid executives in Africa’s telecommunications sector. According to the report, Joosub received a guaranteed salary of R7.8 million versus R7.2 million in 2015. His R21.7 million total remuneration included a R13.9 million bonus, according to the operators’ integrated annual report. While former chief financial officer (CFO) Ivan Dittrich was paid R7.7 million, which included a guaranteed salary of R1.6 million and R6.2 million…
Both Apple and Google use their developer conferences to introduce updates to their mobile operating systems. Google IO, held last month, introduced Google’s latest version “N” of Android, along with new apps. By David Glance Apple has done the same this week at its World Wide Developer Conference, introducing iOS 10. While both Apple and Google are likely to be monitoring each others’ releases to stay competitive, there is a big difference underlying the Android and iOS approaches to feature development that means their respective focus will also differ. Google has little control over hardware and the rate at which OS…