Author: Gugu Lourie
By Ujuh The South African office of ICT giant, IBM, has established an online ideas incubation platform that will collect, harness and harvest innovative ideas from young South Africans as part of a broad Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) initiative. The initiative is tagged as a Portal for Aspirant Entrepreneurs. Unveiling the online platform last week, IBMSA COO Ziaad Suleman spoke of a far reaching platform than what is common. The group is looking beyond the start-up stage and aims to tap into ideas that exist outside formal arrangements. He said innovative ideas that can develop into the next big thing do…
By Gugu Lourie Jasco, a JSE-listed electronics group, announced on Thursday that it has revived talks to sell its shareholding in Malesela Taihan Electric Cable (M-Tec). The process to sell the stake in underperforming M-Tec hit a snag in December 2014 due to an unexpected executive management changes at Taihan. Korean Taihan is another shareholder in M-Tec. At the time Jasco was in talks with Taihan to offload the shareholding to them. On Thursday Jasco said “Shareholders are hereby advised that the company is currently in the advanced stages of negotiations with a related party regarding the disinvestment by Jasco…
By Staff Writer The luxury 18K solid gold Apple watch diamond ecstasy exotic comes in a solid precious metal and diamond encrusted face, buckle, crown and button with a range of exotic animal skin straps. The new Apple Watch in either 18K solid gold, rose gold or platinum watch face and bracelet and encrusted with diamonds and comes with a range of luxurious exotic animal skin straps retails at $45,064.44 (R555, 904.88). Goldgenie says The Apple Watch is unlike no other. It can it tell the time and a lot more. By syncing with your calendar, your notes, and your…
By Simon Torrance “M&A is not enough to support a new wave of sustainable growth for telecoms operators – the most powerful business models in the digital economy are platform-based.” Telecoms groups tend to base their growth strategies on ‘product’-based business models, but platforms will be the key to success in the digital economy. This article identifies the business model problem faced by most telcos and discusses the potential solution to this problem. Telcos must fundamentally re-appraise their growth strategies A few weeks ago, I was running a workshop on new growth strategy and digital disruption for the Board of a…
By Staff Writer Mobile services aggregator Integrat is now InTarget after completing a rebranding exercise that will see it better-positioned to explore opportunities as a diversified mobile advertising and related solutions provider. As one of South Africa’s most established WASPs (Wireless Application Service Providers) with a 15-year pedigree, Integrat provided mobile aggregation, premium SMS, mobile billing and bulk SMS services across the African continent. It last year launched InTarget after securing mobile advertising tenders from MTN and Airtel which called for the commercialisation of mobile advertising platforms in 32 African countries and Iran. After successfully completing the first ten mobile…
By Staff Writer Independent telecommunications provider OTEL says the liberalisation of the telecoms industry means managing agents responsible for administering Gauteng’s business parks have a unique opportunity to add broadband and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) offerings to their bundle of revenue-generating services. “With South Africa’s GDP growth expected to come in well under the 2% percent mark again this year, managing agents need to think of creative ways to diversify their revenue streams. The days of relying solely on administration fees and levies are long gone for any managing agent wanting to expand their business,” said Rad Jankovic, OTEL…
MTN brings connectivity to Gautrain By Staff Writer Starting from today, frustrated commuters using the Gautrain will be able to have access to seamless voice and data services following MTN’s installation of a high speed network. Until now, commuters using the Gautrain could not use their mobile devices due to unavailability of connectivity on this rapid transit railway system. At the launch on 3 July, the MTN network will be live at the Park Station, Sandton and Rosebank stations. The other stations will be covered by existing infrastructure. MTN also announced that it will be further deploying its network…
Vodacom extends coverage underground By Staff Writer Since launching in 2010, the Gautrain has proven increasingly popular with commuters and holiday travellers alike. A drawback has been that mobile coverage didn’t extend to Gautrain’s underground stations, making it impossible to continue calls or keep up with work emails while waiting for the next train to arrive. From today, that’s set to change for Vodacom customers. Over the past three months Vodacom, in partnership with the Department of Roads and Transport, the Gautrain Management Agency, Bombela Concession Company and the Strategic Partners Group, have been busy implementing a communication solution…
By Staff Writer The FNB Banking App scooped international awards, placing it at the top in the category of banking apps, the app has just been ranked 4th best globally by MyPrivateBanking Research in the category of Mobile Apps for Wealth Management 2015, and 6th best globally by the UX Alliance for usability and ease of use. This follows a recent accolade after the app was voted best banking app in Internet Banking SITEisfaction Survey, which measures internet banking quality and user experience in South Africa. FNB’s banking app has a base of over 1.5 million active devices and it…
By Staff Writer The South African government said on Wednesday it has sold its 13.91 per cent stake in Vodacom to the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to help to finance the R23 billion allocation to Eskom. The National Treasury in a statement said: “In arriving at a decision to dispose of its stake in Vodacom to the PIC, “government undertook a market sounding exercise where numerous organisations presented proposals for raising the funding to be allocated to Eskom.” It added: “Government considered a wide range of options including the sale of listed shareholdings it holds directly, the disposal of listed stakes…
Telkom reduces Fixed DSL and FTTH data bundle prices By Staff Writer Telkom on Wednesday announced price adjustments to a range of its current data products, including Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) and Do bundles on Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), with some bundles slashed by more than 15%. This comes on the back of significant price reductions for other Telkom products, including prepaid mobile data, LTE and LTE A deals for home offices and enhanced value for voice bundles. The new Do Bundle prices start at R399 a month (reduced from R408 previously) for the Do Basic Bundle, which includes up to 2Mbps…
Mobile adoption is fueling a retail revolution By Quinton Pienaar According to Gartner the world is on the brink of ‘hyper-connectivity’ with predictions that by 2020 there will be 26 billion connected devices. This represents an almost 30-fold increase from 2009, when there were just 0.9 billion. Living a hyper-connected life and fully embracing the digital economy is rapidly becoming a reality. According to The Guardian’s report entitled ‘In the Digital Economy, Reinvention is the Word’, more than 2 billion people worldwide are walking around with sophisticated mobile devices in their pockets. Approximately 90% of the world’s data has been…
By Gugu Lourie A provider of wireless data machine-to-machine (M2M) services wants to help municipalities and big corporates to detect water leaks, cope with power outages and improve other efficiencies as it aims to make R1bn a year in the process. XLink Communications CEO Anton Leal said the firm is looking at acquisitions, forming business partnerships, assisting start-ups and providing smart services as part of its growth strategy. XLink, which was founded in 2004, provides smart solutions that help municipalities and other big corporates save resources, optimise their budget spend and reduce inefficiencies. Municipalities can use the company’s M2M services to instantly detect water leaks and unauthorised use. XLink is also operating on the rest of the continent where…
By Ujuh MTN Zakhele has got a new chairperson in form of high profiled businesswoman, Sindisiwe Ntombenhle Mabaso-Koyana who took over from Thulani Gcabashe. MTN Zakhele unveiled the new independent non-executive director, Mabaso-Koyana. A Chartered Accountant, Mabaso-Koyana is currently the executive Chairperson of Advanced Capital and a non- executive director of AWCA Investment Holdings, Toyota SA, Adcorp Holdings Limited and Altech Limited. She is the former Group Chief Financial Officer of transport giants, Transnet and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). She was an Executive Partner at Ernst Young, heading Government and Public Sector across Africa. Prior to…
By Gugu Lourie Naspers announced on Monday that OLX – the world’s leading classifieds platform focused on emerging markets, both mobile and online – has reached 240 million active users worldwide and garnered 34m visits per day on average, a growth of 33% year on year. The company said globally about 54% of traffic comes from mobile and, in some markets, it is more than 80%. OLX operates globally and is present in more than 40 countries. “We stepped up focus on 40 classifieds markets globally, all showing good user and listings growth,” Naspers said on Monday. The South African-based conglomereate…
By Gugu Lourie Naspers, a multinational group of ecommerce and media brands, posted a 30% rise in core headline earnings to R11,2 billion for the year ended-March 2015, thanks to increased earnings contributions from Tencent and profitable ecommerce businesses. The group delivered a 17% rise in revenue to R73 billion. The company, which operates in high growth markets including Africa, China, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, is valued at more than R809 billion. The stock has risen 54% in the past year. The Cape Town-based firm said the video-entertainment business (prevuiously…
By Staff Writer Facebook has opened its first office in Africa to further the company’s commitment to help businesses connect with people and grow locally and regionally. Based in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, Facebook’s newest business office will be headed by Ogilvy veteran, Nunu Ntshingila, the company’s new Head of Africa. Facebook is already an important part of how people and business connect in Africa. This office will support the significant growth in businesses and people using Facebook — Facebook’s active user population in Africa has grown 20% to 120 million in June 2015 from 100 million in September 2014. More than 80% of these people access Facebook…
Chinese manufacturer Technology, Happy, Life (THL) is planning to turn the African smartphone industry upside down through the introduction of its ThL ultraphones in the continent. The ultraphone aims to stop daily charging and bring in more battery power when you need it and THL hopes this will set it apart from current smartphone manufacturers such as Samsung, Apple, Huawei, LG, BlackBerry, etc. The firm is aiming to bring the ultraphone, which promises a 5 day battery life, to the South African market by November 2015. THL is part of the Shenzhen Hongjiayuan Communication Technology Co. Ltd., a high-tech enterprise…
By Staff Writer iSolve Business Solutions, a Microsoft Gold Partner, has acquired Foster Melliar. iSolve’s Learning Solutions division has merged with Foster Melliar. Both companies are subsidiaries of the Morvest Group. The newly formed ‘Foster Melliar Learning Solutions’, will provide end-to-end solutions within the IT sector, with a specific focus on skills development and knowledge transfer. The new company, a certified Microsoft Gold training partner, will also offer consulting across IT business processes, methodologies, assessments, governance and risk management. Peter Clark, MD of Foster Melliar Learning Solutions says the merger of these two companies has resulted in a unique training and…
By Staff Writer Samsung Electronics SA announced on Monday that MTN Business has been appointed as a reseller of Samsung’s KNOX licenses to its customers. Samsung’s security platform complements MTN Business’ suite of enterprise-ready products and services as well as reinforcing the strong strategic relationship between the two companies. With a growing trend towards Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), where employees are using personal smartphones and tablets in the workplace, enterprises are increasingly cognisant of the need for a security solution that meets modern demands. The expanded partnership agreement combines Samsung’s pioneering mobile technology and secure Android platform, with MTN…
By John R. Woodward, Justyna Petke and William Langdon Computer scientists have a history of borrowing ideas from nature, such as evolution. When it comes to optimising computer programs, a very interesting evolutionary-based approach has emerged over the past five or six years that could bring incalculable benefits to industry and eventually consumers. We call it genetic improvement. Genetic improvement involves writing an automated “programmer” who manipulates the source code of a piece of software through trial and error with a view to making it work more efficiently. This might include swapping lines of code around, deleting lines and inserting…
Struggling mobile phone operator Cell C has raised R3.26 billion ( €240 million) by selling bonds to global investors. These new bonds have an identical maturity date, of July 2018, and coupon, of 8.625%, as the existing Euro issuance. The cellular operator said the original principal amount sought was upsized as a result of strong investor appetite. Despite this increase, the offering was still oversubscribed. The firm said the proceeds will be utilized to fund Cell C’s capital expenditure and cash requirements in furtherance of its business strategy. “I am delighted that we have closed such a significant public debt issuance. This…
Banking – a fruitful platform for cybercrime By Riaan Badenhorst, managing director of Kaspersky Lab Africa Much attention is being placed on the growth of malicious software and threats, and the financial implications that these pose to one’s IT systems – especially if they are not effectively protected. Yet, it seems that the more traditional ways of misusing financial systems by cybercriminals, such as for the purposes of fraud, is not getting the attention it deserves. In fact, according to a survey* conducted by Kaspersky Lab together with B2B International in 2014, 52% of financial companies globally reimburse customer losses…
Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecasts 2015 Projects Mobile Video Traffic to Grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 73% in South Africa By Staff Writer According to the 10th annual Cisco® Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast 2015, by 2019, there will be 27 million South African Internet users, up from 15 million in 2014. South African IP traffic will grow 6-fold by 2019, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44%. Factors expected to drive traffic growth include increase in Internet users, personal devices and machine-to-machine (M2M) connections, faster broadband speeds, and the adoption of advanced video services.…
Cell C, South Africa’s third mobile operator, on Thursday accused rival mobile phone operators of “preventing customers from cancelling their contracts early by charging these customers excessive and unreasonable cancellation penalties”. By Staff Writer “While the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) allows network providers to charge a reasonable cancellation penalty when customers wish to terminate their contracts early, Cell C has been made aware of certain instances where some of the network providers are charging customers more to cancel their contracts early than to stay in their contract for the full term. This means that customers who are unhappy with their current…