Author: Staff Writer
Under the remit of its recently established Africa Transformation Office (ATO), Microsoft has announced new initiatives to accelerate the growth of 10,000 African startups and fast-track investment in Africa’s startup ecosystem over the next five years. Microsoft’s recently launched global Founders Hub will now be available to African startups through the ATO. The Founders Hub is a self-service hub that provides startups with a wide range of resources, including access to mentors, skilling content, tools like Microsoft Azure and GitHub, and go-to-market and business support. Microsoft is also creating new partnerships with accelerators and incubators across Africa, including Grindstone, Greenhouse,…
South Africa may be behind the curve when it comes to electric vehicle adoption, but as the shift to mainstream EV acceptance edges closer, more and more motorists are weighing up the pros and cons of electric versus petrol and diesel. While there’s no denying internal combustion engine (ICE) cars still enjoy many inherent benefits, there’s one contest where EVs have an indisputable advantage. They’re simply cheaper to run per kilometre. Much cheaper in fact. To prove the point, Jaguar South Africa sent one of its senior driving instructors on a week-long mission to record and report the electricity consumption…
Netflix announced today that it is buying Next Games, a developer and publisher of mobile games based in Helsinki, Finland. Netflix would acquire Next Games for total value of €65 million ($72 million). The board of Next Games has unanimously decided to recommend that shareholders accept the deal. “Next Games has a seasoned management team, strong track record with mobile games based on entertainment franchises, and solid operational capabilities,” said Michael Verdu, Vice President of Games, Netflix. “We are excited for Next Games to join Netflix as a core studio in a strategic region and key talent market, expanding our internal game…
Investing in property is one of the biggest financial decisions a person is likely to make. New and increasingly sophisticated scams and incidence of fraud are on the rise and affect developers, buyers, sellers, estate agents, conveyancing attorneys, and other property professionals. “As property transactions typically involve substantial sums of money, they are a natural target for fraudsters. Tactics range from impersonating estate agents to intercepting emails with instructions on where to make payment for transactions as well as notices of change of banking details instruction, says Ryan Mer, CEO, eftsure Africa, a Know Your Payee (KYP) platform provider. While…
South African FinTech group Capital Appreciation Limited (Capprec) is on an acquisition spree in South Africa and the Netherlands. Capprec announced today it has acquired Responsive Technology group for the purchase price of c.R48,68 million. Capprec is a financial technology company with proprietary and licensed platforms, solutions, products and applications targeted at the B2B market. Its client base includes all major banking institutions in South Africa, as well as many niche banks, large financial services institutions and other financial services companies. In recent times, the company has also successfully diversified into the Retail, Telecoms and Healthcare sectors. The acquisitions include three South African companies:…
At the 2022 Mobile World Congress (MWC), Huawei launched innovative gigabit fibre-to-the room (FTTR) solutions. The solutions extend fibre to every room and aims to build an all-optical base for smart homes and digital enterprises, enabling gigabit Wi-Fi 6 coverage in each room and creating a brand-new digital life experience. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, global digital transformation has accelerated. Home broadband services have shifted from HD video-based entertainment to multi-centre services such as immersive XR experience, online office, and whole-house intelligence. Enterprise services have also migrated to the cloud. User experience is poor due to disadvantages of the traditional…
Corteva Agriscience has officially introduced PowerCore technology to South Africa’s maize farmers. The solution is a new high-performing, herbicide-resistant seed trait that effectively helps protect crops from damaging above-ground insects, such as the maize stalk borer and spotted maize stem borer. The company’s leading seed brands, Pannar and Pioneer will be offering PowerCore technology as part of new, high-yielding genetics within their respective maize portfolios. “South Africa’s agricultural, food and beverage exports hit a record high of $12.4bn (approximately R191.4bn) in 2021, with maize being a significant contributor, reaching its largest export volume since 1994/1995. What’s more, maize is a…
Takealot today announced its partnership with leading tech NPO GirlCode helping to empower millions of South African women in the world of tech. GirlCode was born out of a recognition of an inherent gender bias in the tech sector with only 23% of tech jobs in South Africa held by women. In addition, South Africa is facing a dire unemployment crisis, affecting young people in particular. GirlCode provides a solution to these problems by introducing girls and women to Tech from an early age, supporting them to upskill in coding and design. As part of its commitment to diversity and…
MyHealthTeam, creator of the largest and fastest-growing social networks for people facing chronic health conditions, today announced its partnership with South Africa’s largest private health insurance administrator, Discovery Health, to launch myCOVIDteam, a social network – also known as an online patient community – for people facing acute or long-haul symptoms of COVID-19 (known as ‘long COVID’). MyHealthTeam’s patient communities are patient-led, online groups where patients, caregivers, doctors, researchers, and others come together with a focus on a particular disease. They share stories, offer support and information, and even develop solutions where needed. “COVID-19 will have a wide-ranging impact on…
JSE-listed Metrofile, a leading document and electronic information management specialist in Africa and the Middle East, has deepened its suite of digital services – backup, disaster recovery, cybersecurity and specialised virtual private server (VPS) hosting – through its acquisition of IronTree. While paper-based document management remains a central pillar of securing content, the pandemic has meant that more documents are now originated, signed digitally, and then stored, indexed, and archived in cyberspace. A recent World Economic Forum report proposed the opportunities from the digital transformation of industries could be in the region of $100 trillion over the next decade. As an example,…
Pan-African FinTech enablement partner Ukheshe Technologies has appointed Darryn Botha as its Chief Information Officer. Botha’s role will include overseeing data security, maintaining a stable IT infrastructure, while enabling Ukheshe’s business strategy and improving its ability to engage and collaborate with clients. Botha has spent over 25 years in the financial services industry with experience in building bespoke insurance and investment platforms to service local and international markets, and helping startups deliver new and easy-to-use business acquisition channels. He also headed up the systems team in charge of implementing business solutions for Discovery Life, Discovery Insure and Vitality Life in…
VALR, a cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in South Africa, today announced that it has raised $50 million (over R767 million) in Africa’s largest ever crypto funding round. This values the company at $240 million (R3.7 billion). VALR’s oversubscribed Series B equity funding round was led by Pantera Capital with participation from Alameda Research, Cadenza, CMT Digital, Coinbase Ventures, Distributed Global, GSR, Third Prime, Avon Ventures, a venture capital fund affiliated with the parent company of Fidelity Investments, along with existing investors Bittrex and 4Di Capital, and others. VALR offers its customers the ability to safely buy, sell and store Bitcoin and…
Telkom has unveiled the March Big Deal to suit your monate needs, whatever that looks like. The SIM-only month-to-month deal gives you 80GB of data for R149 per month. The Telkom March Big Deal includes the following: 20GB Anytime Data (Validity period 61 days) 20GB Night Surfer data (Midnight to 7 am and Validity period 31 days) Plus 20GB additional Anytime data and 20GB Night Surfer data Huawei B535 LTE router Out of bundle rate for data: R0:30 per MB You can connect up to 64 devices at a time so you can share the monate with friends and family everywhere you…
GetWorth an innovator in South Africa’s pre-owned vehicle industry has been acquired by Motus, SA’s largest vehicle retailer. Thanks to this investment it is expected that GetWorth will become a formidable player in the pre-owned vehicle market while at the same time offering an innovative solution for motorists looking to sell their vehicle. “Going into business with a large dealer group like Motus was always a goal as it allows us to scale our business quickly and provide our customers with a world class option when the time comes to sell their vehicle,” says Jamie Surkont, co-founder and CEO of…
MTN today became the first African company to enter the metaverse by purchasing land in Africarare. Africarare which made its debut in South Africa in October 2021, is the first African Virtual Reality metaverse featuring digital land. This purchase will see MTN owning 144 plots of virtual land with an overall area of 12x12m. Bernice Samuels, MTN’s Group Executive for Marketing said, “This is an exciting moment for us as we lead businesses on the continent to enter the metaverse marketplace. This is exactly what our Ambition 2025 strategy is premised on – leveraging trends that amplify consumer’s digital experiences…
Safaricom Telecommunication Ethiopia Plc has selected VMware as its Telco Cloud Platform partner. Safaricom, as part of an international consortium named the Global Partnership for Ethiopia, was granted the second Unified Telecommunication Service License in July 2021. Currently, Safaricom Ethiopia is building a telecom network for commercial launch and to contribute to Ethiopia’s digital transformation and inclusion objectives. Pedro Rabacal, Chief Technology Officer at Safaricom Ethiopia, said, “Building a world-class network in Ethiopia will unlock its economic potential as well as build a positive future for people across the country. We aim to contribute to the country’s digital transformation and…
South African advertising agency, M&C Saatchi Abel, has purchased ‘land’ in the newly created Africarare metaverse – Ubuntuland – marking its move as the first South African and African agency to set up shop in this digital world. Africa’s first digital domain Africarare, is a 3D virtual reality immersive hub that houses a metaverse marketplace set in Ubuntuland. Ubuntuland will showcase some of the best of African art, fashion, entertainment, sport, tech and creativity and will provide a platform for artists from across the continent to showcase their work. “The unique afro-themed metaverse establishes local representation in a growing global…
At the HUAWEI Spring 2022 Smart Office Launch, Huawei Consumer Business Group today announced the launch of seven new products, including: its latest flagship laptop, its first all-in-one PC, a new 2-in-1 laptop, its first E-Ink tablet, a new HarmonyOS tablet, the company’s first-ever printer, and a new portable speaker. These releases were part of a larger plan Huawei announced to create smart offices and fresh experiences for global consumers. The advanced collaboration and ecosystem capabilities allow users to create a smart office Super Device system. Under this system, users can drag icons from other Huawei devices onto their PC,…
At the Huawei Day0 Forum held the day before MWC22 Barcelona, Ryan Ding, Huawei’s Executive Director and President of the Carrier BG, gave a keynote speech entitled “Lighting up the Future”. Ding said that operators can work on three factors: connection density, computing diversity, and carbon reduction intensity, and called on operators to join Huawei in its GUIDE business blueprint to create a better digital economy together. The global digital economy is developing rapidly, and over 50% of global GDP will be digitalized in 2022. Many countries and regions, like China, South Korea, and the EU, have already announced huge…
It should come as no surprise that there has been a massive spike in interest and uptake of solar installations of various sizes. Load shedding and unplanned outages have affected businesses and households alike. This has had a massive impact on businesses as well as households, and so many have decided to install various systems to try to mitigate the effects of the unstable grid. However, concerns about the environment have changed the way many, if not most, people see energy and this trend is going to continue accelerating. At a global and national level, renewable energy is gaining traction…
Teraco Data Environments, a leading provider of colocation data centres and interconnection in Africa and a current member of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), today announced it will offer connectivity directly through Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) FastConnect at its Isando Campus for the Oracle Cloud Johannesburg Region. Oracle customers are enabled to harness the power of Oracle Cloud locally, including Oracle Autonomous Database, to help enable them to unlock innovation and drive business growth. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure FastConnect, now also via Teraco’s Africa Cloud Exchange, may potentially provide higher -bandwidth options and potentially more reliable and consistent networking experience compared to…
Global network gear maker Cisco announced today it has appointed Smangele Nkosi as the General Manager for South Africa. As general manager Smangele’s focus is on leveraging the company’s technology leadership to support the country innovation, prosperity and social inclusion. Her role will include working in close collaboration with government bodies and public and private enterprises to develop a healthy technology and partner ecosystem. She brings a wealth of knowledge to the table with over 20 years’ experience working in versatile and challenging roles within the ICT sector. Most recently, she was the acting chief commercial officer at Telkom, responsible…
A new Cisco study finds that South African workers are demanding universal access to high-performance broadband to succeed with hybrid work. The 2022 Cisco Broadband Index, which provides global workforce insights on access to internet services concluded that broadband connectivity is much more than just the ability to access the Internet. It powers an individual’s access to basic needs, including healthcare and education, as well as empowers them to participate in the global economy. The global survey consists of almost 60 000 workers across 30 markets, including South Africa, indicating their home broadband access, quality and usage, economic and societal…
Remote biometric digital facial authentication and automated onboarding technology company, iiDENTIFii, has secured a coveted spot in the JSE Enterprise Acceleration Programme. The prestigious accelerator programme is open to founder-led, entrepreneurial companies with an annual turnover of R20-million that are looking to scale up through growing market share, accessing funding and improving their competitiveness. iiDENTIFii is one of only 12 highly innovative businesses handpicked for the programme. As a participant iiDENTIFii will benefit from specialised local and international mentors offering expert coaching through structured group sessions, master classes and webinars. Lance Fanaroff, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, says iiDENTIFii’s solution…
The Department of Employment and Labour is negotiating a possible out-of-court settlement with Huawei South Africa. The Department of Employment and Labour and Huawei Technologies South Africa (Pty) Ltd, have entered into talks to reach a settlement agreement and have agreed to stay court proceedings instituted by the department against Huawei on 11 February 2022 pending the outcome of the negotiations, Huawei said in a statement on Wednesday. “During the meeting, Huawei demonstrated its extensive ICT skills transfer and training programs that are aimed at reducing the ICT skills gap and fostering a strong digital talent ecosystem for South Africa…