Author: Staff Writer
Vodacom customers can now enjoy out-of-bundle rates from as little as R0.49c and up to R5.00 when travelling to over 156 countries across 656 partner networks. This is a price cut of up to 88%. As the vaccination rollout continues, with 24,4% fully vaccinated South Africans as at the end of November, Vodacom hopes that customers will once again get to enjoy leisure travel soon. “We are on a mission to give value to our customers at every touchpoint of our business. We have slashed our data roaming prices by up to 88%, another way we strive to fulfil our…
Platzi, a professional education platform in Latin America, has raised $60 million (R955 million) in Series B funding led by Prosus, one of the largest technology investors in the world. Existing investor Foundation Capital co-invested in this round along with YCombinator, 500 Startups, FJ Labs, FundersClub, Hans Tung from GGV and Darian Shirazi from Gradient. Platzi will use the fresh funds to expand its educational offering in Portuguese, English and Spanish, ramp up its offering for businesses and continue building strategic partnerships with tech giants and governments. Founded by Freddy Vega and Christian Van Der Henst, Platzi aims to close…
Vodacom has launched a new payment plan called Easy2Own, which comes with a 1GB data bundle if you settle monthly instalments on time. Through the newly launched initiative, customers on the Vodacom network can purchase a smartphone and, after a once-off deposit, pay it off in affordable monthly payments over the next 11 months. To provide further flexibility, customers can settle their monthly payments via a direct debit order or EFT. “At Vodacom, we believe that access to mobile devices and connectivity provides endless opportunities for South Africans. The Easy2Own proposition is yet another innovation by Vodacom to help bridge…
Seventy graduates of the Huawei ICT Academy programme met with representatives from nine top South African technology partner companies, looking to recruit top ICT talent, at a job fair held online. The Huawei ICT Academy programme is run in 67 universities and colleges across the country and its graduates are given the opportunity to connect with prospective employers. Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Blade Nzimande was in attendance and stressed the importance of these kinds of programmes, especially for the building of critical skills. “To us, partnerships with our universities and colleges are a critical component of our…
African FinTech aYo Holdings has reached a major milestone in its ongoing technology transformation by fully migrating its Côte d’Ivoire insurance portfolio to a cloud platform. The company, a subsidiary of African telecommunications giant MTN, has more than 15 million customers using its microinsurance products across Uganda, Ghana, Zambia and Côte d’Ivoire. Group CEO Marius Botha says its vision is to grow into the largest financial services technology platform in Africa by enabling the distribution of a range of affordable and accessible micro financial services products. “We see ourselves as a technology company first and foremost, that happens to sell…
MTN Uganda announced today that it will proceed with the listing of its 22.4 billion ordinary shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), with trading commencing immediately. The listing has received the requisite approvals from the Capital Markets Authority in Uganda and the USE. It follows the successful completion of the largest initial public offering in Uganda’s history, raising a record UGX535 billion from applications for 2.9 billion shares (including incentive shares). “We are delighted with the successful completion of the offer. It clearly shows the confidence that Ugandans and other investors have in the company, its brand and its…
MTN Group will be implementing a mandatory vaccination policy for staff from January 2022. Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator said on Monday that this is part of its commitment to protect the health and safety of its people and workplaces, as well as contribute towards the rate of COVID-19 vaccinations across its markets. “The science is clear. Vaccination against COVID-19 reduces rates of serious infections, hospitalisation, and death. As an employer, we have a responsibility to ensure that our workplaces are guided by the highest standards of health and safety, and that has informed our decision to make COVID-19 vaccination…
MTNon Friday launched the construction of a state-of-the-art headquarters for MTN Côte d’Ivoire, as well as the start of a local trial of 5G services in Abidjan. Both took place during a state visit to the West African country by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. After the conclusion of the Côte d’Ivoire-South Africa Business Forum in which MTN participated, a foundation stone-laying ceremony was held at a site at the Akwaba Business Park in Port Bouët. It was attended by President Ramaphosa and Ivorian Prime Minister Patrick Achi. Both lauded MTN’s pan-African strategy and the Group’s contribution to Côte d’Ivoire…
MyMTN Home Uncapped speed-based plans are now available on 5G, offering customers blistering data speeds, ultra-low latency, increased reliability, exceptional coverage and improved connectivity for as little as R999 per month. Consistently ranked as the best mobile network in South Africa, MTN has developed the MyMTN Home Uncapped 5G plans using the latest 5G network technologies to provide unlimited data connectivity to customers’ homes across 125 coverage areas, across all provinces. “Our existing MyMTN Home Uncapped speed-based plans offer an uncapped home connectivity solution whereby customers can choose their preferred speeds on SA’s Bozza network,” says Megan Nicholas, General Manager…
Endeavor South Africa announces R 130 million raised to date in its Harvest Fund II and doubles the fund size since its first close in late February 2021. The Fund is on track to be fully invested by 2022, a year ahead of plan, and has invested in six leading-edge technology companies to date, with a further four in the immediate pipeline. The first fund–of–its kind in Africa, Harvest Fund II is a founder-aligned, rules-based fund, investing in a vetted pipeline of medium-sized, high-growth Endeavor Entrepreneurs. The Fund follows the terms of lead investors, helping entrepreneurs negotiate first, before joining…
Vodacom has launched its Store of the Future, which bridges the physical and digital retail gap. The Store of the Future takes inspiration from Vodacom World in Midrand, which was transformed into the first digitally connected mall in Africa. “Our consumer research and insights show that 52% of consumers avoid stores not appealing to the eye. Key to this ground-breaking ‘phygital’ store of the future is the physical expression of our journey from a telco to a techco as we expand our range of products and services while making them easy to access, purchase and use by customers. The new…
JSE-listed The Foschini Group buys digital, on-demand shopping platform and last-mile delivery provider, Quench. Quench is an on-demand app that has been delivering from selected retailers and partners to homes and businesses since 2016. The addition of Quench to The Foschini Group’s existing portfolio of brands will further position TFG as the leading omni-channel retailer in Africa. The acquisition is expected to give the Group access to fast, reliable delivery across South Africa and to proprietary software and engineering capability that brings a scientific approach to planning, least-cost routing and asset utilization. The acquisition is a key step to enabling…
An online software platform developed by Hyrax Biosciences, a company that spun out of the University of the Western Cape (UWC), has played a critical role in South Africa’s early detection of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. South Africa has been recognised both for the expertise of its scientists who were responsible for identifying the new variant and for swiftly sharing information with authorities around the world. What is less well known is the role played by Hyrax Bioscience’s software platform (called Exatype) in enabling the scale-up of genomic surveillance that led to the detection of Omicron. Exatype…
Microsoft announced today that HoloLens 2 is now available in South Africa, bringing the capabilities and value of mixed reality solutions to local enterprises across various key sectors. Mixed reality blends the physical and digital worlds – covering the spectrum from augmented reality to virtual reality – so that these worlds can co-exist and interact in real time. This augments the jobs of first-line employees in sectors such as manufacturing, automotive, healthcare and education, and unlocks significant benefits for these businesses and industries. Businesses in critical job and growth-creating sectors worldwide have already felt the value and benefits of investing…
Carry1st, Africa’s leading mobile games publisher, today announced it has partnered with online payments pioneers PayPal and Chipper Cash, a cross-border payments company recently valued at $2B, to enable people across Africa to easily and securely purchase virtual goods and services online. Thanks to the partnerships, consumers across Africa can purchase digital essentials in the newly launched Carry1st Shop — from pre-paid electricity and mobile data, assets in their favorite games (like PUBG, ROBLOX, and SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off — which Carry1st recently launched in Africa), and subscriptions to platforms like Xbox Live, Tinder, and Uber. Consumers can browse products, select…
The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Aerospace Systems Research Group (ASReG) has successfully tested a powerful liquid-propellant rocket engine as the first step towards developing a launch vehicle for placing satellites into Earth orbit. The Ablative Blow-down Liquid Engine (ABLE) was designed by mechanical engineering students in the masters and doctoral programmes at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). ASReG is developing designs for a commercial launch vehicle capable of placing satellites weighing up to 200 kg into orbit for communications, environmental monitoring, agriculture and Earth observation purposes. The successful operation of ABLE will enable the group to begin work on a flight-weight…
South Africa could introduce a new COVID-19 vaccine passport system at the start of 2022 after the discovery of a new variant. Business Day reports that South Africa’s exclusion from international travel brought further urgency to debates about mandatory vaccination. Talks between the government, business and labour on the introduction of a form of Covid-19 vaccine passport system are at an advanced stage. A passport system would restrict access to certain events and would not involve people being forced to take jabs against their will. The word “mandate” implies compulsion, but in the SA context, it is roughly equivalent to…
Standard Bank has partnered with internet service provider Webafrica to expand the provision of high-speed internet and access to financial services for its customers. The partnership, which will come into effect during the first quarter of 2022, will allow Standard Bank to meet a wider array of client needs, deepen customer relationships, and fulfil its purpose of driving Africa’s growth and uplifting its people. The initial focus of the partnership will be on making high-speed internet access available to Standard Bank customers and making the Standard Bank flexible funeral product accessible to the Webafrica customer base. “This partnership forms part…
JSE-listed technology company Altron has appointed Andrew Whittaker as Managing Director of Altron Security with effect from 1 December 2021. Previously Executive: Services and Business Development at Altron Security, where he was responsible for sales, business development, marketing, and services management, Whittaker takes over from Marius Agenbag, who is retiring. Whittaker has been with Altron Security (previously Ubusha) since 2001 and has over 26 years of technical, management and industry experience. This positions him well to drive the long-term growth strategy of Altron Security which recently acquired LAWtrust from Etion. Altron Group Chief Executive Mteto Nyati said, “Security is one…
South Africa’s biggest and best digital bank, as rated in the SITEisfaction 2021 report, is changing the way South Africans do small to medium sized cash-based transactions. Capitec is expanding its digital offering with the launch of Capitec Pay Me, enabling its clients to generate a personalised QR code on the bank’s app to receive payments immediately and securely from other Capitec clients. Making and receiving payments is free, championing affordability for clients. With over 9 million digital banking clients, Capitec’s Francois Viviers, Group Executive of Marketing, explains how the solution will advance South Africa’s digital economy. “Carrying cash is…
Have you ever fancied going on a shopping spree in the company of your favourite celebrity? Now is the time to do just that. Avon will be hosting its first-ever live streaming event where A-list celebrities and media personalities will take customers and Representatives through a virtual tour of the most desirable products at the best pricing without having to leave the comfort of their homes. This event will feature multiple award-winning designer and Avon fragrance collaborator, David Tlale, former Miss South Africa, Radio host and A new Brand Ambassador, Liesel Laurie and YouTube super star, Lasizwe. We also have…
After 21 successful years in the South African PropTech industry, digitalisation specialist e4 is expanding into European markets. Having recently launched a new group in the UK, a long-standing executive director from South Africa, Simon Slater, has relocated to the UK to head up the venture. Slater’s focus will be on building e4’s relationship with various mortgage lenders, conveyancing firms and other partners in the UK. He will be supported by a global team of analysts, developers and staff to help build out the new group. “Having worked on international opportunities remotely now for the past two years, we are…
2021 marks five years in SA since the #DataMustFall campaign which saw the President order the Communications Ministry to bring down the cost of mobile data by 50%. Still, however, the country remains ranked at number 136 for the price of a gigabyte of mobile data*. “Almost a third of South African households own a car while nearly 90% have access to a cellphone** and yet the petrol price per litre is a more familiar topic of conversation than the price per gigabyte of mobile data,” says Anton Potgieter, co-founder of NoPBX™, a locally developed, smartphone-based cloud PBX system. Potgieter…
Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok Tendai Mtawarira aka ‘The Beast’ has been named as the newest addition to the Liquid Intelligent Technologies SA family. Negotiated via Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports. The partnership will see The Beast working with Liquid SA’s internal and external stakeholders. In a partnership that is exclusive to South Africa, Tendai – the Beast has been carefully chosen by Liquid to reflect company values of working with trust, ingenuity, value-centricity, and respect as well as to create a deeper social impact in the country. “Tendai – The Beast is not only a national champion but also someone who embodies…
Africa Data Centres, the largest network of interconnected, carrier- and cloud-neutral data centre facilities on the continent, today officially opened its new 10MW data centre facility in Lagos, Nigeria. The new facility, the company says, will pave the way for Africa Data Centres hyperscale customers to deploy digitisation solutions to West Africa. CEO of Africa Data Centres, Stephane Duproz, describes Nigeria as one of the company’s key markets as there is a rapidly-growing demand for data centres in the region, which is hungry for digitisation, as organisations of every type and size in Africa accelerate their digital transformation journeys. He…