Author: Staff Writer

Sun Exchange, the global solar leasing platform, today announced that leading South African automotive platform, Cars.co.za, has bought into a project that provides off-grid solar power plus battery storage to Karoo Fresh, a commercial farm in South Africa’s Karoo district. By using the Sun Exchange platform to buy more than 16,000 solar cells, valued at over R2.5 million, Cars.co.za is leveraging its balance sheet to drive sustainable energy, while creating an alternative income stream for its business over the 20-year lifespan of the solar project. The 332.1 kW solar plus 640 kWh storage project, which is now generating electricity, is…

Vodacom has achieved 2.4 Gbps throughput on a live site – a first for South Africa. The trial made use of a commercial smartphone and was conducted through the commercial base stations which serve Vodacom’s Midrand campus. The record throughput speed is approximately 100 times faster than the average fibre-to-the-home connection. Beverly Ngwenya, Vodacom South Africa Technology Director says “This achievement demonstrates Vodacom’s continued innovation as a 5G technology leader and a Network of Firsts, showcasing how fifth-generation mobile technology can unlock incredible fibre-like experiences for users on the go, or where fibre installations aren’t feasible.  Most notably, this is…

Google today announced its intent to establish a new Google Cloud region in South Africa – its  first on the continent. The news, which came at the second Google for Africa event, is the latest example of how Google is delivering on the $1 billion or R17 billion investment commitment made last year by the company’s CEO, Sundar Pichai. The new Cloud Region will help users, developers, businesses and educational institutions across Africa to move more information and tools online, improve access options for customers and in turn, create jobs. According to research by AlphaBeta Economics commissioned by Google Cloud,…

In today’s fast-paced, wealth-driven world where customer service often ends at the point of sale, true business success requires solid, customer-centric ethics. This is the belief of Lee Ziervogel, the newly appointed Chief Operating Officer at fintech enablement company Ukheshe. “This is especially important for a fintech company like Ukheshe. It’s essential to manage our clients’ journeys with our highly technical products, because if they’re successful, so are we. “I love being surrounded by an ethically sound team that operates from these solid business principles. One of Ukheshe’s core focus areas is enabling financial inclusion, and enriching lives.” Ziervogel’s people-centric…

Over the past 12 months, the Shoprite Group has increased its installed capacity of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems by 82% to 26,606 kWp. The 143,674m2 of solar panels at 62 sites, is equivalent to the size of 20 soccer fields.    This is enough to power the equivalent of 3,735 households for one full year, thus easing the pressure on the national electricity grid.   Despite the marked progress, the Group is still focused on growing its solar-powered and renewable electricity installations while improving energy efficiency to reduce its environmental footprint, further reducing added strain on the national electricity grid. Other initiatives include a drive to reduce electricity consumption by…

Cape Town-headquartered venture capital (VC) firm HAVAÍC has completed its third investment in Kenyan FinTech Tanda. The investment from the VC firm’s $20 million HAVAÍC Universum Core African Fund is part of an ongoing pre-series A round in partnership with three other investors, including DFS Lab. Since its launch in 2018, Tanda has built one of Africa’s largest open agent networks accessible to all financial service providers, simplified how people and businesses transact, and opened up the ecosystem so other developers can layer additional solutions. Over the past four years, the company has processed over 4 million transactions and served…

By working together, Pick n Pay and Mr D have just made online grocery shopping much better, easier, and more exciting for customers. Using the Mr D app, all your favourite Pick n Pay products can now be delivered right to your door. By bringing together the best of Pick n Pay and Mr D, customers can now order what they want, when they want it, quickly and easily, using the tried, trusted, and hugely popular Mr D app. “This new dedicated grocery shopping experience with Pick n Pay through the Mr D app allows customers to shop over 10,000…

Mercedes-Benz South Africa Limited (MBSA) announces a key executive appointments within its Sales & Marketing and Aftersales operations. Selvin Govender, currently responsible for Marketing and Sales for Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA), will take over the position of Vice President and Director for Marketing and Sales for Mercedes-Benz GDs Europe, Middle East & Africa (MBGD), effective 1 February 2023. Commenting on Govender’s departure, Mark Raine, Co-CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars and Executive Director of MBSA said: “Govender has been synonymous with the Mercedes-Benz brand for over two decades and has been integral in leading the company’s enviable brand in the premium automotive…

Vodacom Business Africa is committed to supporting the internationalisation of multinational businesses into Africa. Testament to this is continuous development of innovative solutions to keep clients securely and reliably connected. Having successfully deployed its Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) solution to several businesses in South Africa, Vodacom Business Africa is now making the offering accessible to clients in all 47 operating countries across its African footprint. “By launching this offering into Africa, we’re eliminating connectivity barriers that growing businesses are contending with. These include increasing cybersecurity threats, escalating data demands and costs, as well as slow or unresponsive digital applications…

New-age solutions and systems integrator, +OneX, has acquired South Africa’s leading Citrix on Azure solutions provider, EUCafrica, as part of its strategy to build a group that can deliver end-to-end digital transformation solutions to enterprise clients. The acquisition strengthens +OneX’s capabilities in end-user computing by adding one of South Africa’s leading specialists in the desktop-as-a-service and desktop virtualisation space to the fold. EUCafrica has unique credentials in South Africa’s end-user computing market, having attained both Citrix Platinum Solution Advisor Status as well as Microsoft Gold Cloud Competency certification. The company has helped leading retail, finance, public sector and technology clients…