Author: Staff Writer
MTN Mobile Money app (MTN MoMo) which is powered by uBank, has expanded into the digital health service space with the innovative, professional, and broadly accessible Nurse & Video-Dr Consult pre-paid solution. This pre-paid digital healthcare solution, starting from R370, is easily accessed via the MoMo app and is specifically targeted at helping the elderly with no medical aid to get the professional advice and medication they need. It is also aimed at providing an affordable alternative for those who have run out of medical aid savings, while the general population gains access to an array of medical solutions that…
Liquid Intelligent Technologies, through its innovation and partnerships arm Liquid Labs, is launching three online courses on legal technology, targeted at supporting career development amongst students, budding entrepreneurs, and lawyers. This has been possible through a partnership with Africa Legal, an organisation that connects legal professionals across the African continent. Liquid Labs aspires to make relevant tech training programmes accessible to students and professionals to bridge the affordability and digital divide, the main deterrents to increased access. The courses will offer targeted training for lawyers and the business community to enable working people to upskill and embrace the opportunities of…
Walmart-owned Massmart, one of South Africa’s biggest retail groups, has launched mobile shopping mini apps in partnership with Vodacom’s new VodaPay super app. Massmart, which owns Builders, Game and Makro, said the mini apps serve as the cornerstone of the shopping proposition in the VodaPay Super App. This launch follows Massmart’s announcement earlier this year regarding e-commerce as a Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) strategic growth vector. “This is an important step in our e-commerce strategy which is underpinned by a mobile first approach which in this case will provide access to 43 million customers, 21 million mobile devices and…
The DA has called on the IEC to investigate the ANC for spreading misinformation in an attempt to mislead voters about the distribution of electricity in the City of Johannesburg. The ANC in the region released a statement today claiming that the City of Johannesburg administration signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Eskom “which will enable the City’s process to takeover Eskom supplied areas to City Power”. The statement by the ANC claims that “[the] signed agreement ensures that the electricity bought in bulk from Eskom allows the City’s electricity distributor, City Power, safe and reliable distribution of electricity to the residents…
iStore announced that customers now get up to R15 000 cash back into their pockets when trading in to upgrade their cellular contract to iPhone 13 on Vodacom, MTN or Telkom. Contract pricing for iPhone 13 range is now available nationwide in-store and online from 8 October 2021, starting at R699 pm. Up to R15 000 cash back for trade in – For the first time, customers get up to R15 000* cash back – into their account – when trading in their current iPhone to upgrade their cellular contract at iStore. Customers can take their current iPhone to iStore for evaluation and get up to…
MTN is introducing MyMTN Home Uncapped Fixed LTE to South Africans that is aimed at delivering more value for money and providing greater choice to customers as part of this year’s summer campaign. The growth in demand for flexible data solutions and consumers’ increasing need to remain connected to loved ones has inspired MTN to introduce its MyMTN Home Uncapped Fixed LTE. MTN wants to ensure customers get more value and options, allowing more people uncapped access to the digital world from the comfort of their own home, whether it is for work, entertainment, news or education. “We are excited…
The Loeries, Africa and the Middle East’s premiere creative festival, has released its inaugural research into gender representation in advertising across the African continent. Advertising plays an important role in shaping societal identity which is why the research is designed to deliver the insights needed to ensure stronger positive representation of both men and women in advertising across the continent. Facebook partnered with the Loeries to support the creation and delivery of the report as part of its commitment to supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives. “If we want to eliminate harmful stereotypes in our industry, we need to stop thinking…
The digital economy necessitates a digital government. It’s not really a question of whether or not government should become digital, it’s only a matter of time. This was the core theme explored at Huawei’s e-Government Summit, which forms part of Huawei Connect 2021. South Africa’s government has attached great importance to digitalisation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), with a particular focus on driving transformation in the public sector. Public sector stakeholders joined Huawei to discuss how public and private sectors could work together to accelerate government’s journey to digital transformation. “Innovative technologies are increasingly being used in more industries…
Standard Bank and Pick n Pay customers’ shopping experience has just become even more convenient, easy, and safe, with the launch of Standard Bank’s EasyScan – a new service that enables customers to pay for their shopping using the Standard Bank Mobile Banking app. Standard Bank customers registered on the Banking App can scan the QR code at a Pick n Pay till point and pay via the Banking App. Paying is quick and easy, allowing customers to keep track of purchases through the Mobile Banking app. Steps to using EasyScan: Download the Standard Bank Mobile Banking App from…
Asset tracking and fleet management solution provider Ctrack is expanding its offering to now include Laptop and Computer traced recovery service. Computers are vital to the running of businesses these days and very often contain sensitive information that is of a high value to the business owner, both in terms of the time invested and its importance in keeping the wheels turning. Ctrack PC Secure allows devices to be traced and recovered in the same way that Ctrack has recovered stolen vehicles or other assets for the last 30 years. Ctrack PC Secure utilises advanced software to make any laptop…
MTN Group today announced the appointment of Adekunle Awobodu as our new Chief Financial Officer for Digital and FinTech. Kunle is a seasoned business and finance professional who has spent most of his career at MTN, including serving as CFO for MTN Nigeria and for the MTN Irancell joint venture. “We are thrilled that Kunle has joined the dynamic DigiFin team and look forward to what we know will be a valuable contribution,” says MTN Group Chief Digital and Fintech Officer Serigne Dioum. In his 22 years in management roles, Kunle has built processes, teams and dealt with regulatory and…
Teraco, Africa’s largest vendor-neutral data centre and interconnection services provider, has announced the completion of Phase 1 of CT2, its new hyperscale data centre in Brackenfell, Cape Town – the largest data centre in the Western Cape. The new facility supports the growing demand by enterprises and cloud providers for data centre capacity. CT2 offers highly resilient and secure colocation facilities in line with Teraco’s long-term vision of enabling digital transformation across Africa. Cape Town, as one of Africa’s most digitally connected cities, is a logical destination for Teraco’s continued investment into data centre infrastructure on the continent. Home to…
Twitter announced that it would sell MoPub to Nasdaq-listed AppLovin, a marketing software company, for $1.05 billion or R15.7 billion in cash. Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO says: “This transaction increases our focus and demonstrates confidence in our revenue product roadmap, accelerating our ability to invest in the core products that position Twitter for long-term growth and best serve the public conversation. We thank the incredible teams and customers who have contributed to making MoPub a success within Twitter over the years.” The transaction will enable Twitter to accelerate the development of owned and operated revenue products and drive growth across key…
Google today announced a plan to invest $1billion or R15 billion over 5 years to support Africa’s digital transformation. The investment focuses on enabling fast, affordable internet access for more Africans; building helpful products; supporting entrepreneurship and small business; and helping nonprofits to improve lives across Africa. The announcement was made at Google’s first ever Google for Africa event, held virtually and livestreamed. The planned $1billion investment announced today by Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, will include: Enabling affordable internet access and building helpful products ○ Google is building global infrastructure to help bring faster internet to more…
US Bank announced today that its cryptocurrency custody services are now live and available to their Global Fund Services clients. The services are intended for institutional investment managers with private funds in the U.S. or Cayman Islands who would like a safekeeping solution for Bitcoin – with additional coin support coming soon. NYDIG, a technology and financial services company dedicated to Bitcoin, is the first crypto sub-custodian announced in the bank’s network of providers. “Investor interest in cryptocurrency and demand from our fund services clients have grown strongly over the last few years,” said Gunjan Kedia, vice-chair, US Bank Wealth…
Vodacom Group has kicked off its annual pan-African Innovation Week 2021, running from 4 – 8 October 2021, which will culminate in its fourth Pan-African Innovation Hackathon event. Huawei Technologies is one of the main partners of the Vodacom Group Hackathon. Innovation Week focuses on pan-African innovation, with various speakers covering topics such as Fostering a Culture of Innovation, Disruptive Innovation, and Innovation Best Practice. All Vodacom markets on the continent are taking part in the Hackathon, with multi-market team entrants and prizes totalling R1 million up for grabs, for the most innovative business and consumer solutions. The Hackathon takes…
To kickstart its summer campaign, Telkom has launched postpaid promotional deals and prepaid LTE deals offering more value to customers. On Prepaid LTE, Telkom has introduced: 6GB data at R49 – 3GB anytime data and 3GB night surfer data, valid for 14 days, which replaces the current 2GB + 2GB at the same price; and 15GB data at R99 – 7,5GB anytime data and 7,5GB night data, valid for 61 days for anytime data and 31 days for night surfer, replacing its 5GB + 5GB bundle. “We know that things have been tough, no less in the last couple of…
Discovery is planning to introduce South Africa’s largest “private virtual hospital’ known as Discovery Hospital at Home from January 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital healthcare technologies by patients and healthcare providers. “One example – the use of telemedicine in the USA has seen unprecedented increases in online consultations,” explains Dr Ryan Noach, CEO of Discovery health. “Within our ecosystem, Discovery Connected Care logins have increased more than seven fold, by 763%, since 2019.” At the same time, there is a global need to ease the burden on increasingly overwhelmed hospital systems while providing people access…
Picodi.com team juxtaposed iPhone 13 Pro (128 GB) prices and average earnings in various countries to count how many days people need to afford Apple’s latest flagship. In South Africa, the official price of the basic iPhone 13 Pro (128 GB) will amount to R 21,499. Similar to the previous year, buyers will find neither a charger nor earphones in the box. The only exception is France, where the law requires Apple to include earphones. According to the latest Stat SA data, the average monthly earnings in South Africa is R 23,526 (R 20,160 net). This means that an average South African would have to work…
Integrated ICT and infrastructure provider Vox is continuing with its bundled offering designed to help South African businesses digitise their operations, with business fibre connectivity being combined with cloud-based voice solutions to help enable a hybrid working environment. “According to research, 63% of high-growth companies have already adopted a hybrid work model and 78% of knowledge workers believe they would be more productive if they could choose to work on-site or remotely as needed. We believe there’s never been a better time than now to re-think and re-shape the way we work and collaborate for optimal productivity as well as…
MTN Uganda is pleased to announce our intention to proceed with an initial public offer (IPO) and subsequently list on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE). This follows the requisite approval by the Capital Markets Authority and Uganda Securities Exchange for MTN Group to sell 20% of its shareholding in MTN Uganda to the public. MTN Group owns 96% of MTN Uganda. The listing is in line with the Group’s strategic priority to create shared value, partly through ensuring broad-based ownership in its operating subsidiaries. It is also in line with the provisions of MTN Uganda’s NTO licence, which require its…
TymeBank, one of the world’s fastest-growing digital banks, announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with leading retail giant TFG (The Foschini Group) that will see the introduction of TymeBank financial products and services both instore and on digital platforms for the benefit of TFG’s more than 26 million customers in South Africa. The partnership is expected to deliver the following customer benefits: TFG customers will benefit from TymeBank’s ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ product MoreTyme™, providing an alternative payment option which is interest free over a three-month period Over 600 TFG / TymeBank branded kiosks will be located in…
The commercial property leasing industry is set for a shakeup. For the first time in South Africa, tenants will have the ability to bid for prime office space via AuctionInc’s online auction platform. A derivative of this concept was recently successfully used in the United States and Europe to fill large vacancies in prominent office buildings. The need for a new way of concluding leasing transactions in a stubborn leasing environment served as the catalyst for this innovative concept locally. The South African leasing market finds itself in a difficult position due to an oversupply of office space and flagging…
The musical life of Moses Molelekwa was one full of promise and unmatched genius. He changed the face of jazz and brought it to his young generation. He affected the kwaito genre in ways that no one artist has done to any other genre of music in South Africa. When he passed away – at the fine young age of 27 – Molelekwa was only beginning his grand musical journey. Following his first book – Sankomota: An Ode in One Album, Phehello J Mofokeng has now written and published the first book on Moses Molelekwa, that towering yet young genius…
Ula, a B2B ecommerce marketplace in Indonesia, has raised $87 million or R1.3 billion in a Series B funding round co-led by Prosus Ventures, Tencent and B-Capital. The trio is joined by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s Bezos Expeditions, and leading Southeast Asian funds Northstar group, AC Ventures and Citius. Existing investors Lightspeed India, Sequoia Capital India, Quona Capital and Alter Global also participated in the round. The company has also brought in Pandu Sjahrir, a seasoned investor and entrepreneur, as an advisor to Ula. In the technology-enabled world, the local mom-and-pop store is no longer “just a store”, but rather…