Author: Staff Writer

Industry 4.0 solution business Stone Three secured expansion capital from venture capital firm Knife Capital to further enhance its enterprise product offerings and accelerate growth by putting the future of work in practice. Stone Three combines expert services with the power of machine learning to solve problems that increase operational productivity and keep people safer, healthier and happier. These end-to-end solutions for AI-augmented digital productivity, health and workplace safety include software offerings that scale at the enterprise level, contain advanced machine learning, video analytics, healthcare technologies and deep domain knowledge. Stone Three has been self-funded to date by operations and…

“Revix, the Cape Town-based investment platform backed by JSE Listed Sabvest, partnered with Mazars, a leading global audit, tax and accounting partner, to independently verify that it securely holds all of its customers’ cryptocurrencies. The Crypto Custody report released by Mazars on Friday the 1st of October 2021 makes Revix the first crypto service provider in South Africa to independently verify that it holds all of its customers’ cryptocurrencies. The Crypto Custody report can be downloaded from the Revix website – www.revix.com – and aims to bring trust and transparency to the cryptocurrency industry where regulators have been slow to…

The overwhelming majority of South Africans access the Internet using mobile devices and thus the cost of mobile data has a real impact on quality of life.   In a data-dependent future, affordable communication costs are vital to improving quality of life. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) will shortly publish regulations designed to increase competition in the provision of mobile broadband services.   ICASA held virtual hearings recently to enable the public to comment on its draft Mobile Broadband Services Regulations that, amongst other things, define wholesale and retail markets for the provision of mobile broadband services. The…

JSE-listed Altron has announced the sale of its Altron People Solutions business, which was held for sale for the past year. Altron People Solutions’ Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Customer Experience Technology (CXTech) business has been acquired by iSON Xperiences, a global organisation with headquarters in Dubai which is looking to expand their African footprint. The Learning Solutions part of the business was acquired by South African management consultancy LRMG. A decision was taken to split the business and sell it to two buyers, both of whom are ideally positioned to provide exciting new growth opportunities in an environment where…

If you’re in the market for a smartphone that sits in the sweet spot between beautiful aesthetics, powerful performance and affordability, look no further than the HUAWEI nova 8i, now available in stores and online. The latest member of Huawei’s nova range, the HUAWEI nova 8i offers some of the best features for a smartphone in its price bracket and is especially well suited to young and dynamic tech users who have high expectations of their devices. Sleek and stylish The HUAWEI nova Series has always been aimed at a younger market, and this means that looks matter. As a…

Telkom will offer the best-ever lineup of iPhone, including the innovative and elegant iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 13, and iPhone 13 mini. Redesigned inside and out, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max introduce the most advanced pro camera system ever on iPhone, Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion, improved battery life, the Apple-designed A15 Bionic chip with 5-core GPU, and an advanced 5G experience. iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini feature the most advanced dual camera system ever in iPhone and powerhouse A15 Bionic chip in a sleek and durable design. Customers will be…

The country’s communications watchdog, ICASA, today revealed a timetable and roadmap to expedite the licensing of the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) spectrum, also known as the high-demand spectrum and the Wireless Open Access Network (WOAN). This roadmap follows the consent order granted by the North Gauteng High Court on Wednesday, 15 September 2021, which ended the litigation instituted against ICASA by Telkom and e.tv. The Court granted an Order to review and set aside ICASA’s decision to publish the Invitations to Apply (ITA) for both the high demand spectrum and WOAN. The Court further directed that the matter be referred…

Diversified tech group 4Sight reported a 16.9% increase in revenue for the six-month period ended 30 June 2021; revenue rose from R249.1 million in the same period last year to R291.1 million. “Despite the challenging trading conditions and impact on potential growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are pleased to announce stable financial results for the six-month period under review,” states Tertius Zitzke, Chief Executive Officer at 4Sight. “These past 6 months have been challenging for all businesses across our Group. Results were mixed. The performance of our IT cluster was particularly affected by the impact of the pandemic.…

Women’s sport is on the rise and TelkomONE is the first South African streaming or satellite service to launch a channel recognising that 84% of sports fans are interested in female-led sports.   W-Sport’s market research also found that women’s sport was deemed more inspiring, progressive, family orientated and less money orientated than men’s sport.   “The pace of change in women’s sports necessitated that we launch W-Sport sooner than later,” says Wanda Mkhize, Executive Smart Home & Content at Telkom.   “With female sporting role models like gymnast Simone Biles achieving much greater mainstream exposure for both their sporting prowess…

Sun Exchange, South Africa’s first peer-to-peer solar leasing platform, today announced it has secured $2.5 million or R37.6 million in convertible note financing from ARPF, a Mauritian private equity fund advised by London-based ARCH Emerging Markets Partners Limited (ARCH) (www.archempartners.com). This follows the company’s close of a $4 million Series A funding round in 2020, led by a $3 million investment from ARCH. The latest investment enables Sun Exchange to continue scaling its success using its crowd-based solar leasing platform to facilitate solar power for small-to-medium organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa, the segment most impacted by rising energy costs, unreliable grid infrastructure…

Since the new iteration of the COVID-19 Grant commenced early in August the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has received close to 14 million applications. Over 8.3 million applicants have been approved and over 5.6 million have since been paid by the month of September 2021. Despite the high number of applications, SASSA has been able to expedite payment of verified clients, while continuing to verify the remaining applications. About 1.5 million applicants chose to be paid through the cardless payment channel at ATM’s. This category has not been paid as yet due to the fact that SASSA went…

Ramp, the UK-based predictive analytics startup co-founded by the man who helped put Candy Crush on the map, is on the hunt for South African talent for its Cape Town operation – and developers and venture capital analysts are top of their list, says the company’s Chief Growth Officer, Dan Marcus. Ramp was co-founded by Angus Lovitt, the former Marketing VP at game developer King; veteran tech entrepreneurs, Dan Marcus and Jan Pickard, who exited their successful workflow platform Magnetic in 2018; and software engineer Francois du Toit. The company is not short of ambition: its stated aim is to…

As we move into a new era, and people slowly return to the office, organisations are questioning traditional ideas on how work should be done, the role of the office and what the workspace should look like. Global real estate company JLL’s 2021 Top 10 Global CRE Trends report reveals that humanising the workplace is one of the ways that companies can entice people back to the office, along with creating a healthy work environment with a renewed focus on the wellbeing of employees. Zama Zaca, Head of Business Development at Tétris Design + Build, believes that employee flexibility in…

Ukheshe Technologies has announced a new partnership with Chipper, one of Africa’s most valuable startups, to enhance and accelerate the rollout out of Chipper’s digital payment offerings. These include free and unlimited P2P payments across South Africa, value-added services such as airtime and data and the ability to legally buy, sell or transfer cryptocurrency. The partnership will also allow for more efficient transactions across Africa, while fulfilling the lives of its customers on the back of the Ukheshe Eclipse API framework. The three-year-old startup, Chipper is the biggest and fastest-growing payment app in Africa offering instant no-fee local and cross-border…

General Motors is introducing Ultifi, a new end-to-end software platform designed to unlock new vehicle experiences and connect customers’ digital lives. Ultifi will help enable the frequent and seamless delivery of software-defined features, apps and services to customers over the air. It offers the potential for more cloud-based services, faster software development and new opportunities to increase customer loyalty. Ultifi is enabled by hardware built into select next-generation products starting in 2023, encompassing internal combustion and electric vehicles. “GM has decades of experience writing vehicle software, creating a solid foundation to build on,” said Mark Reuss, GM president. “Now with…

Huawei South Africa has celebrated the success of its first Youth Upskilling program recipients at an event where the ICT company was commended for taking an outcomes and needs based approach by providing young graduates with skills required within the sector and matching them with employment opportunities. The endorsement came from business, academia and government at an event to mark the initiative and award the first group of 12 graduates with certificates for completing their theory training.  The programme aims to bridge the gap between academic learning and practical workplace skills in ICT disciplines and get young graduates “job ready”…

The banking industry has released its annual crime statistics for 2020, and digital banking fraud increased by 33%. The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric), which released the statistics on behalf of the banking industry, said debit card fraud rose by 22%, while on a positive note, credit card fraud decreased by 7%. “COVID-19, in conjunction with the implementation of regulations of the Disaster Management Act had a notable influence on financial crime trends in 2020. It triggered changes in human behaviour, human movement, and policing, creating new opportunities for criminals which significantly impacted the number of crime incidents.…

Pan-African cryptocurrency exchange, Yellow Card, has announced a $15 million or R227 million Series A, the largest ever by an African cryptocurrency exchange, to ramp up hiring and continue its expansion across the continent. The round was led by Valar Ventures, Third Prime, and Castle Island Ventures with participation from Square, Inc., Blockchain.com Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, BlockFi, Fabric Ventures, Raba Partnership, MoonPay, GreenHouse Capital, and more. Chris Maurice, co-founder and CEO of Yellow Card, expressed the significance of this round of investment for Yellow Card’s future. “Our mission has always been to make cryptocurrency accessible anywhere and everywhere…

With another tough year behind us, South Africans are looking to our country’s brighter skies and warmer days with excitement and anticipation. And no matter what you want from your summertime, MTN is making it possible and accessible with compelling data offers and big prizes, that are at the heart of this year’s summer campaign. This year, MTN is making data even more affordable to all its customers, irrespective of the customer’s plan or package. Whether South Africans want to party or play, rest and revive, or just hit the road to reconnect with family and friends, they will get…

The 2Africa consortium, comprised of China Mobile International, Facebook, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC, announced today the addition of a new segment – the 2Africa PEARLS branch – extending to the Arabian Gulf, India, and Pakistan. This extension will bring the total length of the 2Africa cable system to over 45,000 kilometers, making it the longest subsea cable system ever deployed. Now connecting three continents, Africa, Europe and Asia terrestrially through Egypt, 2Africa creates unique connectivity by adding vital landing locations in Oman (Barka), UAE (Abu Dhabi and Kalba), Qatar (Doha), Bahrain (Manama), Kuwait (Kuwait), Iraq…

Liquid Intelligent Technologies has launched a partner for Microsoft’s new Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams. Through its OneVoice platform, Liquid enables Microsoft customers worldwide to seamlessly integrate regulatory-compliant calling plans in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda – initiated from the Microsoft Teams Admin Centre. Operator Connect enables seamless PSTN phone services in Teams. With OneVoice for Operator Connect, businesses will benefit from the seamless integration of voice telephony directly into their existing Teams install base. In addition, Liquid’s flat-rate calling plans save money and avoid bill-shock whilst increasing control and decreasing fraud and risk, particularly as employees…

For developers out there, having a designated space to go to when working on your next big App idea will without a doubt play an instrumental role in the successful development of your App as well as its growth. The Huawei DIGIX Lab in Johannesburg is another way that Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) is proving its continued involvement and investment in the growth of App development and the people behind it across Africa. In the spirit of collaborative innovation, the DIGIX Lab will allow developers to experience Huawei’s open capabilities and devices firsthand, master and share knowledge through hands-on practice…

Moove, an African mobility FinTech, today announced its launch in Cape Town as part of its growth plans across the continent. The expansion marks the fourth city in which Moove has launched within only 15 months of operations, and coincides with five new hires for Moove’s global C-suite and the milestone of completing one million Uber trips in Moove-financed cars. The rollout in Cape Town follows Moove’s recent $23m Series A funding and builds on existing operations in Johannesburg, Lagos and Accra, with a goal of democratizing vehicle ownership across Africa. Plans are set to establish a presence in more…

Huawei’s annual flagship event for the global ICT industry – Huawei Connect 2021 – kicked off today. Huawei Rotating Chairman Eric Xu opened the event with a keynote speech titled “Innovating Nonstop for Faster Digitalization”. This year’s event, themed “Dive into Digital”, explores how digital technology can better integrate with business scenarios and industry know-how to address critical business challenges, and how stakeholders can work together more effectively to foster an open industry ecosystem and drive shared success. The event is scheduled to have four keynotes, five summits, and 66 sessions, featuring more than 200 speakers, including industry visionaries, business…

Huawei Connect 2021 opened today, with Eric Xu, Huawei Rotating Chairman, delivering a keynote speech Innovating Nonstop for Faster Digitalization that included the launch of Huawei Cloud UCS. This Ubiquitous Cloud-Native Service is the industry’s first distributed cloud-native product. Zhang Ping’an, CEO of Huawei Cloud and President of Huawei Consumer Cloud Service spoke about Huawei Cloud : Everything as a Service. In this keynote, two new regions were announced, and ten new services launched include MacroVerse aPaaS, OptVerse AI Solver, Huawei Cloud Stack 8.1, Pangu drug molecule model, and SparkRTC. Zhang also announced the first virtual human, Yunsheng, to join…