Author: Staff Writer
Rapid population growth and increased urbanisation will have a significant impact on South Africa’s transport infrastructure as freight and passenger transport demand rises. The transport sector’s only option to keep up is through digitalisation, Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) COO Tshepo Kgobe told delegates attending the Huawei Connect 2021 Transportation Summit held in the midst of Transport Month in South Africa. A GMA study conducted in 2019 found that by 2025 Gauteng’s roads would be so congested that traffic on the freeway would slow down to 10 kilometres an hour. This means that it will take four hours to travel from…
While South Africans have been embracing virtual cards for some time, the use of this digital payment method has seen a dramatic rise recently. Data from Standard Bank shows that physical card uptake in 2020 slowed significantly, down over 50% from 2019. Meanwhile, the number of virtual cards issued grew by over 400% in 2020. “We’re seeing a similar trend in 2021, with more than 24 000 virtual cards issued year-to-date,” says Arno von Helden, Co-founder, and Head of Standard Bank’s Shyft Forex App. “Online purchasing, which has increased exponentially since March 2020 when the COVID-19-induced lockdown commenced, is a…
Diversified mining company Exxaro Resources’ Cennergi and the Amakhala Emoyeni Community Fund Trust (AECFT, the beneficiary of ED and SED funds from the 134 MW Amakhala Emoyeni Wind Farm) in partnership with the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality did an on-site inspection of the erection of thirty (30) solar powered streetlights. The battery pack streetlights aim to assist with lighting up the most vulnerable parts of Cookhouse to prevent crime and promote safety. Roland Tatnall, Exxaro’s MD for Energy explained that the electrification of this area through solar energy highlights Exxaro’s sustainable energy values and how the mining company is…
SEACOM’s consumer-focused, fibre to the home (FTTH) and fibre to the small business offering, WonderNet, is launching a ground-breaking campaign to shine a light on cyber wellness, cyber safety, and the importance of healthy digital habits. In partnership with Cyber Safety Change Agent and SaveTNet founder Rianette Leibowitz, the company hopes to educate customers about the importance of online safety, and enable them to be responsible digital citizens. The initiative will focus on cyber wellness in the home, office, and at school. Demystifying cyber wellness and cyber safety Consumers might be familiar with terms around cybersecurity, cyberattacks, and cyberbullying, but ‘cyber wellness’ is relatively new. However, WonderNet believes that as…
With the growing number of online transactions taking place each day comes a marked rise in cyber-attacks and security events. According to Ryan Mer, Managing Director, eftsure Africa, a Know Your Payee™ (KYP) platform provider, fraudsters are constantly finding new ways to exploit vulnerabilities and attack corporate payment systems. “Many scams, hacks and security breaches begin with social engineering, a term used to describe the act of convincing someone to divulge information that they shouldn’t share or take an action that’s not in their or the organisations best interests, such as clicking a suspicious link, or changing a supplier’s banking…
Huawei’s Rotating Chairman Ken Hu has kicked off the 12th annual Global Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF) in Dubai with a call for the ICT industry to work together on the next stage of 5G development. Speaking on the current state of 5G development and new opportunities moving forward, Hu noted, “In just five years of commercial deployment, 5G has provided a considerable upgrade in mobile experience for consumers, and it’s already starting to empower different industries around the globe. Progress was much faster than we expected, especially in terms of the subscriber base, network coverage, and the sheer number of…
Luno, the crypto company founded by two South Africans, now has 9 million customers in over 40 countries. The remarkable growth of the company is illustrated by the addition of one million new customers in just over four months. South Africa is one of Luno’s strongest markets – over 30% of the one million new customers added since June are based in South Africa. Marius Reitz, GM for Africa at Luno commented: “The average value of first deposits made by our million new customers is around R550 (USD37). Most new customers (67%) bought Bitcoin, while 43% bought Ripple and 20%…
Today, General Electric (GE) announced a five-year, $2.5 million or R37 million investment in Johannesburg to launch Next Engineers, a global initiative focused on increasing the diversity of young people in engineering. GE has selected Johannesburg as one of four inaugural locations, aiming to inspire more than 3,500 local students aged 13 to 18 in grade eight to twelve, provide first-hand experiences in engineering, and award financial support to pursue further education in engineering. GE is partnering with PROTEC, South Africa’s leading non-profit organisation that empowers local students to pursue and grow in STEM-based careers, to implement Next Engineers locally.…
Jaguar Land Rover has trialled the use of secure blockchain technology to ensure full transparency within a sustainable leather supply chain. In the world-first, Jaguar Land Rover partnered with supply chain traceability provider Circulor, leading UK leather manufacturer Bridge of Weir Leather Company and the University of Nottingham to trial the use of traceability technology in the leather supply chain. As well as tracking compliance, the digital process enabled Jaguar Land Rover to assess the carbon footprint of its leather supply network, working with UK-based Bridge of Weir Leather Company to trace its lowest carbon leather from farm to finished article…
Willem Kitshoff, CEO of the EdTech company d6 Group, today announced that the cloud-based management platform for schools has received a capital injection from Knife Capital, Hlayisani Capital and NuState Ventures. d6 is currently the most widely used cloud-based school communication and management platform in South Africa and the investment will be used primarily for international expansion and to further product enhancements. “We are extremely excited about our new investors because of their proven track record and ability to support tech businesses to scale internationally,” said Kitshoff. “We have a strong market footprint and technology foundation and with this new strategic…
Telecoms startup NoPBX has activated over 1,000 new PBX-over-GSM switchboards since its commercial launch in October 2020. “The launch of our smartphone-based cloud PBX system has proved especially timeous as SMEs push back against the Coronavirus slump by adopting new, more effective and more affordable technologies to do business better,” says NoPBX co-founder Anton Potgieter. The pandemic forced SMEs to rapidly explore new digital solutions that would enable them to stay in business and to operate leaner businesses as the economy contracted. “Developed in South Africa, NoPBX enables users to start making business calls on their new business phone number…
Vodacom Financial and Digital Services has officially launched its much anticipated VodaPay super app. Available to customers on any mobile network, VodaPay launches with significant partners and discounts including exclusive R1 deals on multiple products on the app. The VodaPay super app is available for download from Apple and Android app stores. VodaPay delivers a digital shopping, lifestyle and financial platform for both consumers and businesses. It is backed by Alipay technology that powers over 1.2 billion users and almost 100 million merchant partners, using state of the art technology including artificial intelligence (AI). This is the first partnership of…
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…