Author: Staff Writer

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…

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…