Author: Staff Writer
Telkom Financial Services and Engen are set to introduce a first-of-its kind feature designed for tipping petrol attendants and Quickshop cashiers at Engen service stations. From 14 September 2021, the pioneering Engen 1app will feature a new “Tip an Attendant” function, which allows motorists and shoppers across South Africa to tip Engen staff for great service. South Africans are generally known for being some of the friendliest people in the world and this couldn’t be truer when referring to friendly customer service from staff at Engen service stations. From freestyle Friday dance choreography that circulates regularly on social media, to…
African FinTech platform Finclusion Group has secured $20million or R283 in a funding round with leading FinTech debt financing provider, Lendable. Finclusion uses advanced proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms alongside pioneering technology to grant safe financial services, all while maintaining accurate automated credit decisions. This partnership will help Finclusion widen its reach in East and South African markets thus making a sustained impact and driving financial inclusivity in segments that have traditionally been underserved. Finclusion CEO Timothy Nuy says that the debt raise is further confirmation of the passion and hard work displayed by the team in creating a range…
Chinese search engine giant Baidu has started public testing of Apollo Go in Shanghai, marking the fifth city where passengers have the ability to trial the robotaxi mobile platform. Baidu is the only company to offer this service in the three first-tier cities of Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. The Shanghai operation will include 150 stations opened in phases throughout the city to provide users convenient access to residential areas, commercial areas, offices and public transportation. Passengers can use the service from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. every day of the week. This announcement comes on the heels of another milestone for Baidu Apollo – the expansion of Apollo Go…
Vodacom has installed new solar-powered sites in Polokwane, Vereeniging and Bloemfontein. Vodacom has invested over R8 million in these solar-powered sites, as part of its ongoing commitment to securing alternative energy sources to power its operations where feasible. These three sites are in addition to a solar project installed at a base station controller site in Randburg, Gauteng, in May last year. Collectively, the three new sites will generate approximately 127 MWh of energy on an annual basis, which will help to reduce the telco’s carbon emissions and lower its electricity consumption. The solar panels will also ease the load…
Vodacom Group today announced details of the global Partnership for Ethiopia (the Consortium) that was recently awarded a mobile telecommunications license in Ethiopia. The consortium was awarded the mobile telecommunications licence in June. Vodacom sais a new operating company in Ethiopia, Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC (“Ethiopia Opco”) through a holding company in the Netherlands (“Holding Company”) has been established to commence with the provision of mobile telecommunications services. The consortium includes Safaricom PLC; Vodacom; Vodafone Group Plc; Sumitomo Corporation, one of the largest international trading and business investment companies in Japan; and CDC Group, a United Kingdom based development finance…
Over this past weekend Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor officially opened a newly refurbished Science Laboratory and library at Siqongweni High School at Imbali Township in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. The science laboratory has been built with the help of Huawei South Africa at a cost of approximately R 500 000. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) renovated and equipped the library. Huawei further pledged to bring the school’s computer lab back to operation after it was recently robbed. Huawei will supply the additional equipment that has not been recovered by police. Huawei also donated a smart, multi-function…
African Bank has appointed Unathi Mtya as Group Chief Information Officer. Unathi joins the Group Executive Committee. Mtya joins African Bank from Grindrod Bank, where she was the Chief Technology Officer. She was responsible for the efficient handling of the information technology of the bank, planning and aligning IT within the business and managing the transition to new technologies. She has spent time understanding the biggest technology trends in the banking industry namely the acceleration of new technologies, the collaboration of banks and Fintechs and the growing importance of customer experience. Mtya has led several portfolios across a wide spectrum…
A global shift towards working from home during the pandemic and a surge in ransomware attacks over the past year is driving premium prices higher and leading to tougher terms and conditions for cyber-insurance. This highlights why it’s more important than ever for South African enterprises to tighten their information security policies and processes. That’s according to Paul Lowings, Security Executive at new-age solutions and systems integrator, +OneX. He says that a rise in cyber-insurance claims over the past year and a half is prompting insurance companies to more closely scrutinise the systems, policies and processes in place at companies…
Having achieved great success in the fibre-to-the-home market, integrated ICT and infrastructure provider Vox is looking to build on these strengths by expanding their push into the fibre-to-the-business market with bundled offerings that are designed to bring more value and savings to local companies in a tough economic environment. The COVID pandemic and resulting intermittent lockdowns – together with the looming threat of loadshedding – have resulted in a paradigm shift in business, with many having to adopt remote working policies, which includes adopting solutions to make their onsite data and applications more widely available and finding innovative ways of…
Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay Portal, its first-ever wireless gaming headphones are available in South Africa. Featuring a sophisticated aesthetic, premium materials, and immersive sound, Beoplay Portal brings all the hallmarks of Bang & Olufsen to the world of gaming — and beyond. Whether used for immersive gaming experiences, watching movies, or enjoying music, Beoplay Portal easily adapts to the situation, offering an impressive set of features including low-latency surround sound, outstanding microphone performance, Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency Mode, and an elegant user interface. These expertly crafted lightweight headphones are built for long-lasting comfort, ease of use, and superior acoustic…
MTN has announced a mobile money partnership with Africa’s leading payments technology company, Flutterwave. This partnership will allow businesses integrating Flutterwave in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia to receive payments via MTN Mobile Money (MoMo). MTN MoMo is a FinTech platform providing consumers and businesses with an electronic wallet, enabling electronic transfers and payments as well as access to digital and financial services. At the end of June 2021, MTN MoMo had 48.9 million active users and 581,514 merchants. MoMo enables businesses to accept and make payments within the mobile money ecosystem. This new partnership will enable Flutterwave…
Investec Ltd and Investec plc have both been approved for secondary listings on A2X Markets and their shares will be available for trade from Thursday 16 September 2021. Investec Limited will retain its listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), the Namibia Stock Exchange (NSX) and the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) and its issued share capital will be unaffected by its secondary listing on A2X. Investec plc will retain its listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the JSE and its issue capital will also remain unaffected. These new listings follow the listings of Investec’s Top 40 Tri ETN…
Vehicle-recovery and fleet-intelligence company Netstar, a subsidiary of Altron, has appointed Clifford de Wit as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). De Wit will take over from current CTO Francois Stols, who is retiring at the end of the year. De Wit is highly respected in the South African technology space. In 1998 he helped start one of the world’s first internet-banking solutions for Nedbank. In 2009, he launched Microsoft’s SA BizSpark start-up programme. The appointment of De Wit will significantly strengthen Netstar’s technology capability, leaving the pioneering telematics company well-positioned to drive the next phase of industry innovation. “I’m really excited…
FlexClub, the innovative global vehicle subscription marketplace, has partnered with the sole distributor of Bajaj Auto in South Africa, to offer motorcycle subscriptions to individuals and businesses in South Africa. The partnership means that safe, reliable and highly economical vehicles are now accessible and affordable for the many thousands of independent delivery drivers in South Africa. According to Darren Venter, Head of Operations in South Africa at FlexClub, the fuel-efficient 125cc Bajaj CT motorcycles are a compelling and economical transport option for independent couriers who contract for food and goods delivery companies like Uber Eats, Mr D, Bolt, OneCart, Checkers,…
A new artificial intelligence (AI) platform has been unveiled by Telkom, in collaboration with Enlabeler, which could have a far-reaching impact on the education, health and business sectors. The new AI platform translates speech into text from English and local languages. It has a unique ability to interpret South African accents. The platform, izwe.ai, has been officially launched at the AI Expo Africa 2021, the largest business-focused Artificial Intelligence, Robotic Process Automation and 4IR trade event in Africa, running from September 7-9. Izwe.ai offers transcription and translation across a range of languages, as well as a number of text classification…
For the first time in South Africa, car buyers can enjoy a complete end-to-end digital vehicle shopping experience, saving them vast amounts of time and energy, through the new Avo virtual vehicle mall feature. This is the latest in the evolution of the super app, Avo by Nedbank, which was launched in May 2020, changing the way people interact with e-commerce. ‘While there are already quite a few websites and aggregators where people can browse vehicles, the existing options are still very limited,’ says Julie Vetter, Avo Executive at Nedbank. ‘While these online portals are offered to a client to…
Wits University today invited Africa’s research community to join its newly formed AI Africa Consortium which aims to develop a collaborative network focussed on the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and the application of AI in research and innovation. Addressing the virtual opening of AI Expo Africa 2021, the largest business-focused AI event in Africa, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Wits University, announced the ambitious partnership, saying AI and machine learning (ML) “offers huge opportunities for development and progress in Africa”. “For us to fully participate in the 21st Century, we must use this ‘scientific renaissance’ to drive…
Forge Academy, South Africa’s first fully inclusive artificial intelligence laboratory, is offering 33 interns the opportunity of a lifetime. Selected interns will grow their digital skillsets and gain valuable experience in the 4IR disciplines of software development, user experience (UX) design, 3D graphics, game design and much more. The internship programme, which is sponsored by Nokia, will begin with selected applicants completing a four-week evaluation bootcamp. From this bootcamp, the final 33 interns will be chosen to work at Forge Academy for a 12-month period. Each student will have an accredited qualification to assist in securing career opportunities. Interns will…
The headwinds and economic strain of the past 18 months have left many businesses with little option but to evaluate costs. However, a recent PwC report states that while 52 percent of companies plan to curb or defer investments, only 9 percent will make those cuts in digital transformation. “Clearly, effective processes, combined with strong risk discipline and using FinOps to optimise cloud costs is more important than ever before. Managing through turbulence and disruption has become an essential skill for CIOs and IT decision makers,” notes Marilyn Moodley, Country Leader for South Africa and WECA (West, East, Central Africa)…
Xiaomi’s new Air Fryer, the Mi Smart Air Fryer 3.5L, is now available in South Africa and will initially be sold exclusively on Mobile in Africa’s ecommerce store. The smart product connects over Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi and is supported by the Mi Home App. It also works with Google Assistant and Alexa. According to Google Trends, which tracks popular search data, air fryer related queries grew by more than 5,000% in South Africa over the past twelve months. What’s more, in 2020, there was a 57% increase in people talking about healthy living on social channels over the previous year. Globally, the…
Jaguar South Africa is celebrating World EV Day on 9 September by giving away special one-on-one all-electric I-PACE driving experiences to ten lucky winners of an EV-themed quiz to be hosted on its Facebook page. Be warned, this is not your average social media-style quiz designed for maximum engagement with quickfire, easy-to-answer questions. Contestants will need some genuine interest in electric vehicles, the future of mobility and all-electric Formula E motorsport to succeed and scoop the prizes. The quiz will run over seven consecutive days, with one question published per day, beginning on World EV Day on 9 September. To qualify…
M-Pesa has reached 50 million monthly active customers, cementing its position as Africa’s largest FinTech platform. Launched more than 14 years ago in Kenya, M-Pesa is today available in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Ghana and Egypt. The number of active M-Pesa customers has doubled in the past five years. The milestone also comes just 18 months after Safaricom and Vodacom launched the M-Pesa Africa joint venture to accelerate growth of the service across the continent. M-Pesa Africa has been delivering digital platforms as part of its focus to be the largest fintech and digital ecosystem…
Effective today, Pick n Pay Clothing fashion ranges will be available for purchase on Zando, extending accessibility beyond its physical stores across the country and online at www.pnpclothing.co.za. “Pick n Pay Clothing customers will have more access to our clothing ranges through Zando, and we look forward to welcoming new customers who we know will enjoy the quality and affordable pieces of highly desirable fashion that we offer,” says Hazel Pillay: GM Pick n Pay Clothing. Through Zando, which is well-established in online fashion and clothing retail, Pick n Pay will be able to diversify its customer base, reaching more…
The concept of vehicle sharing is a reality in Sandton, so the thrilling prospect of driving a MINI can be available to more South Africans (including non-MINI drivers). MINI knows that MINI’s drivers and fans are forward-thinking, innovative and perhaps primed more than any other bunch of people to “get” the possibilities of the sharing economy, and embrace new ways of accessing authentic urban lifestyles. “MINI drivers are always ahead of their time and, with MINI Sharing, we will enable a group of MINI fans to participate in the burgeoning sharing economy in this country,” says Shaun Willis, Head of…
Telkom announced today that it has cut the price of the 1GB + 1GB All networks data bundle to R79 and also introduced a new 1,5GB + 1,5GB All networks data bundle at R89. These deals will initially only be available on the *180# USSD menu and from 20 September 2021 may be accessed on all other channels. Wondering if you’re eligible to get the slice on MONATE? Don’t fret, because all-networks data bundles are available for purchase to all new and existing customers (Prepaid, Post-paid and Top-up or Hybrid). While deciding on which data allocation is best for you,…