Author: Staff Writer

BrainQ, an Israeli stroke therapy technology startup, today announced it has raised a $40 million or R592 million to support a multicenter pivotal trial for its groundbreaking technology for ischemic stroke survivors in selected US hospitals.  The funding round is led by Hanaco Ventures, along with Dexcel Pharma, and Peregrine Ventures, bringing the total raised by the company to over $50 million or R739 million. This year, BrainQ received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation allowing the company to work closely with the FDA to expedite development plans and premarket clearance, with access to the new Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology pathway. “We’ve seen…

MALII FinTech platform, founded by Oratile Seabela, aims to solve the cash payment system, lack of public transport integration, financial exclusion, and inefficiencies in the minibus taxi industry. MALII is an app that enables taxi commuters to make payments without using cash. Commuters upload funds for the month in the MALII wallet, using their bank card or top up at the nearest spaza shop. They then find a QR code sticker positioned on the taxi window and can scan the QR code with their smartphone. The idea for MALII came to Oratile in 2017 while she was taking a taxi.…

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has expressed its dismay at reports that some healthcare workers, including doctors, have discouraged patients from getting COVID-19 vaccinations, based on doubts about the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness. SAMA Chairperson, Dr Angelique Coetzee, said the organisation wholly rejects any doubts about the COVID-19 vaccine. “There is high confidence among the scientific and medical community about the effectiveness and safety of the vaccines being rolled-out in South Africa, and they have also undergone safety and efficacy tests by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority. “These are overwhelming endorsements of the vaccines, and there should…

The Department of Public Enterprises has announced a master plan for the Port of Durban which will seek potential private investments of R100 billion into the port over at least the next ten years. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan says the master plan for the Port of Durban is currently undergoing consultation processes. “The Port Master Plan…will serve as a basis for investment in the port both in respect of the port infrastructure – now governed by the Transnet National Ports Authority – but also in respect of the terminals and the freight infrastructure that services these ports as well,”…

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has authorised local biotechnology company CapeBio to manufacture rapid COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kits. Announcing the approval of the test kits on Monday, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, said the COVID-19 test kits, co-developed by CapeBio and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), will help to reduce South Africa’s reliance on imports, making it easier for the country and the rest of the continent to gain speedy access to test kits. “Given Africa’s dependence on imports, the government, through the Department of Science and Innovation…

Former ICASA CEO Pakamile Pongwana has passed away, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa said in a statement. “ICASA is deeply saddened by the recent passing of its former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Pakamile Pongwana,” reads the statement. Pongwana was at the helm of ICASA as the CEO from 2013 to 2017, where he contributed immensely to the work and performance of the Authority. “He is widely regarded as one of the industry veterans and a key architect of the ICT sector since the dawn of democracy,” said ICASA. “When joining ICASA as CEO, Pongwana arrived at a time…

The 2Africa consortium, comprised of China Mobile International, Facebook, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC, announced today the addition of four new branches to the 2Africa cable. The branches will extend 2Africa’s connectivity to Seychelles, the Comoros Islands, and Angola, and bring a new landing to south-east Nigeria. The new branches join the recently announced extension to the Canary Islands. 2Africa, which will be the largest subsea cable project in the world, will deliver faster, more reliable internet service to each country where it lands. Communities that rely on the internet for services from education to healthcare,…

The new Audi’s Skysphere is a self-driving roadster that drives itself while passengers relax and can change shape at the touch of a button. Details of the new Audi’s electric concept car were revealed this week by the German carmaker. With the touch of a button, the driver can take advantage of their freedom and choose their own driving experience– either they pilot their 4.94-meter-long e-roadster themselves in “Sports” mode with a reduced wheelbase, while the rear-wheel steering ensures that the vehicle remains extremely agile despite its dimensions. Or they can choose to be chauffeured around in a 5.19-meter GT…

Disney+, the Walt Disney Company’s popular and fast-growing streaming service, is coming to South Africa to compete with Netflix, ShowMax, Amazon Prime Video and DStv Now. News24 reported that Disney’s subscription video streaming service Disney+ will finally launch in South Africa around June 2022. The publication quoted Bob Chapek, CEO of Walt Disney Company, as saying the “expanded Disney+ footprint will include parts of the Middle East and South Africa”. The Walt Disney Company Africa late on Thursday night told Channel24 in a statement: “As confirmed in The Walt Disney Company’s Q3 earnings call, Disney+ will launch in South Africa in winter…

South African venture capital firm Imvelo Ventures, founded by Capitec Bank and Empowerment Capital Investment Partners, has invested in Acumen Software, a company that is revolutionising the interaction between South Africans and their municipal service providers. Funding from Imvelo, which identifies and funds promising South African small and medium enterprises (SMMEs) across the broad spectrum of financial technology, and Sappi’s Andzani Ventures, has enabled the development of My Smart City, a platform for city residents to report service delivery issues, track reported matters, and mobilise fellow community members. Johannesburg and Cape Town are the first two cities with access to…

We all look forward to the day when we can play immersive, virtual-reality games on our 5G phones with ease and speed. But 5G’s advances in bandwidth and latency will go far beyond the consumer experience. It’s also a potential game-changer for enterprises, manufacturers, universities, hospitals, the public sector and beyond. For many of these organisations, a private 5G network will be the way to go, often in tandem with Wi-Fi 6. All will want to step up to the next level of digitalization and transformation — for example, by realising the full potential of the Internet of Things technologies. And by enabling them to build and easily…

African microinsurance FinTech aYo Holdings, together with MTN and Sanlam Life has launched two innovative insurance products in Côte d’Ivoire that will contribute towards MTN subscribers enjoying peace of mind. “It is estimated that less than 2% of the Ivorian population currently has insurance. This is because most people think insurance is only for white collar workers with high incomes,” CEO of aYo Intermediaries Cote d’Ivoire Limited, Jean-Charles N’Gotta, said. “We want to show that with aYo services, people with all levels of income can get peace of mind at an affordable cost to help take care of their financial…

Sanlam and MTN announced today that they are joining forces in an exclusive strategic alliance to distribute Sanlam insurance and investment products across Africa, further developing MTN’s mobile financial services business. The Alliance will build a digital insurance and investment business, which will be an integral part of MTN’s fintech offering. It will provide people across the continent with easier access to these services, particularly those sectors of the population that have typically been unable to access traditional distribution channels for such products. The Alliance has the potential to pre-empt and adapt to digital disruption in markets where both Sanlam…

Huawei South Africa is calling on women entrepreneurs to apply for its digital skills training programme, Women4Tech. The free online course is open to savvy, tech-forward women entrepreneurs, and aims to advance their skills and help them use new technologies to grow, improve and digitise their businesses. The training comprises of three courses, Cloud Computing and how it benefits SMME’s, digital marketing for business success, especially in an increasingly competitive online market space, and the last part of the training is an introduction to App Development and a networking opportunity with award winning App Developers within the Huawei Mobile App…

KFC launches WhatsApp-based ordering in South Africa through Chat Commerce – an innovative chat-ordering channel, which allows customers to place and pay for an order via WhatsApp. KFC celebrates 50 years in South Africa this year and this launch demonstrates a sound commitment to innovation in servicing the South African market. An e-commerce rollout is a significant technical undertaking, even on traditional channels. Providing it on WhatsApp requires a rethinking of the user journey and engagement paradigm. “As a consumer-led organisation, we understand the limitations that high data costs can pose in transacting online. WhatsApp, with its lower data use,…

Showmax Pro announced it will live stream all matches of the English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the DStv Premiership, courtesy of SuperSport in more than 50 countries across Africa. The new season of Premier League, now in its 30th year, begins on 13 August, with newly promoted Brentford hosting Arsenal to kick things off. As ever, the transfer season has had fans enthralled, with much of the focus on Tottenham striker Harry Kane’s future. For now, he is available to face Manchester City in Sunday’s Premier League season opener – according to coach Nuno Espirito Santo, at least. Manchester City are the defending…

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called for the scrapping of license booking system to make more renewal slots available to motorists in the country. The DA in Gauteng said it was concerned that motorists would not be able to renew their licenses before they expire, turning them into criminals, potentially affecting Motorists in Gauteng are anxious that their licenses will expire by the end of August and that they will be driving illegally because they cannot get online booking slots to renew their licences. Many motorists require valid licenses to retain their jobs. Should they be unable to renew their…

Refinitiv, a London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) business, announced today the launch of the Refinitiv Satrix South Africa Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) index. In collaboration with Satrix, a leading provider of index-tracking solutions in South Africa, the new index offers an innovative benchmark for investors wishing to commit capital to companies that actively invest and promote I&D values across their business operations. The index tracks the total return of select publicly-traded equities with high I&D scores on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Over a five-year period, the Refinitiv Satrix South Africa D&I index’s annualised return earned 6.56% outperforming the Refinitiv South…

The eventual post-pandemic return to work presents the perfect opportunity to reimagine workplace strategy and space planning. Already one of South Africa’s largest interior design and fit-out companies, and owned by JLL, a Fortune 500 company, Tétris Design & Build not only understand the new needs of clients, employees, and teams, but has a pool of talented women ready to shape and implement the workplace of the future. Workplace solutions that foster inclusivity while attracting younger, dynamic teams are in high demand as companies of all sizes contemplate how best to refresh and reinvigorate their offices into workplaces that are…

The Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) recently asked two of the CBD’s major players what makes the Mother City a tech hub and how the city can attract more tech titans to its shores. SweepSouth – which raised more than R60 million in funding in 2019 and additional investment in 2020 – and PayU Payment Solutions, a leading online payment service provider with operations across 17 markets, shared their insights. Currently Cape Town, ‘South Africa’s Silicon Valley’ boasts more than 450 tech firms, including ecommerce giants the Takealot Group and Amazon, and collectively employs more than 40 000…

Radisson Hotel Group is planning to build a new hotel in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, as part of its ambitious expansion plan in South Africa. Set to open at the end of 2023, the Radisson Hotel Middelburg boosts the group’s South African portfolio to 16 hotels in operation and under development. It also places Radisson firmly on track to reach its ambition of 150 hotels in operation and under development across Africa within the next five years. The contemporary new-build, 150-room hotel will be located within walking distance of the town’s major shopping complex, the Middelburg Mall, home to over 140 stores, including…

Africa is home to more than a billion people who have limited or no access to vehicle financing – and the lowest per capita vehicle ownership in the world. Moove, an African mobility FinTech, today announced that it has raised $23 million or R335 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Speedinvest and Left Lane Capital, with participation from DCM, Clocktower Technology Ventures, thelatest.ventures, LocalGlobe, Tekton, FJ Labs, Palm Drive Capital, Roka Works, KAAF Investments, Class 5 Global, and Victoria van Lennep, co-founder of Lendable. Africa specialist, Verod Kepple Africa Ventures, and one of Moove’s existing lenders,…

Eighteen months after the launch of its WomenThinkCode= initiative, WeThinkCode_ has achieved its target of recruiting at least 50% women in its student intake. The success of this groundbreaking initiative reflects an intentional effort to identify and recruit talented women into the academy. “ “We are pleased that we are able to play a tangible role in driving inclusion within South Africa’s digital sector. Women are taking a seat at the tech table,” says Nyari Samushonga, CEO WeThinkCode_. “Technology is driving growth and innovation in many of the most important sectors of the economy, and these young developers will be…

The Mandrolli Auto consortium plans to build electric cars in the Eastern Cape, including a $1.5 million or R22 million “hypercar” bearing Nelson Mandela’s signature. The Sunday Times reported that the consortium, which includes Mandela’s granddaughter Ndileka Mandela, says it had been promised $9 billion or  R131 billion by the African Diaspora Central Bank to develop and manufacture electric cars. Mandrolli, a solar and battery-powered electric vehicle startup based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and the U.S, is co-founded by Tami Mase, Ndileka, and B.Taylor. Mandrolli was birthed in the Eastern Cape, where Premier Oscar Mabuyane has agreed to support the…

MTN South Africa today announced the appointment of Cornelia van Heerden as Chief: Customer Service Operations. Her appointment is effective 1 September 2021. Van Heerden is a highly qualified business executive with both a technical and commercial background. “Our clients have faced unprecedented challenges over the past 18 months and MTN’s focus has been ensuring we continue to deliver exceptional service; despite the circumstances. With more customers relying on mobile and digital solutions than ever before, during lockdown and in the new work-from-home world, we understand that we need to ensure these demands are met and exceeded,” says MTN SA…