Author: Staff Writer

After becoming the country’s first retailer to tap into the Roblox space in 2022, Game launches Season 2 of ‘the Game game’ on the platform on 4 August 2023, bringing with it a new first for South Africa – locally-inspired and designed user generated content (UGC). Within the first hour of the GAME Game going live, it amassed more than 10 000 plays, with all limited UGC items (over 1000 units) claimed within this time frame. I attached an image of this limited piece, which was a groove-powered jetpack – complete with a boom box. Comments from players included feedback…

Our youth will be tomorrow’s leaders. This is something we frequently hear, but how are we preparing them?  South Africa is a nation with many issues, and the ongoing problems that South African youth face today are extremely troubling. In this article, we speak to industry experts and ask them how we can help prepare our children for the future.  Future-proofing youth with software development skills The most in-demand expertise and one of the most challenging sets of skills to get on the South African market actually remain inside the software development field. Andrew Bourne, Regional Manager, Africa at technology…

Continued growth in used passenger car sales and the drop in the average used car price in July bodes  well for consumer affordability and the sustainability of the used car market.   Used car sales momentum continued to pick up in July with sales growing by 8% month-on-month. A total of 32,090 units were sold, reflecting an increase of 2,434 units over June, according to AutoTrader Used Car Sales data.    The current value of these used cars sold to date swelled a further 7.3% month-on-month to a whopping R12,932,363,057. And year-on-year growth rose 7.8% over July 2022’s cumulative total…

Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are embracing the call from their CEOs and board members to take a more strategic role in the business – from being more involved in environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives – to spearheading digital transformation to shape the future of the business. However, the CFO’s traditional role of financial scorekeeping, regulatory reporting, and cost optimisation is just as crucial as ever in light of chronic inflation, slow economic growth, and a heavier compliance burden. Forward-thinking CFOs increasingly seek new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) to co-pilot this complex…

Knife Capital reached final close for its $50 million or R941 million African Series B expansion fund, Knife Fund III. The Fund supports the expansion of African innovation-driven companies to fill a critical follow-on funding gap, as lead investor and through co-investment with other credible funders across the continent. The focus is on high-growth scalable South African B2B technology companies that have impact potential and show strong returns through exit optionality. The fund will also back entrepreneurs in other African countries who fit this investment profile in collaboration with experienced local partners. Support to African startups at the early growth…

MultiChoice Africa Holdings B.V (MAH) announced today that it had notified DStv subscribers of its withdrawal of services from Malawi with immediate effect. This follows the injunction issued by the High Court in Lilongwe in a matter between MultiChoice Malawi (MCM) and the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) prohibiting an adjustment to the DStv tariffs. MCM said it does not offer the DStv service to the public and therefore cannot set or adjust tariffs for this service, a point repeatedly made to MACRA. As a result, the order handed down to MCM is incapable of being implemented by them but…

On Sunday, August 6th 2023, The Women’s Netball World Cup Finals, one of the world’s biggest female sporting events, took place on African soil. On the sidelines of the court was a spread of female camerawomen, an initiative spearheaded by the event’s production partner, SuperSport, to have women lead editing, camera, and production crews.  The impact that this may have had on young women and girls watching the event could be far-reaching. Research suggests that the creation of same-gender role models for youth is linked to career choices in previously male-dominated fields such as STEM, later in their lives. A…

The explosion of generative AI has accelerated the need for data literacy in what was already a fast-paced, data-driven world. Data literacy is no longer a nice-to-have skill but a must-have in any field. To help more people develop these critical skills, SAS has launched its second, free Data Literacy e-learning course, Data Literacy in Practice, that empowers individuals and professionals to explore and visualise data with confidence. “In a world overflowing with data, unlocking its power sets you apart. Data literacy is more relevant than ever for young learners and professionals wishing to upskill and reskill,” said Dr. Emily Pressman,…

FTTsmB  is a new category of business fibre from fibre ISP Atomic Access that’s up to 75% more affordable than legacy business fibre (FTTB). “FTTsmB or Fibre To The small/medium Business is the premium-economy version of high-speed business fibre, except for the fact that SMBs always receive first-class treatment,” says Nick Soper, Atomic Access MD. Dark fibre-based FTTB offers the fastest and most reliable internet for business. However, it’s usually very expensive, slow to install and requires long-term contracts. This often puts high-speed reliable business fibre out of reach of SMBs. “At around R2 000 per month as opposed to…

MTN’s Mobile Money offering, MoMo, is inviting skilled tech developers and innovators to participate in the MTN MoMo API Hackathon which is aimed at producing solutions that shape the future of demand-driven financial services. This exciting event is giving South Africans the opportunity to win $10,000 or R185 925.00 and to be part of making a real impact on financial services in the country. Spanning across 15 countries, each with its own prize pool, the MoMo Hackathon is now open to South Africans for the first time and is open from 31 July until 9 October 2023. “The MTN MoMo…