Author: Staff Writer
Pieter Boone, the CEO of Pick n Pay, has called for the liquor ban to be lifted by the government. South Africa moved to an adjusted level 4 lockdown at the end of June, with a complete prohibition on the sale of alcohol in place. The alcohol industry has faced various forms of restrictions since South Africa introduced its first COVID-19 restrictions in March 2020. Estimates show that the latest four-week ban has put 9,206 jobs in the alcohol industry at risk, with a potential loss of R10.2 billion in taxes and excise duties. Commenting on progress in recovering from…
PayU, the payments and FinTech business of Prosus, has announced its collaboration with Celo, the mobile-first, open-source blockchain ecosystem focused on making DeFi accessible to anyone with a smartphone. In addition to a purchase of CELO, the utility and governance token for the Celo community, PayU has partnered with payment infrastructure company First DAG and Celo’s Alliance For Prosperity to offer stablecoin payments. With this integration, almost half a million of PayU’s merchants will be able to accept Celo’s stablecoin, cUSD. The move will open the doors for millions of people in emerging markets who are underserved by traditional financial…
New data released by Netstar has revealed the massive impact the protests and looting of last week have had on the trucking industry’s ability to deliver much-needed goods to market. Netstar says three major clients lost more than 613 000km in delivery miles in just five days. That is the equivalent of traveling around the globe 15 times. According to the telematics company between July 10th and 16th their clients’ ability to deliver goods across the country fell by more than 74% when compared to the previous three months data. It says between these three clients nearly 30 000 (thirty thousand) delivery…
South African enterprises took a step backward in digital transformation over the first year of the pandemic, as disruptions, lockdowns and staff unable to maintain operations remotely slowed down the roll-out of new systems at head offices. This is one of the startling findings of the Digital Corporation in South Africa 2021 research study, conducted by World Wide Worx with the support of Syspro, Dell Technologies, Intel and Cycan. The slow-down came despite expectations that remote working would accelerate digital transformation, due to the demands it placed on companies to be able to operate digitally. As many as two-thirds of…
Telkom today revealed its new music streaming platform, in partnership with Tencent-owned JOOX, available from the Huawei AppGallery and Google Play Store. Telkom recognizes that the landscape of music streaming is changing and highlights that the stand-out feature of its music app is the fact that it focuses on data-saving and shared music experiences between users. “In true Telkom style, our mission is to leave no man behind and we are thrilled to introduce this offering. We’ve introduced a bouquet of products recently to cater to the content needs of our customers, including video-on-demand and gaming services; and this closes…
A revolutionary new approach to offering Ultra-Personalised, Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Healthcare from tech-trendsetting company Cortex Logic is set to transform the way medical aid schemes, consumers and corporates offering employee benefits as part of their EAP (Employee Assistance Programmes) view their current healthcare offering. The Journey Wellness platform is perfectly timed to coincide with the current global shift in Healthcare, as the focus moves from a disease-management model to one that encourages optimum health and disease-avoidance, targeting younger as well as existing members with a holistic, pro-active offering. Corporates and medical schemes are realising that they need to offer their employees…
Enygma Ventures announced today it is investing R4 million into Feelgood Health, a go-to-one-stop natural health retailer and wholesaler, in South Africa. Enygma Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in women entrepreneurs across the SADC region. “Of the many things that the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted, the need to have steady and reliable access to health supplies has been at the top of the list” said Lelemba Phiri, Principal and Operating Partner for Enygma Ventures. “The Feelgood Health team brings decades of experience products. We are excited to see them scale at a time when natural health products…
Naspers announced on Wednesday a R34 million investment in InsurTech business Ctrl, through its early-stage business funding initiative Naspers Foundry. Ctrl is a digital short-term insurance advice platform that was founded in 2017. Ctrl provides a unique tech solution to the short-term insurance industry and consumers through its single platform, which connects consumers, brokers and insurers in one place. The platform enables brokers to provide insurance advice digitally and allows underserved consumers to easily compare multiple quotes, obtain advice, accept cover and manage their policies. “Ctrl has created a smart digital platform that unlocks consumer choice and competitive pricing in…
The South African Post Office has warned the public of email and text messages meant to convince the receiver to pay money into a fraudulent account. The Post Office said the latest text message includes the name of person who is receiving the message and either states that the address of the receiver is illegible, or that the parcel can only be released once a clearance fee has been paid. “The emails and messages differ in format, but they all contain a link. Should the receiver click on the link, a page requesting payment opens where the receiver can make…
My Smart City citizen’s platform was built to make it easy for South Africans to track and manage service delivery issues. The platform has been developed by Acumen Software, a software development and business consulting company. The My Smart City is a citizen platform that allows city residents to engage service providers within a city. These service providers include Municipal Services, Emergency Services, Private Services, and events in the city. My Smart City is a collaborative platform that allows citizens to engage key stakeholders in their community in a dialogue, sharing ideas and concerns to improve the services of the…
Zadara, edge cloud services provider, today announced that Africa Data Centres, Africa’s largest network of interconnected, carrier- and cloud-neutral data centre facilities, and service provider Global Sense have added its edge cloud services to their marketplace. Zadara’s resilient, enterprise-grade products and services, including its Federated Edge program, are now available in Midrand, South Africa, and will soon be expanded into all Africa Data Centres locations to serve enterprise customers throughout the continent. With data centers located across Africa’s major regional business and trade hubs, Africa Data Centres sits at the heart of Africa’s digital transformation. These locations are rapidly emerging…
Swiggy, India’s online food delivery platform, raises $1.25 billion or R18 billion funding led by Prosus and SoftBank. This investment will further accelerate Swiggy’s strategy of growing its core food delivery business and building new food and non-food offers in 2021 and beyond. To support this, Swiggy will enhance its capabilities in technology and AI, and strengthen teams across Engineering, Product, Data Science and Analytics as well as in business and supply chain for its newer initiatives. Founded in 2014, Swiggy is leading the hyperlocal delivery market in India, connecting consumers to over 150,000 restaurant partners and stores in over…
With the advent of electric vehicles in the mainstream, and the inevitable rise of EV population on South African roads comes some confusing terminology even the most avid petrolhead might grapple with. Jaguar South Africa deconstructs the alphabet soup and offers some demystification with layman’s explanations of five must-know terms in the EV sphere. kWh Forget about what these three letters stand for. Just know that a kWh is a unit of energy and in EVs it’s used to measure the storage capacity of batteries. Think of it as the size of your “fuel tank” in your electric vehicle. Where…
Johannesburg-based online marketplace for home services Kandua has announced that it has raised a significant Pre-Series A funding round from a consortium of investors that include Knife Capital and Allan Gray E-Squared Ventures (AGEV). The investment will enhance business development efforts, expand Kandua’s product offering and solidify profitable growth channels. Kandua provides a digital platform that connects small service businesses with customers in need of jobs done. Moreover, the platform provides these contractors with financial, operational, and marketing tools to improve their professionalism and access to digital financial services to improve their financial health. Kandua’s mission is to shorten the…
Zoom announced it has agreed to buy Five9’s intelligent cloud contact centre for $14.7 billion or R213 billion. The popular video conferencing firm said combining Five9’s Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) solution with Zoom’s broad communications platform will transform how businesses connect with their customers, building the customer engagement platform of the future. The company said the acquisition is expected to help enhance its presence with enterprise customers and allow it to accelerate its long-term growth opportunity by adding the $24 billion contact centre market. “We are continuously looking for ways to enhance our platform, and the addition of Five9…
Following the unrest in some parts of the country last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasised the importance of transforming the economy, creating jobs and sharing in the country’s wealth to lift millions of South Africans out of poverty. In his newsletter on Monday, the President said South Africa is not only rebuilding after the destruction of the past week; but it is also rebuilding after the devastation of decades of dispossession and exploitation. “We need to fundamentally transform our economy and our society, deepening our efforts to create employment, lift millions out of poverty and ensure that the country’s…
It’s an amusing irony that, for many of us, the quickest way to find answers to questions like these is via the technology that inspired them. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become part of the fabric of our daily lives, with smart assistants and technology now in millions of properties around the world. According to Statista, sales of Amazon’s Echo units reached 32 million in 2018 and are expected to hit 130 million by 2025. Advances in technology also form the foundation of the world’s shift towards hybrid work, which has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Herding people to the…
Akiba Digital, a South African-based FinTech startup, announced on Friday it has raised over $1.1 million or R15.8 million in funding pre-seed funding to connect small businesses to lenders. Akiba Digital is lowering the barriers to entry to enable small businesses in South Africa to unlock financing through their lending partners. “This year we are launching a Mandela day campaign to help 67 SMEs in July to rebuild after the recent disruptions in South Africa. We are looking to partner with lenders who want to help SMEs rebuild their businesses,” said Tebogo Mokwena, co-founder and CEO of Akiba Digital. “Through…
ICT tech company Huawei has announced plans to invest $150 million or R2.1 billion in youth digital talent development over the next five years. “Today we are announcing Huawei’s Seeds for the Future Program 2.0. As part of our commitment to continuously developing talent, we will invest US$150 million in this program over the next five years and help university students and young people improve their digital skills. This program is expected to benefit another 3 million people,” said Huawei’s Chairman Liang Hua. The announcement comes as the world marked Youth Skills Day on July 15th, aimed at recognizing the strategic…
4 AX listed Heartwood Properties is spearheading in Somerset West new hybrid office development with innovative future-focused features. It’s no secret that Somerset West has fast become one of the Western Cape’s leading semigration destinations. The little town has a lot going for it which makes it incredibly desirable for people who are looking to move away from the city in search of a better quality of life. The pandemic, lockdown and remote working has only amplified the semigration trend, but now as many companies contemplate bringing employees back to the office, the big debate is about how. The new…
The DA will lay charges of treason and terrorism against the instigators of the unrest that led to widespread looting and destruction in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng. Adv Glynnis Breytenbach, the DA Shadow Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, said in a statement today that DA has seen WhatsApp chats between individuals who have identified themselves as being part of a number of ANC branches in KwaZulu-Natal whose messages appear to indicate their intentions to destabilise and remove the current government. “Under South African law, treason is defined as any conduct unlawfully committed by a person owing allegiance to…
Small businesses have suffered extraordinarily at the hands of the pandemic, with certain sectors feeling the true brunt of lost business, but July brings with it a slew of additional challenges that will affect SMEs – and their supply chains – financially. A trifecta of cost increases came into play over the past few weeks, affecting, among other things, the cost of goods and raw materials, consumers’ pockets and quite literally, the price to keep the lights on. This as electricity increased again, municipal services including water and sanitation and property rates rose and fuel prices shot up thanks to…
Ex-Global Switch Managing Director to lead data centre platform expansion as Africa’s data demand accelerates. Actis, the global sustainable infrastructure investor, and Convergence Partners have appointed Jasper Lankhorst as the CEO of the group’s pan-African data centre platform. Jasper will be responsible for the expansion of data centres across the continent to meet Africa’s accelerating demand for data and digital infrastructure. The new appointment follows Actis’ wider strategy to capitalise on the growing demand for digital infrastructure across the globe. With over 25 years of experience within the international data centre and internet infrastructure sector, Jasper will lead on expanding…
Employee wellness app Strove has raised a R4 million seed funding round led by VC firm Launch Africa. Strove, founded in 2020 by Chris Bruchhausen in partnership with venture builder The Delta, released their initial product in January this year and has already raised R4 million. Strove is an activity-based mobile rewards application that empowers organisations to inspire their employees to live a healthy and active life, combatting inactivity, burnout, and chronic stress. It uses activity-tracking and gamification to incentivize workforces to be their best selves, with rewards coming from over a dozen partner brands, such as Old Khaki, Poetry,…
CMCNetworks, Africa, and the Middle East’s premier data network provider has announced enhancements to its SD-WAN delivery network. Long recognized as an innovator in the world of networking, CMC Networks has changed the game in service delivery by standardizing on Juniper Networks’ STEP (Service and Topology Exchange Protocol) for service delivery to its customer base across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. The move allows CMC to leverage the intelligence of Juniper Session Smart™ Routers to build an infrastructure that can learn network topology and service information dynamically, enabling the delivery of intelligent services with unprecedented speed and efficiency. Geoff Dornan,…