Author: Staff Writer
DLO Resources, a black female-owned strategic investor, has bought 51% shareholding in Conco Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of Consolidated Power Projects. Conco Energy Solutions will be rebranded into DLO Energy Solutions. The transaction will enable DLO Resources to create South Africa’s first majority-black female-owned engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) & operations and maintenance (O&M) in the automation and protection space. “The importance of this acquisition for us as DLO Energy Solution is that it will finally lead to meaningful participation of black women in the energy sector, not just through shareholding but through the day-to-day involvement in the operations,” said…
Pick n Pay Smart Shopper loyalty members have another way of earning loyalty points, this time on all their travel bookings with South Africa’s newest flexible airline, LIFT. Smart Shopper members who book a LIFT flight online or in-store at any Pick n Pay nationwide, will earn 3X more loyalty points. Smart Shopper customers can use points earned when flying with LIFT and can spend these as real cash-back when shopping with Pick n Pay or with Smart Shopper partners. Smart Shopper and LIFT Airline will officially launch their partnership on Monday, 2nd August 2021. To celebrate a union that…
South African businesses, already under severe economic strain, are now counting the costs of rapidly increasing internal payments fraud. According to Ryan Mer, Managing Director, eftsure Africa, a Know Your Payee™ (KYP) platform provider, the number of recent high-profile cases before the courts only partly reflects the true scale of the problem. Estimates suggest that it costs the private sector more than R2 billion every year to combat theft and fraud. According to a PWC report, South Africa was ranked as having one of the worst white-collar crime rates in the world. A similar study conducted by the Association of…
To accelerate 5G in Africa, regulatory frameworks governing critical wireless backhaul spectrum, E-band (70-80 GHz), needs to be put on the agenda swiftly. This is the call made by ICT experts at the 6th Annual Sub Sahara Spectrum Management Conference which took place using a virtual format from the 20th to 22nd July 2021. For data to move from one point to another on the internet, there needs to be a medium that allows these points to interface with each other. Wireless backhaul is the use of wireless communication, such as microwave, to transport data between the wireless site and…
Go1, one of the world’s largest corporate education content hubs for on-demand training and resources, recently announced a $200 million or R2.9 billion Series D round – valuing the company at more than $1 billion or R15 billion. The online learning platform, co-founded by South African Melvyn Lubega and Australian Andrew Barnes together with their friends from high school, will be using this new investment to create new partnerships, expand its edtech product offerings, and grow its physical presence globally to support its more than 3.5 million learners at over 1,600 customer organisations worldwide. This Series D funding round was…
Capitec Bank is hiring. Big time. South Africa’s best digital bank, as rated in the SITEisfaction 2021 report, is looking to fill around 300 positions over the next few months. At a time when many companies are shedding jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and incessant low economic growth, Capitec is making room for more appointments. It’s a powerful indication that their purpose of helping South Africans simplify their financial lives so that they can live better is resonating. “We’re rapidly growing our team. South Africa’s response to our simple, transparent and affordable banking solution has been overwhelmingly…
BritBox, the British streaming joint venture between ITV and BBC Studios, is now available in South Africa at R99,99 per month or R999,99 for 12 months. After taking the United States, UK, Canada and Australia by storm and with over two million global subscriptions, BritBox will bring local consumers a wide range of top-quality viewing, including the biggest collection of British box sets, courtesy of a joint venture between British television powerhouses BBC and ITV, responsible for some of TV’s most iconic moments. Together they created a new streaming service BritBox, conveniently offering the best of both their programming –…
Pineapple announced today that it has closed Series A round at R80 million to upend the car insurance industry. The investors in the new funding include Lireas Holdings, the ASISA ESD Fund, E4E, Vunani Capital and the Old Mutual Enterprise & Supplier Development Fund. Pineapple is an InsurTech startup that has captured the hearts and minds of many South Africans. After launching in 2018, the company has won many awards locally and internationally, including MTN Consumer App of the Year, Stanford startup award, and was the first Insurtech accepted into Google’s Launchpad Accelerator Programme. Pineapple launched into the South African market…
The National Development Plan sought to leverage the country’s geographic position by transforming the country’s capital, Lomé, into a regional trading centre and transport hub; it implemented business reforms and completed large infrastructure projects to attract investment; and, it established the Business Climate Unit to coordinate economic reforms and play a key role in improving the business climate for the private sector – improving the ease of doing business in Togo as a result. Consequently, the country has prospered – with its economic and digital transformation following a trajectory that has resulted in Togo rising more than 50 places in…
In its role as a premium provider for individual mobility, the BMW Group is actively helping to create the liveable city of the future. Here, its approach to mobility also looks beyond the company’s core business. With the unveiling of the electrified bicycle Concept DYNAMIC CARGO and the e-scooter Concept CLEVER COMMUTE, the BMW Group engineers are once again demonstrating their unrivalled ability to transfer know-how from the automotive sector to concepts for micromobility vehicles. Concept DYNAMIC CARGO Bicycles offer great flexibility of use, produce zero emissions and are one of the fastest and most efficient means of transport in…
On the back of Cape Town being recognised as the tech capital of Africa, topping international rankings for foreign direct investment strategy, Ian Lessem, Managing Partner at HAVAÍC – investors in early-stage, high-growth technology businesses – says several other African cities are quickly emerging as leading startup and investment hubs to watch. “Startups in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa raised a total of US$625 million last year. Of those, Kenyan startups raised US$191 million, the most of any other African country, according to Disrupt Africa’s African Tech Startup Funding Report for 2020. Distinct startup geographies are emerging in Africa,…
The recently-released ‘State of Mobile Fraud in Africa’ report by Paris-headquartered Evina reveals that 19% of mobile payment transactions in Africa were made without the user’s consent from January 2021 to June 2021. Professional cybercriminals from around the world targeting Africa’s one billion mobile phone users also remain a significant problem in particularly vulnerable countries such as Angola and Egypt where 34% and 25.5% of mobile transactions were identified as suspect, respectively. The latest Evina report helps mobile stakeholders understand the scale of the mobile fraud challenge with key data on mobile fraud in Africa. “When it comes to fighting…
tHER350 COVID-19 grant for the jobless, hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic introduced by the South African Government last year, is back. The grant was discontinued on April 30. “This evening we are announcing a range of measures to support the recovery of the economy and provide relief to the poor and those who are vulnerable as a result of the measures that we had to impose to deal with COVID-19,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday. He added that to support those who have no means of supporting themselves, “we are reinstating the Social Relief of Distress Grant to provide a…
The South African economy and small businesses, in particular, have been dealt some hefty blows. With the COVID-19 pandemic still an ongoing stress, and even more recently the looting and destruction of property in two of our biggest provinces, thousands of brick and mortar based businesses have closed, lost vital stock and some even lost their buildings. From jobs, to supply chains and production processes, the ecosystem of small businesses in South Africa has been severely disrupted. Small businesses are the lifeline of the country’s economy and are vital to creating and securing jobs. The SME sector alone accounts for around…
Visa today announced it will buy Currencycloud, a global platform that enables banks and FinTechs to provide innovative foreign exchange solutions for cross-border payments. The acquisition builds on an existing strategic partnership between the two companies and values Currencycloud at £700 million or R14 billion inclusive of cash and retention incentives. Currencycloud’s cloud-based platform offers a broad set of APIs enabling banks and financial services providers to offer currency exchange services, including real-time notifications on foreign exchange transactions, multi-currency wallets, and virtual account management. The Currencycloud platform supports nearly 500 banking and technology clients with a reach in over 180…
MTN South Africa announced today a R350 million network investment to modernise, upgrade, build new sites and transmission links in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West. “We want to bridge the digital divide and create exciting opportunities for communities, businesses and individual users. Our investment is therefore far more than achieving market share growth in the region – it is about bringing the benefits of the digital world to more people through a stable, secure and innovative network experience,” says Kagiso Moncho, MTN General Manager for Northern Region. “We are already seeing active data users and traffic increase as more consumers…
Convergence Partners, owned by ICT industry veteran Andile Ngcaba, today announced the successful first close of its third fund, the Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund (CPDIF) at $120 million or R1.7 billion. The Rosebank-based company is a pan-African ICT–focused private equity player, delivering enhanced investment returns while underpinning Continental development. Convergence Partners has a proven record of accomplishment of developing new investment opportunities and actively adding value to investments across the lifecycle of ICT assets. The fund is targeting a final size of $250 million or R3.6 billion. Now with more than $400 million or R5.8 billion of capital under management,…
4Sight Holdings and Minopex, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DRA Global, announce the signing of a joint Memorandum of Understanding, to develop a distinctive service and solution offering for the mining and minerals industry. Minopex services customers operating in the base and precious metals, stones and bulk commodities sector. With two decades of experience managing operations and maintenance, and advising customers in this sector, Minopex is highly proficient at improving productivity sustainably and in real-time and has significant intellectual capital in this area. “Our work involves large, highly complex systems and data sets, and 4Sight provides technology platforms that are designed…
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…