Author: Staff Writer

A new venture capital fund that blends investment and entrepreneurship launched today. Conducive Capital is a newly formed, majority black-owned, South African venture capital company investing in early- and growth- stage disruptive technologies that are post-revenue, capital efficient, good unit economics with product market fit, and have the ability to scale their businesses both locally and globally. The company’s founding partners are Clive Butkow, founder and former CEO of Kalon Venture Partner, and Mitchan Adams, co-founder of Ozow, a leading South African fintech company, and current CEO of Aions. Prior to Clive’s role at Kalon he was the COO of…

Cell C promotes El Kope as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director on the Cell C Board. The company said this strategic move reinforces its commitment to excellence and financial leadership, harvesting from their internal top talent pool. El Kope, a Chartered Accountant and finance executive, joined Cell C in September 2022 as the Executive Head for Financial Planning & Analysis. Cell C said her exceptional performance and unwavering dedication led her to step up as Acting CFO following the departure of the previous CFO in August 2023. El has a proven track record and brings a wealth of experience…

Showmax has just dropped the trailer for Tracking Thabo Bester, the true-crime documentary South Africa has been asking for ever since GroundUp first broke the news that the convicted murderer and rapist did not burn to death in Cell 35 after all and was instead shopping at Woolworths in Sandton City. Thabo Bester was the most searched person in South Africa on Google in 2023, with his co-accused, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, just behind in fourth place, as the whole country obsessed over Bestermania and the stormy tale of love, murder, deception and corruption. Daily Maverick named them both ‘SA Villain…

The BMW Group presents a fusion of art and innovation at the Frieze Los Angeles art fair in the form of the BMW i5 Flow NOSTOKANA. The one-of-a-kind vehicle combines colour-change technology developed by BMW with the artistic language of South African artist Esther Mahlangu. The designer piece, with sections of attached film that can be electronically animated, embodies the latest development in colour-change technology for vehicle surfaces in cooperation with E Ink. The BMW i5 Flow NOSTOKANA celebrates its world premiere at the fair opening on 29 February. The contemporary tribute recalls the BMW Art Car designed by Mahlangu…

Eskom board announced the arrival of Eskom Group Chief Executive, Dan Marokane, who officially assumes his role today. He re-joins Eskom at a time when the organisation faces an existential challenge and is undergoing significant changes that require hands-on, bold, and decisive leadership. Eskom Board Chairman Mteto Nyati expressed confidence in Marokane’ s abilities, as well as in the leadership and staff of Eskom, emphasising their collective commitment to turning the organisation around. “We expect Dan and his leadership team to accomplish at least two critical tasks. First, they must address the current business challenges. Loadshedding must become a thing…

The newly-formed National Financial Ombud Scheme (NFO) today announced the commencement of operations as a single, one-stop, all-in-one dispute resolution service made up of the four (4) former existing services – the Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS); the Credit Ombud (CO); the Ombudsman for Long-Term Insurance (OLTI); and the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance (OSTI). The Ombud Council, granted the NFO recognition (under section 194 of the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 9 of 2017 (FSR Act), as an industry ombud scheme on 23 February 2024. Complaints will be accepted from 1 March 2024. All the services and assistance previously provided to…

Mastercard and MTN Fintech have signed a multi-market agreement that will set in motion a new era of collaboration to connect millions of people and small businesses across Africa with digital tools to transact through secure mobile payments, expanding access to the benefits of the cashless digital economy. The partnership will use Mastercard’s cutting edge technology and capabilities to support MTN’s ambition to become Africa’s largest fintech platform for both merchants and consumers. This follows Mastercard and MTN’s recent agreement for a minority investment into MTN Group Fintech – the digital financial services arm of Africa’s largest mobile network operator…

Transnet acting CEO Michelle Phillips has been appointed as its new boss, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan announced on Wednesday. The Minister also announced the appointment of Nosipho Maphumulo as the Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO). “These are critical appointments which represent our steadfast commitment as government to equip Transnet with a competent and experienced executive leadership team to drive the strategic interventions that the board has put in place as part of the Transnet recovery plan,” Gordhan said. Phillips is currently acting as the Group Chief Executive of Transnet, and there has been improvements in the performance of ports…

At MWC 2024, Huawei officially released the National Cloud 2.0 solution worldwide. Huawei aims to help government organizations around the world accelerate national digital transformation and promote intelligence. Hu Yuhai, Vice President of Huawei Hybrid Cloud, said: “Global digital transformation has reached a new stage of full intelligence driven by data and AI. The National Cloud 2.0 solution from Huawei provides trusted cloud infrastructure, innovative cloud services, and extensive industry know-how. We aim to help governments achieve national digital visions faster.” The National Cloud 2.0 Solution Has Been Officially Released Today, more than 170 countries and regions have announced digital…

During MWC Barcelona 2024, Huawei held the Huawei Talent Summit and made announcements relevant to several talent development initiatives, including: the launch of the applications for the global ITU-Huawei Generation Connect Young Leadership Programme; the announcement that the joint project between Huawei and UNESCO’s Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) will be implemented in Morocco; and Huawei Cloud’s startups programme. The theme of the event was “I C Talent: Nurturing Excellence in a Digital World”. Attendees included representatives from international organizations like ITU and UNESCO, government officials from Greece, Kenya, and Mexico, female industry leaders, entrepreneurs participating in the Huawei Cloud…