Author: Staff Writer
Independent mobile payments, insights, loyalty and rewards platform, Zapper, has announced that their merchants will now be able to accept tap-on-phone payments. The new functionality gives them access to virtually all digital payments without the need for any additional point of sale hardware and irrespective of whether consumers have the Zapper app. “After a successful pilot phase, we have rolled out new functionality available to all Zapper merchants which enables them to accept physical card payments as well as mobile wallet payments, such as Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, Garmin Pay and others. The consumer simply taps the physical card or…
FIFA has teamed up with blockchain technology company Algorand to agree a sponsorship and technical partnership deal. The agreement means Algorand will become the official blockchain platform of FIFA and provide the official blockchain-supported wallet solution. As per the sponsorship agreement, Algorand will be a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Regional Supporter in North America and Europe, and a FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023™ Official Sponsor. Blockchains allow non-editable data to be permanently recorded and distributed on digital networks, while also facilitating innovations and ensuring safe, untampered exchange of value and assets such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and…
Green hydrogen will be one of the largest economic opportunities over the next 30 years. Driven by international actions to combat climate change, it has the potential to revolutionise numerous value chains in the energy industry and across both the mobility and manufacturing sectors. With rapidly improving technology and decreasing costs for fuel cells, green hydrogen is becoming a more appealing fuel alternative in Africa. At the core of green hydrogen production is the availability of renewable energy that is not being utilised for its prime role as electricity supply. For Europe, the lack of spare renewable energy capacity will…
As Vodacom and CIVH approach the regulatory and competition authorities to approve a transaction pooling their fibre network assets, SA’s Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) seeks reassurance that the mobile operator’s historical closed access culture will be swept aside should the deal succeed. ISPA’s 205 Internet Service Provider (ISP) members have, to date, struggled to obtain wholesale offerings from Vodacom for on-selling to consumers. Conversely, Vumatel and DFA have been pivotal in fostering fierce competition amongst ISPs by historically providing wholesale, fibre-based deals. Promised cash injections to advance the rollout of high-speed fibre in South Africa are to be welcomed,…
MetroFibre’s Dr Steve Booysen will hand over the reins of CEO to Jan-Jan Bezuidenhout, the current Deputy CEO of MetroFibre, effective from 1 June 2022. Booysen will step down as CEO and director of MetroFibre on 31 May 2022, and continue to provide support on a consultancy basis to the executive leadership team until the end of August 2022. “It’s been an incredible 12-year journey as a founder member and provider of seed capital back in 2010, when we founded MetroFibre. I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved, and excited at what is still to come for the business. …
MTN has joined forces with large telcos from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America to create an alliance develop startups and aid innovation in new telco technologies, such as 5G and Fibre. The alliance is known as Alaian, consisting of global telcos to reach 50 countries and 700 million customers. The members of Alaian are Bouygues Telecom, Cellnex, KPN, MTN, Telefónica and WINDTRE. The alliance is also committed to global open calls to attract companies that are aligned with its strategic innovation priorities. In this context, they are taking the opportunity to announce a global call for start-ups,…
Cybercrime is on the rise globally and Africa is not immune. In fact, South Africa has amongst the top most cybercrime incidents in the world and a lack of sufficient investment in cybersecurity has led to this crisis. This is particularly true for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) who simply don’t have the same human capital, technology assets, and financial resources as larger businesses. What these businesses need is a tailored approach to their cybersecurity needs, so that the necessary solutions can be acquired on a modular basis. This is what the Vodacom Managed Security Services by Vodacom Business and…
Clickatell, a CPaaS innovator and Chat Commerce leader, has been selected by South African retailer, Dis-Chem Pharmacies, to enable WhatsApp as its customer communication channel to engage with its customers. Dis-Chem customers can now quickly and easily access various services through WhatsApp by sending “Hi” to 0860 347 243. The easy to navigate menu then allows shoppers to choose which action they want to perform. Utilising a conversational approach through WhatsApp, Dis-Chem’s millions of customers can: register for a Benefit Card and existing members can update their personal details; check their loyalty points balance; report lost or stolen cards and…
MTN announced further progress in its efforts to drive gender equality by partnering with United Nations (UN) Women and joining the HeForShe Alliance in a drive to enhance its gender efforts. The HeForShe Alliance aims to develop the largest set of scalable and shareable solutions for gender equality’s most pressing challenges. Convening global trailblazers from across sectors, these HeForShe Alliance members will spearhead transformative change across countries, companies, campuses, and communities, inspiring many other to follow suit and demonstrating the value of allyship in accelerating progress. “At MTN, we are clear that a diverse and inclusive culture will be critical…
Disney+ announced FX’s “The Old Man,” the riveting new drama starring Jeff Bridges, will be coming soon to Disney+ under the Star banner in South Africa. The series will premiere with the first two episodes of its seven-episode season. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Thomas Perry, “The Old Man” centers on “Dan Chase” (Jeff Bridges), who absconded from the CIA decades ago and has been living off the grid since. When an assassin arrives and tries to take Chase out, the old operative learns that to ensure his future he now must reconcile his past. With Dan…