Author: Staff Writer

Global beauty and cosmetics company Avon will be joining the global community in commemorating International Peace Day on September 21, and the company will use this day to amplify its campaign against gender-based violence by premiering a film that documents the experiences of women who have been at the receiving end of violence, including two South African women. The Avon film about International Peace Day will be live-streamed on the morning of Monday 21st September. International Peace Day is observed around the world each year on 21 September and provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to…

South African skincare, beauty, and cosmetics brand, Justine, has inked a partnership with award-winning celebrity chef and media personality Lorna Maseko to become the face of A-Firm Brightening range, one of the brand’s flagship products that have recently been launched to the market. Maseko will be the face of A-Firm Brightening range, a portfolio of products that are specifically formulated to address the aging skin concerns of women. “I wish to take this opportunity to welcome Lorna Maseko to the Justine family. The partnership with this dynamic entrepreneur is a marriage of two great brands that share similar synergies and…

The gazetting of the long-overdue draft policy on rapid deployment of electronic communications networks and facilities is good news for a South African economy that shrank 51% in the second quarter of 2020. That’s according to the Internet Service Providers’ Association of SA (ISPA) which says the boost to gross domestic product (GDP) delivered by facilitating investment in telecommunications infrastructure is essential to the local economy returning to pre-Coronavirus levels. “The recent pandemic perfectly illustrated South Africa’s digital divide. Those with affordable, high-speed Internet access transitioned to Zoom and passed lockdown with relatively little disruption, while most households struggled to…

President Cyril Ramaphosa says, as new COVID-19 infections decline and the pressure on health facilities is reduced, the country now has sufficient capacity to expand the criteria for testing. The President said this on Wednesday evening when he addressed the nation on South Africa’s risk-adjusted response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and announced that South Africa would move to lockdown alert level 1 from midnight on Sunday. “Among the categories of people we will now be able to test are all those who are admitted to hospital, outpatients with COVID symptoms, and individuals who have been in close contact with confirmed…

South Africa will reopen its international borders on 1 October 2020, under alert level 1 of lockdown. President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement during a televised address to the nation on Wednesday evening. While the country will move to alert level 1 of lockdown from midnight on Sunday 20 September 2020, international borders will only open up in October. “We will be allowing travel into and out of South Africa for business, leisure and other travel with effect from 1 October 2020. This is subject to various containment and mitigation measures,” announced the President. For international travel, government will place…

South Africa has withstood the Coronavirus storm and will move to lockdown alert level 1 from midnight on Sunday, 20 September 2020. President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement during a live address to the nation on Wednesday evening. “We have withstood the Coronavirus storm. Now is the time to return our country, its people and our economy to a situation that is more normal, that more resembles the lives that we were living six months ago. It is time to move to what will become our new normal for as long as the Coronavirus is with us,” he said. The…

BMW South Africa, in line with its expanded electromobility offering in the country, announced on Wednesday the appointment of established service provider GridCars as its official Charge Point Operator, effective 1 September 2020. Responses from existing BMW i3 drivers were considered when the new three-year agreement with GridCars was decided. Enhanced customer experience and access to Gridcar’s extensive network were instrumental in securing the deal. There will, however, be a defined sign-up process for BMW customers who register on the GridCars portal with their new (or existing) RFID ChargeNow cards. Customers will be able to use one card for access…

Naspers announced on Wednesday an investment in the food service industry with a stake in the Food Supply Network (FSN). FSN is an independent business-to-business marketplace that integrates ordering systems of manufacturers, distributors, and buyers (restaurants, hotels and retailers) of food products. Naspers’s R1.4 billion early-stage tech investment vehicle aimed at boosting the South African tech sector.  “Naspers Foundry invests in early-stage and founder-led South African tech companies and we’re delighted to announce our backing of Food Supply Network,” Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, CEO South Africa of Naspers, said. “It’s the third investment we’ve made through Naspers Foundry and we’re excited to…

President Cyril Ramaphosa will today chair two virtual meetings that will deliberate on the country’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic and the economic recovery plan. The first virtual meeting the President will chair is the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC). The council is co-chaired by the President and the Deputy President and brings together Ministers, Premiers and the leadership of the South African Local Government Association. The meeting is expected to deliberate on a report from the National Coronavirus Command Council on the country’s response to the pandemic. The second virtual meeting that the President will chair is the National Economic…

The 2021 new facelift of the famous Jaguar F-PACE is connected and electrified. The new F-PACE is available with the P400e PHEV powertrain as well as the latest four-cylinder and new in-line six-cylinder diesel Ingenium engines. All F-PACE models feature intelligent all-wheel drive and eight-speed automatic transmissions. When fully charged, the new P400e is capable of up to 53km of all-electric driving, enabling the new F-PACE PHEV to complete the average daily commute to and from work in EV mode without requiring a recharge. “The new F-PACE is dynamic and assertive with an elegant stance on the road – it…

Wide-open spaces are a great place to decompress after months of lockdown, and Knorhoek ticks all the boxes for the perfect country escape. Situated in the Knorhoek Valley just outside Stellenbosch next to Quoin Rock Wine Estate, easy accessibility makes this working farm the perfect choice for family outings. The allure of delicious farm-to-table dishes, and top Simonsberg wines are just part of the story.  Parents can enjoy lunch around the pool, or a picnic under a canopy of trees, while their children are free to explore rock pools, or expend their energy on a bouncy jumping castle. Nature abounds,…

Avon breaks all the rules with Far Away Rebel & Diva. The new launch is the next step in the glamorous bold journey of the perfume powerhouse Far Away, the company’s number one fragrance brand. The range has captured the hearts, minds and dreams of millions of women for over 20 years. Far Away Rebel & Diva was designed for the unapologetically fearless girls who can show the world they have proudly shed the ordinary to discover their true selves: the unstoppable spirit of fearless women. This powerful effect is achieved by the combination of contrasts and contradictions, resulting in…

Global streaming service Spotify is announcing Telkom South Africa as the first local sponsor of the Discover Weekly playlists for South African users. These sponsorship opportunities have recently expanded to additional markets across EMEA, including Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Turkey. Tailored for each of Spotify’s more than 299 million users every Monday, the Discover Weekly playlist is refreshed every week, and listeners love the weekly moment of musical discovery . Spotify’s fan-favourite Discover Weekly playlist, which this year celebrated its five-year anniversary globally and second-year anniversary in South Africa, helps Spotify users to discover new…

Every year Schneider Electric, the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, hosts a global student competition called Schneider Go Green. Students from around the globe are invited to submit their innovative and bold ideas on energy management and automation for a smarter and more sustainable future. The company announced the top eight teams on 10 August 2020. They will present their ideas and compete against each other during the finals on 10 September 2020. Showing the company’s deep commitment to diversity and inclusion, the 2900 submitted projects were chosen from Asia Pacific, North America, South America, China,…

Registrations open today for EXPLORE Data Science Academy’s (EDSA) 2021 intake of its 12-month fully-sponsored data science learnerships, starting January 11, 2021. For hundreds of successful candidates, this prized learnership is the ticket to a job in one of the most globally sought after careers, with an average starting salary of R400 000 a year. There are no restrictions to entry for the learnership, nor are formal qualifications required.  Applicants should be between 17 and 35 years of age and must pass a challenging aptitude test on the academy’s website. The EDSA has several hundred learnerships available at its campuses in Cape Town,…

MTN’s Mobile Money solution, MoMo, has launched some new functionalities aimed at assisting South Africans during challenging economic times. These include the new food vouchers functionality, and the option for users to make charitable donations to a range of reputable, vetted charity and faith-based organisations that are offering relief to those who need it the most. The food voucher service is designed to assist registered MoMo users, by removing the worry of giving cash to someone to purchase essential items – it could be a family member, neighbour, someone at work or a stranger in need. This new functionality enables…

Audi has utilised its brand partnership with South African Olympic runner and world record holder, Wayde van Niekerk, in a brand campaign which is titled #Lane8. The brand campaign is driven on social media and centres on Wayde’s historic victory at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, where he broke a 17 year old world record in the 400 metre sprint, from the eighth lane. The #Lane8 campaign is aimed at inspiring South Africans to strive for greatness and to overcome doubt and hardship no matter the challenge faced. The main video, which is part of this campaign is an…

Digital payments company Ozow, has launched the Ozow Revolution. According to the company, the Ozow Revolution is a visionary effort to make digital payments available to everyone and create greater opportunity to participate in the digital economy – especially for historically excluded communities that rely on costly and unsecure cash payments. Thomas Pays, CEO and co-founder of Ozow, says far too many consumers and businesses have been excluded from the benefits of the digital economy. “As an impact-driven and market-led company, Ozow is at the forefront of developing breakthrough payments products that enable greater financial and digital inclusion. While more than…

Huawei South Africa has announced the winning teams and individuals from the SA national finals round of its Global ICT Competition at an online awards webinar. Top honours went to Tshwane University of Technology and University of Venda, who claimed the First to Excellence Prize in the Network and Cloud streams. Instructors, Topside Ehleketani Mathonsi (from TUT) and Kudakwashe Madzima (from UNIVEN) also received individual awards for Excellent Instructor for First Half of 2020. Globally the Huawei ICT Competition 2019-2020 has covered over 70 countries worldwide, with 150 000 contestants from more than 2,000 universities and colleges. In South Africa,…

This past week, the national Department of Health (DoH) launched a COVID Alert SA App – in partnership with Discovery – to strengthen the existing contact tracing methods to help break the transmission of COVID-19 as South Africa seeks to prevent a resurgence of cases since the easing of restrictions to level two. Vodacom has zero-rated this App in a bid to reduce barriers of access and help the government in its fight to halt the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. This COVID Alert SA App is South Africa’s free exposure notification tool that lets people know when they have been…

Vodacom Group and the SADC Banking Association have signed a memorandum of understanding that will allow the Vodacom Group to join the South African Development Community’s Transactions Cleared on an Immediate Basis (TCIB) payment scheme. The TCIB payment scheme has been developed in cooperation with interested financial institutions by the  SADC Banking Association and is supported by the SADC Payment System Oversight Committee of the Committee of Central Bank Governors of Southern Africa. It aims to advance regional integration of payments on the African continent. Earlier this year, the World Bank projected that global remittances – payments made for either…

Vodafone Foundation is committing $28 million (R474 million) to expand its m-mama ‘ambulance taxi’ programme beyond Tanzania. The programme will initially expand to Lesotho, with a co-investment of $4.5 million (R76 million) by the foundation and the Government of Lesotho to introduce m-mama across the country through the Ministry of Health. Lesotho has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, and the programme could potentially save 200 lives over the next four years alone. “Vodafone Foundation shares the commitment of the Government of Lesotho to reduce maternal mortality and contribute to the UN’s health goal,” Joakim…

In a bold industry move, Cash Crusaders – leaders in second hand, quality new goods and secure loans, has built and launched Click & Collect – the first instalment in taking their retail business online. “Although we’ve been planning the launch of e-commerce for our business for a while, COVID-19 rapidly increased the rate in which we rolled the service out,” says Sean Stegmann, CEO of Cash Crusaders Franchising. “As discussed in our recent 702’s Franchising for Future Success webinar, with shopper behaviours changing somewhat, the timing was perfect for us to aggressively embrace our digitisation strategy. We started with…

Global studies show that young people are capable of contributing to the economy by working, starting businesses and leading organisations, yet far too many do not have access to the opportunities they need to reach their full potential. According to the  UN World Youth Report, over 71 million young people are unemployed, and many more millions are in precarious or informal work. The stats also show that 156 million young people in low-and-middle-income countries are living in poverty even though they are employed. We can evidently see this in Africa in the high number of young people who are unemployed and…

Heading out of a long, cold winter, South African households will soon be thinking about reflecting heat instead of retaining warmth. While the country’s energy supply continues to fall short, the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) looks forward to continuing its rollout of an energy-efficient cooling solution – known as ‘cool roofs’. Cool roofing simply involves the coating of roofs with a durable, reflective membrane which reflects the heat of the sun. It is inexpensive and highly effective passive energy, low-tech cooling intervention. SANEDI is one of ten global teams awarded a $100 000 grant by the Million…