Author: Staff Writer

The global artificial intelligence (AI) market is expected to top $300 billion by 2026, with retail and banking expected to be the two major sectors driving growth. With the technology maturing so fast, small and medium retailers should be looking at how they can use AI and automation to get ahead of the game and increase their competitiveness. That’s according to Steven Heilbron, CEO of Capital Connect, a fintech company that offers business funding to South African retailers. He says that AI technologies are becoming more accessible to even smaller retailers, thanks to platforms such as ChatGPT, creating opportunities for agile companies…

Shoprite and Checkers’ private label products scooped first place in nine categories – including best Mild Cheddar Cheese, Buffalo Milk Mozzarella, Chunky Cottage Cheese and Dairy Dessert – at the 190th South African Dairy Awards. A total of 52 products were submitted under seven of the supermarkets’ different private labels: Housebrand, Ritebrand, Crystal Valley, Royale, Simple Truth, Oh My Goodness, and Forage & Feast. The following products achieved the SA Champion Award as winners in their respective categories: Crystal Valley Cheddar – Lancewood Forage & Feast Mozzarella Di Bufala – Zandam Cheese Crystal Valley Low Fat Chunky Chives Cottage Cheese…

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa  (ICASA) has established a Council Committee to determine the impact of the current state of load-shedding on the electronic communications, broadcasting, and postal services sectors. On 5 April 2023, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) terminated the National State of Disaster on the Impact of Severe Electricity Supply Constraints. Consequently, all Regulations and Directions made in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, pursuant to the declaration of the National State of Disaster, were repealed with immediate effect. Following the decision by the Minister of COGTA to…

MultiChoice Group, Rapyd and General Catalyst today announced a joint venture aimed at developing an integrated payment platform for Africa to operate under a new company, called Moment. Multichoice owns DStv, Supersport, and other media assets. Moment offers expanded payment infrastructure for businesses across Africa to help them collect and make payments easier, quicker, and more affordable in any manner that their buyers or suppliers prefer. Moment will also offer additional options for consumers to spend and save money more wisely. The aim is to transform the African payments landscape by making digital payments more accessible and reliable for domestic,…

inDrive, a global mobility and urban services platform, is strengthening its B2B segment offering by introducing new solutions in inDrive.Freight and inDrive.Couriers delivery verticals. inDrive will broaden its offering through expanding the team and the acquisition of new tech solutions. The company recently completed a transaction with Master Delivery (MD), a SaaS platform for last-mile delivery, whereas, MD’s team in charge of global expansion, will be joining inDrive to strengthen its capacity for segment development. The transaction also covers inDrive’s acquisition of MD’s exclusive technology and its integration into its existing offering to the B2B segment. The team joining inDrive…

MFS Africa, a  pan-African fintech company, is thrilled to announce that it has been crowned FinTech of the Year at a ceremony held last night, 24 May, in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. This prestigious accolade recognises the company’s outstanding contributions to the fintech industry in Africa and beyond through payment solutions that make borders matter less for millions of Africans. The Fintech of the Year award is a testament to MFS Africa’s dedication to transforming the financial landscape in Africa through its network of networks that connects mobile money providers, banks, fintech, money transfer operators and enterprises, enabling seamless…

Angola Cables and Orange have reached an agreement to share infrastructure on the West African Djoliba Network. The agreement provides customers with direct access to Francophone markets in West Africa and gives both companies the opportunity to expand their respective global connectivity by sharing domestic networks as well as Angola Cables’ submarine cable network and backbone infrastructure. Angola Cables and Orange offer seamless connectivity to Djoliba Network and other global destinations Rui Faria, Global Commercial Director of Angola Cables, says: “Getting access to efficient and secure digital and cloud services is an essential requirement for any business in today’s gigabyte…

Sage, the leader in accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology, announces a series of innovative updates to Sage Intacct to help businesses across the world simplify financial consolidations, streamline operations and improve financial planning. “Midsize businesses require speed and agility in the finance and accounting workflows that underpin every facet of their operations,” said Dan Miller, EVP Sage Intacct. “We’re helping them modernize their financial management systems to streamline processes and gain insights, enabling them to drive efficiency, reduce costs, and prepare for rapid growth.”   Partial Ownership through Tiered Consolidations This innovative feature streamlines the consolidation process at an entity…

Banking as a Service (BaaS) and embedded finance enabler Ukheshe has recently launched a new innovation hub, Ukheshe Labs, to focus on research and development in the digital payments market. Jason Penton, Ukheshe Co-Founder and Head of Ukheshe Labs, says such an endeavour should be a priority for any company operating in the tech sphere. “As a company grows, there is often a very structured process for business as usual. When that happens, it’s easy to become stuck in mundane processes, leaving product development by the wayside. The idea behind Ukheshe Labs is to prevent this by bringing together highly…

The Coega Development Corporation, through its Capital Raising and Sustainability Business Units, together with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), are undertaking preparatory work towards the establishment of a Biofibre Hub, or Cluster, in the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Coega’s partnership with the CSIR offers SEZ investors the best of South Africa’s innovation capability, including the R&D outputs of the National Innovation Clusters and the R&D produced in the country’s leading research universities through the CSIR network. This is critical for the development of new economic sectors. “The CSIR views this partnership as a necessary doorway to…