Author: Staff Writer

The world is all abuzz with the focus on the next most precious resource of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), data – the “black-gold” of the digital age. In order to be a major player in this new realm, South Africa needs to address its connectivity inequality. More and more human needs are being met through digital connectivity and a vital, thriving telecommunications market is the cornerstone for the acquisition of this new digital commodity. Valde Ferradaz, CEO of MVN-X, a business providing turn-key solutions for large scale organisations wanting to enter the mobile telecommunications market, believes Mobile Virtual Network…

In the face of COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of local South African heroes continued working, bringing information, hope and help to those less fortunate than themselves. MTN’s “Everyday Heroes” campaign called on South Africans to ‘shout-out’ their local heroes using #WeGoodTogether on social media, and the nation answered. Throughout the months of June and July, hundreds of nominations poured in, says Jacqui O’Sullivan, Corporate Affairs Executive for MTN South Africa. “Our campaign attracted the most heart-warming stories from South Africans, recognising those who are making lives brighter through their acts of kindness. In many cases these heroes are using their own…

MTN Group on Wednesday announced that the current group CFO of MTN Group, Ralph Mupita, has been appointed as the new group president and CEO. His appointment is effective from 1 September 2020. Mupita has served as the MTN Group CFO since April 2017 and has played a critical role in the development and execution of the group’s strategy, capital allocation processes, financial performance as well as in the resolution of a number of complex regulatory matters. “After a rigorous and extensive search process, we are pleased to have appointed someone of Ralph’s calibre, experience and ability to fill the…

Kaspersky analysis has revealed that phishing attacks are becoming increasingly more targeted. A number of new tricks have also been found – from HR dismissal emails to attacks disguised as delivery notifications. As a result of such tendencies, security solutions have detected 2,023,501 phishing attacks in South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda and Ethiopia. These and other findings are documented in Kaspersky’s new spam and phishing in Q2 2020 report. Phishing is one of the oldest and most flexible types of social engineering attacks. They are used in many ways, and for different purposes, to lure unwary users to the…

Many South African businesses have been decimated, and millions of employees are losing their jobs on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yellow Pages by Telkom Business aims to fast track the growth of SMEs by offering telecommunications and marketing support and has now teamed up with Fundrr to offer loans to businesses wanting to grow. Yellow Pages, which is a division of Telkom Business, provides support packages that help small businesses develop their online visibility and grow their sales and branding into new markets. “Online presence is more important than ever, especially during Covid-19. We offer all small businesses access…

Norman Goodfellows is a third-generation family-owned retail and redistribution business. Established in 1976, the company has been providing the finest wine, spirits, malts, soft drinks, party services and gifts for more than four decades. Today, the company delivers up to 1 000 deliveries a day. Norman Goodfellows has partnered with Picup to build fully integrated on-demand delivery into its e-commerce platform. The entire solution was implemented within three days and can now handle hundreds of deliveries daily. The wine and spirits merchant engaged with Picup and quickly implemented its logistics software. This solution automates the grouping of orders into specific…

The South African government is formally considering launching a state bank, which will be able to access different forms of capital, in addition to taking deposits. The Sunday Times, which has seen the document in question. reported that the cabinet’s economic cluster has created an economic reconstruction and recovery plan which includes the ANC’s proposals to launch a state bank that would be able to access retirement savings at favourable rates. The proposal to launch a state bank and access pension funds was first mooted in the ANC’s own recovery plan last month. The Sunday Times, which has seen the…

While South Africa will move to alert level 2 of the national lockdown at midnight on 17 August 2020, current restrictions such as international travel will remain in place to minimise the spread of Coronavirus. In addition, the country will maintain its 50 people limit on gatherings, which among others, include funerals and religious events. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Cabinet’s decision to move the entire country to alert level 2 on Saturday night. The President’s announcement comes as the country marked five months since it declared a national state of disaster to combat the Coronavirus pandemic. “As we look back at…

BMW Group on Friday announced its 10-year plan for sustainability, underscoring its commitment to the goals of the Paris climate agreement, the main focus being on the expansion of electric mobility. Vehicles of the BMW and MINI brands featuring electrified drive systems are now offered in 74 markets worldwide, where more than 500,000 electrified vehicles were sold by 2019. By the end of 2021, this figure will probably rise to over a million. As a result of the massive expansion of electric mobility, emissions produced by BMW Group vehicles per kilometre driven will be reduced by around 40 percent by…

Communications and Digital Technologies Minister, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, has implored the boards of the South African Post Office (SAPO) and Postbank to fast track the digitisation of banking services to make them more efficient. This comes after the Minister, during meetings with the entities in the past two weeks, raised concerns about the handling of the COVID-19 Special Social Relief of Distress Grant distribution. “The Minister’s concerns included pay points running out of cash on payment dates,” said the Ministry in a statement. The meeting with SAPO was held last week, while the one with Postbank was held on Thursday.  As…

The Unemployment Insurance Fund has, as of Friday, disbursed R40-billion in COVID-19 Temporary Employee Relief Scheme disbursements to cushion the economic blow of the lockdown on workers as a result of the pandemic. “Today we reached that magical figure that we committed to make the lives of workers in the country easier by injecting hard cash into the economy through disbursements to our contributors. We made a commitment of R40-billion and I am happy today to say we have kept our promise. “But this is not all. As we have committed to an extension of the scheme until August 15…

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has presented to the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) an ambitious plan to save the taxi industry. The plan includes the establishment of a co-operative bank owned by taxi operators, according to a report in Mail & Guardian. The idea of a co-operative bank will be presented at a planned National Taxi Indaba by Mbalula as part of his grand plan to empower the taxi industry and create a value chain. Presenting this plan to the NEC, he said: “Various options are being considered which include either establishing a national co-operative bank owned by the taxi…

SANEDI (South African National Energy Development Institute) and the Mineworkers Development Agency (MDA) have signed a partnership agreement to bring relief to the country’s former mineworkers and their communities. The relief comes in the wake of mine closures and the ever-growing prevalence of mining “ghost towns” and other poverty-stricken areas. This partnership is offering immediate COVID-19 support to 200 identified needy families, worst affected by the pandemic in mining communities in the Free State and the North West provinces. SANEDI and MDA will be providing packages that include portable LPG stove systems with a number of LPG refill vouchers to…

The latest unemployment statistics released by Stats SA paint an ominous and gloomy picture for millions of female headed households who are facing the depressing prospects of impoverishment due to loss of income. In addition to being already disadvantaged in the labour market, women accounted for a disproportionate share of job losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and made up 2 of the three million people who lost their jobs at the beginning of the year. Global beauty and personal care company Avon has stepped in to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 job losses by offering prospective Sales Representatives who…

Electricity continues to be a huge problem in our country during the pandemic, where further load shedding is being experienced due to cable theft. This not only impacts the residential sector but also both commercial and industrial power users. A solution to alleviate the lack of security of supply is by installing solar panels and batteries at businesses or households, especially at essential services such as hospitals where power is needed the most.  Given the impact of the pandemic, hospitals need constant power to ensure patient’s care. Solar panels coupled with a battery storage solution provides a good alternative for…

Despite the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the need to minimise social gatherings to curb the spread of the virus, beauty and personal care company Avon Justine will once again partner with non-governmental organisations to host the first-ever virtual national walkathon on 31 October this year to raise funds for breast cancer awareness and education. This first-ever national and bREis the 15th edition of iThemba Walkathon that Avon Justine and its non-governmental partners host each year to raise funds for breast cancer awareness and education. Safety and the need to minimise social gatherings is a primary concern this year, hence…

South African tech startups are making it big in global markets as they expand their solutions. Explore, a South African data science startup, wants to position itself as a global player in data science over the next five years. In early 2019, Explore AI, Explore’s consulting arm, was appointed by Thames Water to deliver the analytics involved in monitoring the water levels of over 150 000 kilometres of water, waste and collection piping. The information will enable the utility to pre-empt blockages that result from flooding or pollution. Thames Water supplies over 15 million customers within London and the greater…

Pricing for a new Jaguar F-TYPE ready to seduce South Africa has been revealed. Available in both Coupé and Convertible form, the two-seat sports car has evolved from its World Car Design-winning predecessor’s form with new super-slim pixel LED headlights featuring subtly revised ‘Calligraphy’ J signature daytime running lights. Three engine options are available to South African customers, starting with a 221kW/400Nm Ingenium 2.0-litre 4-cylinder P300. This model dashes from 0-100km/h in 5.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 250km/h, with an average combined fuel consumption of 7.2l/100km. An ever-popular supercharged 3.0-litre V6 P380 with 280kW and 460Nm…

Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has picked a fight with the SA Post Office (SAPO). At the centre of the battle is the payment of the R350 COVID-19 relief grants, according to the City Press report. The newspaper said the SAPO board does not want the organisation to be involved in the distribution of the R350 COVID-19 grants. However, Ndabeni-Abrahams is in favour of the SAPO paying and distributing the R350 COVID-19 grants. SA Post Office spokesperson Bongani Diako dismissed the alleged rift between Ndabeni-Abrahams and the SAPO board as non-existent. “All the allegations by faceless individuals are denied and dismissed…

World Cup-winning Springbok star, Bryan Habana, has announced the first two months of traction achieved with his award-winning creative team’s MatchKit.co, an innovative platform that gives athletes a ground-breaking solution for commercialising their digital brand. The two-month milestone also comes with the announcement of a ground-breaking partnership with the JVW Football Club (JVW FC), owned by Banyana Banyana Captain, Janine van Wyk. JVW FC focuses on the development of female football players and along with Matchkit.co, gives the athletes the platform to reach higher levels in the sport. Van Wyk says the partnership will continue to elevate the status of her developing athletes: “I am so glad…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) to place 4IR at the centre of South Africa’s economic recovery. This is to enable the country to emerge from the damaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “South Africa must be a more technologically driven country that finds solutions that move us forward, with 4IR as a pivot for economic recovery,” said President Ramaphosa. The President said digital transformation has to be harnessed “to change the way we live, learn, work and govern.” President Ramaphosa made the remarks, when he received the recommendations contained in the…

Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) today announced that it will improve the delivery of a fully blended and  fully online learning experience to more than 64 000 students. Despite previously working with another learning provider for more than 23 years, TUT wanted to improve the quality of learning content delivery and increase its options for blended and fully online learning. This is underpinned by an ambitious strategy that will see the university adopt digital and smart technologies to enhance student-learning experiences, facilitate knowledge creation, increase engagement, and accelerate technology transfer. In the long term, TUT’s objective is to become South Africa’s first truly…

The South African restaurant industry has been hard hit by COVID-19. It is under huge pressure to adjust to continuous changes in regulations while still trying keep customers satisfied and safe. But Nando’s has used the Lockdown to bring ideas to life that would not otherwise have been priorities in pre-pandemic times. Nando’s embraced South African Lockdown as an opportunity to drive some technological innovation and adaptation, becoming the first restaurant in South Africa to launch Kerbside collection as well as enhancing the way the brand interacted with customers through technology. Darren Hampton, GM of Digital Marketing says, “No matter what moment you find yourself in…

Standard Bank announced on Thursday that its successful virtual card has now been launched in other African markets including Zambia. Ethel Nyembe, Head, Card and Payments, Standard Bank, said this would make it easier and safer for more everyday Africans to make purchases online. In 2018, Standard Bank launched Africa’s first prepaid and co-branded virtual card that can be loaded in real-time from any account that a customer has with Standard Bank. The card is accessible on the Standard Bank mobile app, where it can be created – at no extra charge – and topped up on a regular basis.…

When considering investing in a home, factors such as safety, health and proximity to amenities are priority concerns. And, while these are influential factors when deciding on a retirement home, it’s the investment’s value for money that will determine the lifestyle retirees will enjoy. “When it comes to mature lifestyle estates, it’s important to ensure you are getting value for money,” explained Phil Barker of Renishaw Property Developments. “Often coastal developments are able to inflate prices simply because of location, but retirees need to consider getting the most out of their money while still enjoying that ‘holiday lifestyle’ afforded by…