Author: Staff Writer

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…

Absa Bank has launched a partnership with e-hailing service Bolt in a significant expansion of the bank’s rewards programme in South Africa. As of 1 August 2020, Absa Rewards customers will earn up to 30% cashback on rides booked through the Bolt app nationwide, and up to 30% cashback on food orders booked on the Bolt Food app. The partnership is also the first time that Bolt has partnered with a bank rewards programme – in South Africa or anywhere else in the world. Absa believes that the partnership with Bolt complements the other Absa Rewards offerings, which include travel,…

Avon will join millions of women across the country to commemorate Women’s Month at a time when there is a renewed focus on increasing our women’s share of voice in the public domain and accelerating the removal of the barriers that impede women from reaching their full potential. As part of its celebration of Women’s Month, the global beauty company that is Avon will embark on a number of activities aimed at giving women a voice and will rally its NGO partners and media houses to help encourage women to share their stories of hope that document how they have…

A joint law enforcement operation has slammed the brakes on a sophisticated pyramid scheme that fleeced 230 000 unsuspecting investors of millions of rands amid the COVID-19 lockdown. The National Prosecuting Authority, Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and the National Consumer Commission (NCC) gave details on the “Up Money” pyramid scheme at a press briefing on Tuesday. The scheme was probed by the NCC after an East London resident laid a complaint. Acting NCC Commissioner Thezi Mabuza said a subsequent investigation revealed that Up Money (Pty) Ltd (Up Money) contravened the Consumer Protection Act by promoting and causing members of the…

Staffing and spacing is the biggest challenge that will face the public education sector when schools welcome all learners on 24 August 2020. This is according to Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga who on Tuesday paid a visit to Eletsa Secondary School and Tshepagalang Secondary School in Letlhabile, Brits to monitor the return of Grade 12 learners to schools. The visit follows a weeklong break following various calls in the education sector to suspend schooling as COVID-19 infections surged in the country. Grade 12s returned to the classroom on Monday and will be followed by the Grade 7s who will…

MTN on Tuesday unveiled its new pan-African API marketplace to enable developers and businesses to discover and subscribe to what will become the largest library of open APIs published on the continent. The API marketplace is known as Chenosis, a name Chenosis derived from the ancient Greek word ‘Henosis’ which means ‘oneness’, ‘union’ or ‘unity’. It is a cross-industry API marketplace that enables developers, entrepreneurs and businesses to come together to create, discover and integrate into the fastest growing library of open APIs. “Chenosis is a separate brand and entity, and will have an arms-length relationship with MTN so that…

Standard Bank Insurance, through its Direct Life Insurance Services division, is now offering consumers the option of purchasing life insurance online. Consumers can now purchase Life Cover, Salary Protection, Disability Cover, and Serious Illness Cover by answering just a few simple questions on the Standard Bank Insurance website. “There has been a growing need for a seamless online experience when it comes to life insurance,” says Chris De Klerk, Head Life Insurance Innovation and Solutions. “Our clients are increasingly interacting with us digitally, so building a solution that allows them to buy life insurance online was the next logical step.”…

DStv announced on Monday that it has decided to drop SuperSport’s numbering system it has used for its channels for more than two decades, replacing them with a thematic offering around individual sports to ensure it is easier for viewers to find their favourite sports. From September 1, SuperSport viewers on DStv will be able to enjoy special dedicated channels for leagues and sports, among them the PSL, the Premier League, La Liga, rugby, cricket, golf, tennis, motorsport and several others, which will now have a home to call their own. Not just live sport will be housed in these…

Ethnic women with darker hued skin often struggle with pigmentation, dark spots and uneven skin tone as they age. Justine has developed a tailor-made solution called A-Firm Brightening that addresses these ageing concerns. A-Firm Brightening is clinically proven to even skin tone, reduce the appearance of blemishes and combat uneven skin tone. In addition to its even tone benefits, A-Firm Brightening also addresses other ageing concerns, such as fine lines and loss of volume which leads to sagging and hallow skin, this exciting range will provide firmer results with a matte finish. A-Firm Brightening combines cutting-edge skin brightening and firming…

South African Express employees have engaged an equity funding platform, Uprise.Africa, to assist in raising the capital needed to save SA Express. The group strongly believes that SA Express (SAX) is a national asset that should be salvaged and definitely not liquidated. They further believe that the company is a viable business and if rescued with the correct strategy, could be a very profitable one. “Liquidating SAX translates into slicing through the very artery that feeds the minor towns and cities in SA, and closing the gateway to our more rural areas,” said SAX spokesperson Michael Hlatshwayo in a statement.…

Pick n Pay Clothing today launched its online shop and customers can now view the full clothing range online and shop their favourite items for delivery straight to their doorstep nationwide. This new addition means that customers can now shop the full Pick n Pay in-store offering online – ranging from groceries to general merchandise, and now clothing. Customers have always had the convenience of finding the latest clothing trends in their supermarket or nearby Clothing standalone store, and now accessibility will be even easier with the launch of their online shop. This step makes PnP Clothing one of the…

South African based business accelerator Grindstone has launched a new venture capital fund, Grindstone Ventures, dedicated to provide early-stage equity funding to its cohorts of companies and alumni. Grindstone Accelerator is a structured entrepreneurship development programme that is jointly owned by leading venture capital fund manager Knife Capital and market access specialist Thinkroom Consulting. It takes South African SMEs with proven traction through an intensive year-long review of their strategies and provides them with the necessary support to build a foundation for growth in becoming more investable, sustainable and exit-ready. Key growth gaps identified are addressed during the programme, opening…

A total of 401 million online searches for used cars took place last year (an all-time record and an almost 40% increase year-on-year). Furthermore, the average selling price of a used car in the last year was R289 312, an increase of R9 003 over the previous year. These are amongst the key findings contained in the 2020 AutoTrader Car Industry Report, which was released on Monday, 3 August. This annual report details trends and insights into the South African used car market. As the largest digital automotive marketplace in South Africa, AutoTrader provides unparalleled insight into car-buying patterns in…

Capitec’s new banking app has reached the number 1 spot on both the South African Google Play and Apple app store charts. It currently trends on the charts ahead of Zoom, Whatsapp Messenger, Tik Tok and Facebook.  “Our digital banking services are the most widely used in the country, with over 7.5 million active users,” Gerrie Fourie, CEO of Capitec Bank, says. “We’ve also noted a significant increase between January and July 2020, with the bank welcoming almost 600 000 new digital banking clients.” This success comes at a time when bank’s traditional service channels are taking a back seat…

SASSA presents beneficiaries of the COVID-19 grant with an opportunity to receive their grants at their chosen and convenient outlets. Beneficiaries can now change from one payment method to another. They can change from receiving their grant at the Post Office to a bank account of their choice or vice versa. They also have the flexibility to move from one bank to another. In order to achieve this, SASSA is opening its system for approved citizens to update the channel through which payment should be made.  This will be open from Monday 03 August to Sunday 09 August 2020, 24…

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has paid 4 million people their R350 Social Relief Grant, according to Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu. Zulu made the statement on Thursday in a hybrid sitting of the National Assembly on “Socioeconomic Interventions to Mitigate the Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic”. Zulu said SASSA has received 7 million applications for the R350 Social Relief Grant and has already paid 4 million people. SASSA started taking nationwide applications for the grant on 11 May 2020 and promised to make the first payment on 15 May 2020. But millions of unemployed South Africans continue to complain that they have…

Capitec – South Africa’s largest digital bank – has taken the final step in its paperless journey with the introduction of an eSignature capability, by means of a biometric fingerprint. At a time of COVID-19 and social distancing, this is a crucial move to ramp up convenience and help keep South Africans safe. Biometric readers allow for sanitization after each client’s use, while paper documents cannot be easily disinfected between parties. “We’re constantly challenging the norm, helping our clients to live better through smarter, simpler banking. Our transition to paperless banking is in line with this, offering our clients improved…

MTN today launched another offering for avid gamers. Enter, MTN Arena, through which MTN is bringing the world of competitive gaming to the casual mobile gamer along with daily, weekly and monthly mobile tournaments – and the chance to win a share of R100 000 in prize money every month. Available on MTN Play, MTN’s portal for all things gaming, music and video, MTN Arena makes access to tournaments for games such as X-Wing fighter, Star Wars Rebels Special Ops, Spiderman Mysterio Rush and Angry Flappy Wings, quick and easy. MTN Arena comes on the back of the recent launch…

MTN Nigeria is attracting more customers as it prioritises upgrading its network capacity to accommodate growth in traffic while continuing to expand 4G network coverage, albeit at a slower pace given the constraints presented by COVID-19. In the first half of the year, MTN Nigeria achieved 6.8 million in net additions to connect over 71.1 million customers to its network. The company also connected 3.8 million new users to the internet, bringing its active data subscribers to 29 million. MTN Nigeria’s MoMo (mobile money) subscribers increased by 1.6 million to 2.2 million in the six months to end June, according…

FinTech startup Remitly has raised $85 million (R1.4 billion ) at a $1.5 billion (R24.7 billion) valuation in a funding round led by existing investor Prosus’s PayU. The funding will enable Remitly to expand its suite of financial services products and digital solutions as the global demand for digital remittances continues to surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. Returning investor Prosus’s PayU led the round at a $1.5 billion valuation. They were joined by returning partners DN Capital, Generation Investment Management, Owl Rock Capital, Princeville, Stripes, Threshold Ventures, and Top Tier. “As the current health crisis continues to devastate the global…

As the COVID-19 crisis continues globally, carriers need to be prepared in four areas of network construction and business development to quickly unleash network potential and inspire business growth, said Huawei’s executive director and president of the Carrier BG Ryan Ding. He was delivering a keynote speech at the Better World Summit 2020 today. 1. Carriers need to maximize the value of existing networks. They should make the most of their networks and rapidly expand their capacity by using software or adding boards or replacing RRUs. This can help them respond to the soaring data traffic during the pandemic and…

FNB announced on Wednesday it has launched a virtual card for individual and business customers. The banking group said in a statement that the virtual card will be available by October 2020. Customers can access the virtual card via the FNB App and the RMB Private Banking App. Once available, customers can request the card anytime, anywhere at no additional cost. The virtual card is available to individual customers across Debit, Fusion and Credit Cards and for business customers on Debit Cards. All 3 million FNB and RMB Private Bank App users can conveniently use Virtual Cards for QR code…

South Africa’s digital system aggregator and solution provider, Nexio has named former Vodacom Business chief sales officer as its new chief executive officer, turning to an industry veteran to help drive growth. Unlisted Nexio said in a statement it had appointed Mickey Mashale as its new chief executive, effective August 1. “We are pleased to welcome Ms. Mickey Mashale as the new Chief Executive Officer of Nexio. Mickey is recognised as one of the industry’s distinguished female business thought leaders,” Nexio Board Chairperson and Vodacom Business CEO, William Mzimba said. “During her reign as interim acting CEO, Mickey has demonstrated a…