Author: Staff Writer

Huawei has called on players across the solar industry to come together to develop high-quality solar PV benchmarks. The call, which was issued by Mr. Xia Hesheng, President of Huawei Sub-Saharan Africa’s Digital Power Business at Solar Show Africa 2023, comes at a pivotal time for the industry. With Africa home to 60% of the world’s best solar resources, solar PV has the potential to be a game-changer in providing affordable, clean energy to households, enterprises, and the wider electric grid. As Hesheng pointed out in his keynote speech at the conference, carbon neutrality, energy independence and business value are…

The Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) phenomenon is sweeping the local retail industry, with customer numbers surging as South Africans discover the joy of spreading the cost of their purchases across three months of interest and fee free, while receiving the goods immediately. But who’s using BNPL? And what are they buying with it? Interestingly, BNPL is not only used by lower income consumers, says PayJustNow CEO Craig Newborn. Around 4 in every 10 users are at least above average earners, if not high-income earners. They’re using it as a tool for improving their buying power, with many seeing it…

BuildRSA chat platform is a technology initiative that aims to give South Africans a chance to air their views on developmental issues facing the country and provide tangible solutions to resolving them before they cause degenerative damage. BuildRSA is about taking action by harnessing one’s personal agency and saying “what can I do to fix the problems in our country?” The platform gives users an opportunity to collectively and constructively problem solve through dialogue to tackle South Africa’s myriad of challenges and move the country forward. It aims to promote active citizenry, develop winning mindsets and create a culture of…

In a boost for business and for the growth and development of the Eastern Cape Internet ecosystem, the Nelson Mandela Bay Internet Exchange Point (NMBINX) is the newest addition to INX-ZA’s community-run Internet Exchange Point (IXP) services. INX-ZA operates SA’s only community-run Internet exchanges in Cape Town (CINX), Durban (DINX), Johannesburg (JINX) – and now Nelson Mandela Bay (NMBINX) – since JINX was launched in 1996 as a project of the country’s Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA). The first node of NMBINX is located in the city of Gqeberha, at the Dimension Data facility in Newton Park, and will be…

Local venture builder and business incubator Aions Creative Technology has launched a micro-investment platform that will allow the person in the street to invest in rapidly growing start-ups for as little as R50 a month, contributing to what the company calls the ‘democratising of wealth’ in South Africa. The new platform, Aions Exchange (AEX), will create a unique offering to start-ups seeking funding as well as South Africans looking to build wealth. AEX will allow investors to own a fractional share in one of the business currently being mentored by Aions, and to share in the profits when the business…

E-commerce shoppers have been promised a frictionless checkout for years, but new moves by the card schemes will take South African consumers a step closer. Soon, local merchants will be able to offer online shoppers a faster checkout experience giving them a seamless experience, much like the ones already available on Amazon and other global marketplaces. “South Africa is globally recognised for its sophisticated banking sector. However, payments still suffer a good deal of friction to ensure more secure experiences. Visa and Mastercard’s new standards will soon be rolled out with the express purpose of significantly reducing unnecessary payment friction…

GRGBanking, a Chinese company, has named Datacentrix, a hybrid ICT systems integrator and managed services provider, as its new local partner for South Africa. GRGBanking provides holistic hardware and software products and solutions to the financial services market, including ATMs, VTMs (Virtual Teller Machines), STMs (Smart Teller Machines), cash recyclers, cash depositors, cash sorters, and branch transformation solutions. “Datacentrix is always on the lookout for new markets within which to extend our offering, and we’re seeing an impressive emergence of digital transformation within Africa’s financial services market, as well as an ongoing requirement for physical infrastructure – like ATMs – across the continent,” says…

Eskom said on Thursday afternoon that Stage 6 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00  today until 05:00 on Thursday. Thereafter, various stages of loadshedding will be implemented as per the loadshedding table below: Eskom will publish a further update as soon as any significant changes occur. Breakdowns are currently at 18 972MW of generating capacity while the generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 3 222MW. Over the past 24 hours a generation unit each at Camden and Tutuka power stations were taken out of service due to breakdowns. The delay in returning units to service at Arnot,…

Nasdaq-listed Align Technology, a global medical device company, today announced the launch of direct operations in South Africa. The direct operations further strengthen Align’s local footprint in the country, support awareness and adoption of the Invisalign System – the most advanced clear aligner system in the world, used by over 15 million Invisalign patients globally, and provide local clinical and commercial support, education and dedicated clinical events to orthodontists and dentists in South Africa. “We see enormous potential in South Africa, with a growing demand for Invisalign clear aligners,” said Markus Sebastian, senior vice president EMEA at Align Technology. “As…

Acer today announced it has worked with Bethesda Softworks and Microsoft to bring the much-anticipated action title Redfall to all new Acer Predator Windows 11 gaming laptop and desktop owners via a free, one-month offer of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Redfall is an open-world, single player and co-op FPS from Arkane Austin, the award-winning team behind Prey and Dishonored, that brings the studio’s signature gameplay to this story-driven, action shooter and will be available on Predator gaming PCs beginning May 2, 2023, through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Players will be able to experience Arkane’s stunning take on a Massachusetts island…