Author: Staff Writer
Karpowership, one of the world’s largest powership firms, has submitted a plan to South Africa to provide “several” ships capable of plugging a severe power shortage in the country, Reuters reports. Karpowership has submitted a proposal, its global sales director Patrick O’Driscoll told Reuters on the sidelines of the African Mining Indaba. O’Driscoll suggested its plan could be cheap compared to the diesel-fired peaking power stations Eskom regularly uses to keep the lights on. Karpowership is the only owner, operator and builder of the first Powership (floating power plant) fleet in the world. Since 2010, 22 Powerships have been completed with total installed…
Cisco has today announced the appointment of Reem Asaad as its new vice president for its Middle East and Africa region. With over two decades of experience across industries including technology, financial services, customer experience, Asaad’s role will focus on strengthening collaborations with governments, customers and partners, underpinned by Cisco’s portfolio of advanced solutions to accelerate their digitization agendas. “Reem has a wealth of experience in business leadership and strong understanding of the digital transformation landscape. I am confident of Reem’s ability to empower our workforce and help regional businesses address their challenges,” said Wendy Mars, president of Cisco’s Europe,…
Avon has introduced a duo of luxury male and female fragrances that are twin-branded Maxima & Maxime, they retail for R339 for a 100ml bottle. These new long-lasting fragrances blend rare and divine notes like the immortelle flower, the flower of eternity whose oil promises eternal youth and olibanum, one of the very first ingredients of perfumery. The new sophisticated fragrances build on the brand’s strong line-up of popular fragrances catering for a variety of customers with this being a notable addition to the luxury perfumes within the portfolio. The introduction of these premium fragrances is in line with Avon’s…
Digital home loan startup, MortgageMarket.co.za, is set to change the slow and cumbersome traditional home loan application process by offering consumers convenience, transparency and choice when it comes to finding the best home loan deal. It’s South Africa’s first independent online marketplace to offer a significant portion of its profits back to customers – the MoneyGuarantee promise – as an added incentive for applying for a home loan via the platform. For today’s consumers, time and money are precious commodities. People are increasingly looking for efficiencies such as control, choice and convenience in their purchasing decisions. These are the core…
Telkom has unveiled its Big Deal for February 2020. The SmartBroadband Wireless LTE SIM deal offers 1OGB anytime data a month and 10GB night surfer data a month. The deal includes the following: 10GB Anytime data 10GB Night Surfer data Huawei E5576 MiFi router A R99 Once-Off SIM and Connection fee This deal will run until the end of February 2020 and is only available on a 24-month contract. The SmartBroadband 10GB Wireless Post-paid service is provided as a fixed wireless broadband service for use in a fixed location. A flat rate of R 0.70 on per-second billing basis will…
Pieter de Villiers, Founder of Clickatell and Tinashe Ruzane Co-founder of FlexClub are the latest South African entrepreneurs to join the prestigious global network and did so during Endeavor’s 92nd International Selection Panel (ISP) held in Riviera Maya, Mexico in December. Clickatell provides a chat commerce platform that enables brands to connect, interact and transact with their customers the same way they do with friends and family through chat. Clickatell’s chat commerce platform has two primary offerings: Clickatell/Touch, which enables organisations to reach their customers on any messaging platform and offer self-serve capabilities via AI and Bot-enabled mobile chat, and…
MTN South Africa on Thursday promised to offer its customers a viable mobile money service in South Africa. Today, MTN South Africa launched its mobile money service, known as MoMo. “At the heart of our renewed venture into the improved mobile money space in South Africa is our passion to provide value-added services that meet our customers’ needs. As part of this, a major focus area is to provide our customers with secure, reliable and accessible financial services,” says Felix Kamenga, Chief Officer of MTN SA Mobile Financial Services. “The local market is characterised by significant population growth, a youthful…
SAP Africa launched the SAP Experience Centre in Johannesburg, the first of its kind in Africa and one of only a handful of similar centres in the world. SAP developed the Experience Centers as a physical innovation space for creating and showcasing innovations using the end-to-end SAP technology portfolio, as well as the lines of business, industries and markets SAP serves. The first Experience Center was launched at the company’s global headquarters in Walldorf in June 2019, followed by Centers in Tokyo, Copenhagen, Den Bosch and New York. Others will follow in 2020. Cathy Smith, Managing Director at SAP Africa,…
GoDaddy has acquired South Africa’s popular social content startup Over for an undisclosed amount. Over app helps businesses create the photos and videos they need for social media. The company claims to have more than 1 million active users of its own, who are using it to create more than 150,000 projects every day. The US-based company’s app is available in 120 countries with offices n Cape Town and London. Over has grown from humble beginnings in 2012 as a simple “text over photos” app for sharing goals and inspirational quotes, into a multifaceted tool for businesses and individuals, used…
South Africa’s event ticketing and cashless platforms, Howler, announced on Wednesday that it has secured its second round of growth capital investment from three partner companies, namely Techstars, Platform Investment Partners Growth (Platform Growth) and Platform45. In just a few short years Howler has processed over 2,5 million tickets, R1,5 billion in revenues, and managed more than 3,000 vendors. Howler is the first company in Africa to consolidate ticketing, cashless payments and vendor management into one platform. On Howler you can buy tickets and load your money online. You collect a wristband at the event, have the time of your…
Uber Eats on Monday announced expansion plans across Soweto, saying hundreds of new eaters are downloading the app every week and with a wide range of restaurants to choose from, there’s always an option for any occasion. Uber Eats – which allows people to search for and discover local restaurants, order a meal at the touch of a button – started operating in South Africa’s largest township in May 2019. The company sais since the launch in May, Soweto has been a very strong performing area for Johannesburg city in terms of consistent weekly growth. With exciting new expansion prospects…
Cryptocurrencies have come along with us for longer than we believe, in fact, 11 years have gone by now since Bitcoin was created. During this time, the great challenge of those of us who are passionate this world has always been the same: adoption. And the path of adoption is slower than many of us wish. One thing is clear: the adoption will come from the hand of two great sectors: gamming and online commerce. All the experts agree about this point which removes any doubt on this question. Well, today we bring you the breaking news about online commerce…
Huawei is reassured by the UK government’s confirmation that it can continue working with its customers to keep the 5G roll-out on track. The UK government will allow Huawei to play a limited role in supplying the country’s 5G networks. The government said the package of restrictions being announced on “high risk” 5G vendors will allow it to “mitigate the potential risk posed by the supply chain and to combat the range of threats, whether cybercriminals, or state-sponsored attacks”. The U.K. government said that Huawei will be restricted from being involved in “sensitive functions” in a network of features labelled…
Hatchbacks are the most sold used cars in South Africa; this body type is even more popular than the perennially popular sports utility vehicle (SUV). But which are the most popular used hatches in South Africa? According to George Mienie, CEO of AutoTrader, the Volkswagen Polo is the most popular used hatch by far. “It is the most sold hatchback and also the most searched for a hatch in the land. So, when it comes to the Polo, there is direct parity between consumer interest and spend,” he notes. Mienie has based his findings on AutoTrader search and sales data…
Having deployed most of its R180m Section 12J Venture Capital Fund: KNF Ventures, Knife Capital today announced that it is extending the fund for new investors to participate and build on the success and momentum created. One of the main challenges to the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa is access to equity finance. To assist higher-risk ventures in overcoming this challenge, the Section 12J venture capital company (VCC) regime was established where qualifying investors in approved Section 12J VCCs can deduct the full amount of their investment from taxable income in the tax year that the…
Michael Page has published the 2020 South Africa Salary & Skills Guide. The salary benchmark is derived from our proprietary database capturing job advertisements and placements throughout 2019. The last year has proven to be challenging for the professional labour market within South Africa, due to various economic and political reasons. The year started cautiously, with the General Elections held 8th May, and investors adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach. This has, however, continued with policy uncertainty such as expropriation of land without compensation, underlined by the highest unemployment rate since comparable data was recorded in 2008, peaking at 29.1%…
Controversial JSE-Listed Net 1, the company behind Cash Paymaster Services that used to run SA’s social grant payment system, is selling its South Korean business KSNET. Net 1 is selling 100% of KSNET, a South Korean payment processor, to Stonebridge Capital and Payletter for $237 million (R3.4 billion). The transaction, which is not subject to a financing condition, is expected to close in March 2020. “KSNET is a profitable and cash generative business, but operates autonomously and in a more developed economy with limited overlap with the group’s other activities. We also believe that the intrinsic value of KSNET was…
Vodacom’s Summer ShakeUp! campaign is shaking up lives for the better. Today at Highveld Mall Vodacom handed over the keys of a brand-new Audi A4 to Songezo Mampungu from Witbank. Born in Mount Frere in the Eastern Cape, Songezo moved to Witbank 10 years ago to join his family and spends his days making sure other people’s cars are spotless at the local car wash where he works to help support his family. Not only is this 28-year-old Songezo’s first set of wheels, but the first car in his immediate family and a big deal for everyone. “My employer previously…
Three MTN customers will start the new year on a high note after being announced the latest MTN CakeCrush competition winners. The winners, who represent the 14th, 15th and 16th grand prize winners, will each drive away with a brand-new VW Polo Vivo worth nearly R200 000. The three lucky contestants are Nozipho Mgaga from Newcastle in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Ongezwa Ngonyama from Mandala in the Eastern Cape and Lungile Mbuyazi from Mandeni in Kwa-Zulu Natal. “We wish to congratulate the latest winners of the MTN CakeCrush competition on their new set of wheels,” says Jacqui ‘O Sullivan, Corporate Affairs Executive: MTN…
Global beauty and personal care company, Avon, is on a mission to showcase their latest skincare innovations and give women first-hand insight on how to better take care of their skin and reverse visible signs of ageing. This groundbreaking initiative will see three leading South African influencers with different skin shades participate at the global Avon 2020 Skincare Summit in New York, USA. At the summit, Avon skincare experts and scientists will empower the delegates by sharing science-based revelations to reclaim their anti-ageing skincare journeys. Avon said in a statement that its selected Beauty Ambassadors, Liesl Laurie, Nicolette Mashile and…
Olwethu Mthengwane, 24, from Thembalethu in George will start the year on a high note as she drives away in a brand-new VW Polo Vivo – bringing the total number of winners in the MTN Cake Crush competition to 16. The first MTN Pulse customer to win in the competition, Olwethu is currently a merchandiser but aims to study HR and move on to become an HR partner at a reputable company, thus living her passion for people. And where does she hope to drive in her new car? “A road-trip to Cape Town is definitely on the list,” said…
“Crypto-to-crypto transfers are instantaneous, but processing delays come into play when customers need to move crypto into traditional fiat accounts.
The results of these projects are already maturing into products and the first commercial AI application developed under the collaboration is scheduled to go live in a customer production in a few months.
MTN has delivered on its commitment to the growing number of TikTok users in South Africa by launching customised MTN TikTok data bundles, available to all prepaid customers. The data bundle is available on *136*2# from as little as R5 for a 100MB daily bundle. TikTok is a short-form video sharing app which, according to DataReportal has surpassed 1.5 billion downloads and 500 million active users worldwide. Although there are no official figures to measure the penetration of TikTok in South Africa, local hashtags such as #tiktoksouthafrica and #southafrica indicate that the social media service has a total of 7,000…
Short-Term insurance brands are among South Africa’s most successful businesses and have changed consumer perceptions of what used to be grudge purchase with smart branding and ongoing product innovation. Nonetheless, short-term insurance remains a slippery transaction. Consumers often pay premiums for years on end, without claiming or receiving anything in return for their purchase. But this year everything will change. Solvency, an emerging financial services challenger brand, is disrupting the status quo with an Insurance Savings Account (ISA) that is funded through car and household insurance premiums. Solvency is a product underwritten by GENRIC Insurance Company. “The Solvency solution offers…