Author: Staff Writer

Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company, today announced the opening of its first office in Lagos, Nigeria. The new Lagos office is part of AWS’s support for the growing number of customers and partners in Nigeria. The office will support organizations of all sizes, including startups, enterprises, and public sector agencies as they make the transition to AWS Cloud. By opening a Lagos office, AWS can better address the increase in customer and partner adoption of AWS services in Nigeria. With a local presence, AWS will support new and existing customers looking to use AWS products and…

Nkwe Platinum and South Africa Zijin Platinum announced today the appointment of Tito Mboweni, as non-executive director and Deputy Chairman of South Africa Zijin Platinum. His appointment is effective from the 14th of October 2022. South Africa Zijin Platinum is a wholly-owned subsidiaries of multinational mining company, the Zijin Mining Group) Mboweni was the Minister of Finance of the Republic of South Africa from 2018 to 2021, after holding positions of Minister of Labour and Governor of the South African Reserve Bank respectively. Mboweni served as the ANC’s Deputy Head of the Department of Economic Policy prior to being appointed…

If you live in Gauteng and you listen to traffic reports, you’ll know all about the Buccleuch interchange. At the intersection of the N3, N1 and M1, it’s one of the busiest interchanges in Africa. Now there’s something else for motorists to look at while they sit in afternoon rush hour – a billboard that’s as much a love letter to Jozi traffic as it is an ad for a brand. VALR.com is the biggest crypto exchange headquartered in Africa, and the brand has been advertising at the Buccleuch interchange since mid May. The message on that board was previously…

Pick n Pay has partnered with Electrum and CryptoConvert on its latest pilot. Electrum’s payment platform connects Cryptoconvert and Pick n Pay, letting customers pay with the Bitcoin Lightning technology at the till point. Dave Glass, CEO of Electrum, says that “as a key technology provider, Electrum has a long history of partnering with Pick n Pay to bring innovative payment solutions to South Africans. We are on a mission to open alternative payments for customers and are thrilled to be helping Pick n Pay operate in this exciting world of cryptocurrency payments.” Carel van Wyk, Founder at CryptoConvert– which…

Pick n Pay is leading the way in local retail by making transactions via cryptocurrency more accessible to millions. This follows the successful completion of the first phase of a new pilot that allows customers to pay using cryptocurrency on their smartphones using a trusted app. It is now testing it in more stores. While for many years crypto was something for specialists on their computers, or used by early adopters trying it out, things are changing. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s (FSCA) recent announcement paves the way for cryptocurrency as a mainstream method of payment. Increasingly cryptocurrency is being used…

For many South African learners, maths is a major stumbling block. A young Western Cape-based entrepreneur- Thobeka Nkabinde – is changing this, one equation at a time, with the WhatsApp-based eRank Play app. Her vision? To make maths fun to learn for all South African children. The eRank Play app is built around everyday actions like working out what change is due from a taxi driver when collecting fares or how to use maths to slot a car into a small parking spot, and can be played anywhere, anytime. The app, which already has 1,000 regular players and is growing…

Sanlam and MTN Group are pleased to announce that our strategic alliance to market and distribute insurance and investment products across Africa has reached a significant milestone with the fulfilment of the regulatory, competition and other requirements. The effective date of the transaction is 31 October 2022. The strategic alliance will be implemented through MTN Group’s InsurTech platform aYo Holdings (aYo) and each partner will hold 50% of aYo. Through aYo, the alliance will continue to build and develop digital insurance and investment offerings that provide people across Africa with easier access to Sanlam’s products, particularly those people who have…

In testing, just 11% of 3,907 employees proved a high level of cybersecurity awareness using Kaspersky Gamified Assessment Tool. Fewer skilled users made most of their mistakes in the realm of web browsing. With 90% of people overestimating their cybersecurity abilities, Kaspersky Gamified Assessment Tool is designed to not only change employee behaviour and awareness, but also to assist chief information officers (CIOs) and HR departments measuring workers’ cyber skills, and provide their teams with a relevant education environment. During the game, employees receive points on the decisions they make during commonly encountered situations occurring while working remotely – at…

Anton Herbst, currently chief executive officer of Tarsus On Demand (TOD) and Tarsus Technology Group (TTG) has resigned his positions at the Group with effect from 31 January 2023. In a related move, Gary Pickford, currently chief commercial officer of Tarsus Distribution has been appointed managing director of Tarsus Distribution effective 1 November 2022. The process of selecting a new CEO for TOD is underway and an announcement will be made as soon as the details are finalised. Herbst was appointed CEO of Tarsus Technology Group in 2021 and at the time Lawrence Barnett, chairman of the TTG board said:…

It’s not every day a CEO of a major company asks his customers to log in and ask him tough questions face-to- face and on the spot. In an extremely well-attended and vibrant one hour LinkedIn Live session on Friday afternoon, MTN SA CEO Charles Molapisi did just that, fielding many curve balls and unleashing a 24/7 customer service “war room” to ensure rapid responses and urgent follow-ups to the most pressing customer issues. With rolling blackouts, vandalism at power stations and battery theft resulting in increasing downtime on networks across SA, Molapisi said he did not have time for…