Author: Staff Writer

South Africa’s communications watchdog has temporarily suspended all public hearings, the regulator said on Wednesday. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) said in a statement it was reviewing its day to day business to align itself accordingly in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. In view of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on Sunday, 15 March 2020, ICASA has activated the crisis management initiatives as required by the organisation’s Business Continuity Policy to ensure its preparedness to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following decisions have been taken in this regard: All public hearings have been…

South Africa is feeling the real impact of the rising numbers of the Covid-19 pandemic in both its communities and economy. The JSE is focused on ensuring the health and wellbeing of its people at all times.  In line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines and national government, the JSE proactively implemented several precautionary measures to ensure that its employees are able to work safely and enable continuous trading in its capital markets. The JSE is of the view that the most prudent approach is to keep markets open to enable all market participants to conclude transactions in accordance with…

Staying informed about the latest news on the virus is the first step in stopping its spread. That’s why news outlets all over the world are dedicating entire news teams, segments and broadcast schedules keeping audiences up to date on every development. In South Africa, DStv has made a selection of channels available to all South Africans for free through DStv Now, the company said in a statement. DStv Now is the online version of DStv and it’s free to DStv subscribers. Watch on a smartphone, tablet, laptop, computer, smart TV or Xbox. In response to the COVID-19 situation, DStv Now has added…

South Africa’s Grindstone Accelerator announced on Tuesday it has concluded partnership agreements with Google for Startups and Deloitte to extend its reach. Grindstone confirmed Google for Startups as a technology partner in South Africa, where it will provide Google for Startups programmes to future Grindstone cohorts. Kevin O’Toole, Google’s Global Head of Accelerator Strategy, Operations, Partnerships and Programs, unpacked the opportunity: “The ‘Grindstone Google for Startups’ initiative will connect Grindstone to an elite group of the world’s top accelerators, allowing it to share information and leverage resources. Grindstone will be able to access Google’s global network, insights from the company’s…

The National Treasury will later this month kick off a consultative process on the taxation of electronic cigarettes from 2021. This comes after Finance Minister made the announcement in the 2020 Budget. In a statement, the Treasury said: “Government is concerned about the potential long term health harm related to the use of these products”. In recent years, new generation products such as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS) have been introduced in the market. The Treasury said these products, also known as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), are battery-powered devices that do not burn or use…

Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu says government will ask the banking sector and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research to help in finding ways of using technology to fast-track the issuing of title deeds. She said this when Ministers in the Social Services cluster fielded oral questions at the National Assembly on Wednesday. This comes as she told Members of Parliament that while the department – through its provincial and municipal offices – has issued just under 30 000 title deeds to date, more needs to be done to fast-track the delivery thereof. “To assist us to fast-track this, we…

Cisco was chosen as the preferred vendor by Liquid Telecom South Africa to replace its core network. The technological advancement enabled Liquid Telecom to advance into the next phase of automation and orchestration, allowing the company to respond to customer demand for extra bandwidth and vastly improved reliability. According to Reshaad Sha, CEO, Liquid Telecom South Africa, “This replacement cements our position as one of the most technologically advanced, modern and reliable networks on the African continent.  Cisco’s equipment gives our network vertical scalability and is built future-ready”. The impact of this 100Gbps replacement has provided additional capacity within the…

The business rescue practitioners (BRPs) of South African Airways (SAA) have issued a notice advising employees of the intention to begin retrenchment consultations. In a statement, the BRPs said they have been engaging with SAA unions in relation to the process and the intention to begin the consultation process. “Our intention has always been to preserve as many jobs as possible through this process, while still focusing on having a sustainable airline and platform for growth,” said the business rescue practitioners on Monday. SAA has experienced numerous financial and business challenges, which resulted in losses of some R26 billion over…

The Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies, together with the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, (ICASA) have welcomed Vodacom’s settlement agreement on data prices. “Today’s announcement is an important milestone in our quest to ensure that data prices are affordable for the majority of South Africans as this is a key driver for the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, said in a statement on Tuesday. Her remarks follow Vodacom’s announcement to cut its data bundle prices by more than 30% across all of its channels as of 1 April 2020. The mobile operator…

Vodacom will cut its data bundles prices by more than 30% across all of its channels as of 1 April 2020. “Vodacom has agreed to a multi-year substantial reduction of monthly data bundles across the board. For example, the key 1GB monthly data bundle will drop from R149 per 1 Gigabyte to no more that R99 (including Vat). This represents a 34% price decrease,” said Competition Commissioner Tembinkosi Bonakele. Bonakele, together with Minister of Trade and Industry, Ebrahim Patel and Vodacom group CEO Shameel Joosub, held a media briefing in Tshwane on Tuesday, to announce Vodacom’s settlement agreement on data…

Avon calls for an end to pejorative words and phrases used to silence women Campaign urges women to reclaim stereotyped language and be proud to speak out and share their stories Avon pledges $10 million to support women’s issues across the globe Avon, the company for women, has launched a campaign calling on men and women worldwide to #SpeakOut and put an end to pejorative words and phrases used to silence women. Launched ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8th, the campaign is in response to growing evidence of a gender divide, with the World Economic Forum’s 2020 report…

We are pleased to present to your attention LocalAgro, an International Agricultural Business Platform designed for local food market participants and equipped with a wide range of communication and search tools that provide a full range of services for business relations. The platform based on blockchain technologies and designed to simplify business processes and cut out the middlemen between the food producer and consumer. Food drives the world!  Agriculture is an industry with a total volume of over 8.7 trillion dollars, and it is growing. If current population growth trends continue, by 2050, the demand for calories will increase by…

Short-term insurer King Price is diversifying its business into the South African life insurance market. King Price announced on Friday it has received regulatory approval for its acquisition of life insurer Stangen from JSE-listed African Phoenix Investments. The deal is valued at R140 million. The move allows King Price to achieve its ambition of gaining a running start into the local life insurance market, said chief executive Gideon Galloway. The insurer plans to launch the King Price life brand within the next 12 months and forecasts that life products will make up half of its revenue within the next decade.…

South African payment technology platform Ozow has broken through the R10bn milestone in transactions processed – and is looking at doubling the number of users on its platform in 2020 as part of aggressive expansion plans. Ozow enables merchants to receive and process payments from any South African with a bank account across all payment environments, allowing people who do not have debit or credit cards to transact quickly and safely. More than 4 million consumers have already used Ozow, which has the vast majority of ecommerce leaders like Take A Lot, MRD and Superbalist as registered merchants business users…

The iconic Volkswagen Polo – a modern-day legend when it comes to car sales in South Africa, has been dethroned by the mighty Ford Ranger. According to George Mienie, AutoTrader CEO, the Ford bakkie was the top-selling used vehicle in South Africa during the second half of 2019. “We have just released the next iteration of our Car Industry Report covering the period 1 July to 31 December 2019, and this is one of the most notable facts to have surfaced” he notes. The Volkswagen Polo is, after all, a vehicle that clocks up one sales achievement after the other.…

Good lawyers are expensive, let us be honest. So much so that when one needs a contract or legal document, its generally prohibitively expensive, with the result that you either go without, or you end up hacking a contracting together yourself without the legal knowledge necessary to ensure that all bases are covered. Hello Contract is changing all of that for the ordinary South African business. The startup provides South Africa’s first fully automated business legal document webshop. The platform, which focusses on entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized enterprises will bring automated business contracts and documents to these businesses at massive…

Teraco has announced that Africa’s largest Internet Exchange Point (IXP), NAPAfrica, has reached a landmark with 1 Terabit per second (Tbps) of peak traffic. According to Andrew Owens, Manager of Interconnection & Peering at Teraco, this is not only a significant milestone for the exchange, but also for the continent. “The NAPAfrica members, including global content and cloud providers, over 250 telecommunication providers, managed service providers and a growing enterprise base, are the driving force behind achieving this momentous goal,” says Owens. Launched in 2012, NAPAfrica first recorded traffic of 532Mbps. Eight years later the exchange has reached 1Tbps, showing…

While there haven’t been any reported cases of the Corona-virus in South Africa, entrepreneurial locals are already selling masks and “survival kits” online at higher than average prices. According to Gumtree SA Marketing Manager Estelle Nagel, the surgical masks sell for between R6 – R13,00 each on the site, but prices will go up even further. “In other markets, these masks are being sold at 600% mark-ups.” Nagel says the site is removing adverts purporting to 100% prevent Corona-virus infections and similar claims. “Some sellers are selling welding masks and construction-grade facemasks (used for working in dusty conditions during demolition),…

After more than five years of connecting domestic workers with clients for homes and businesses, SweepSouth, the online cleaning service, is diversifying its offering to customers with the launch of SweepSouth Outdoor. With bookings currently available through the SweepSouth website – with the app soon to be updated – SweepSouth clients in Johannesburg and Cape Town can now book an Outdoor SweepStar to assist with outdoor necessities whether it be gardening, pool cleaning, making sure that the outside of your windows are sparkling clean or even helping with carrying boxes when moving. SweepSouth is looking to launch the service in…

Controversial Net1 UEPS Technologies (Net1) has appointed former mobile phone operator Cell C’s chairman Kuben Pillay to its board. The JSE and Nasdaq-listed firm, which is a shareholder in struggling Cell C, said Pillay’s appointment as an independent non-employee director is effective June 1, 2020. The company added that he will also serve on the nominating and corporate governance, audit and remuneration committees. Pillay served as the non-executive chairman of Cell C from August 2017 to October 2019. “I am very pleased that Kuben will be joining our Board,” said Christopher S. Seabrooke, chairman of Net1. “His qualifications and broad…

Samsung Galaxy S20, a new series of flagship devices that fundamentally change the way we capture and experience our world, is now available at MTN from R649 per month for 36 months and R899 per month for 24 months on MTN Made For Me XS. The Samsung Galaxy S20 range, unveiled on 11 February, introduces a brand-new camera architecture that combines AI with Samsung’s largest image sensor yet for stunning image quality. Along with the camera, the Galaxy S20 makes the experience of everything we love to do with our phones easier and better – enjoy personalised music for every…

MTN sees progress in shutting down battery theft syndicates. Seven individuals were arrested, a total of 55 batteries were recovered, and four vehicles with tools were confiscated in a series of operations across the country in the past few days. In one of the biggest hauls to date, members of the South African Police Services (SAPS) arrested a suspect at the Beit Bridge point of entry in possession of 32 batteries. His vehicle including a trailer were also impounded. In another successful operation in Greytown in Kwa-Zulu Natal, three suspects were apprehended after a tip-off while they were still inside…

JSE-listed technology group Altron’s acquisition of Ubusha Technologies for R360 million this week got the green light from the Competition Commission. In a statement, Altron said security is one of Altron’s growth areas and the acquisition will give impetus to the company’s strategy and growth targets. Other growth areas include cloud, IOT and data analytics. Altron acquired the identity security company in December 2019. Founded in 2003, Ubusha, as a next-generation IT security services provider enables dynamic authentication and authorisation, identity management and governance and privileged account security for leading local and international banking, financial services, insurance, telecommunications and retail…

OLX Brazil, an online marketplace that is owned by Dutch-listed Prosus, announced on Wednesday it has agreed to buy 100% shareholding in its competitor Grupo ZAP for 2.9 billion reais ($642 million or R9.8 billion). OLX Brazil and Grupo ZAP, currently among the most relevant players in the online real estate classifieds and advertising sector in Brazil, are highly complementary platforms. The merger will help boost the real estate market, offering a better range of services with a broader database of properties. With Grupo ZAP, OLX Brazil will be able to offer its users more than 12 million listings from…

The BMW Group is opening a new chapter in its history with the unveiling of a pure-electric Gran Coupe. The BMW Concept i4 takes electric drive to the core of the BMW brand and heralds a new era in Sheer Driving Pleasure. The i4 represents a look ahead to the BMW i4, slated to enter production in 2021 as the BMW Group’s first all-electric model in the premium midsize class. It brings electrification to the core of the BMW brand,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design. “The design is dynamic, clean and elegant. In short: a…