Author: Staff Writer

Shoprite’s mobile application, with the Money Market Account functionality at its core, is the winner of Most Innovative Solution and App of the Year at this year’s MTN Business App of the Year Awards.   The app supports Shoprite’s Money Market Account, a fully-fledged, transactional bank account – the first by a SA retailer – and the lowest-cost bank entry-level account on the market.   “The development of the Money Market Account has been driven entirely by customer needs and we are going to reinvest the prize money to continue to uplift the lives of our customers,” says Jean Olivier, General Manager for Financial…

Small businesses could experience some serious downtime, as result of a forced PHP upgrade that local hosting companies have started to rollout. PHP is a scripting language used to create dynamic webpages – as PHP versions reach their end-of-life, upgrading is encouraged to avoid the potential security risks that arise from vulnerabilities and bugs in older versions. “While upgrading your website PHP is important, it shouldn’t be forced on you. Choosing which PHP works for your business needs, and completing the upgrade, requires a lot of attention,” says head of local hosting company 1-grid.com, Thomas Vollrath. “For already cash-strapped…

Vodacom Central Region, encompassing Free State and Northern Cape, is spending R340 million this financial year on expanding broadband coverage in deep rural areas, upgrading base station sites and network resilience. This investment will drive inclusive digital access across the region, as part of the network’s commitment in ensuring connectivity for all. “Our network rollout programme last year brought internet to many communities in the region for the first time. This financial year we want to build on this achievement by extending broadband coverage and investing in network upgrades to increase access to connectivity. As a result, this can provide…

Following their successful training series on cloud computing, Huawei has run the second and third parts of their 2022 Women in Tech digital skills training for women entrepreneurs with sessions on Leadership Development and Digital Marketing. Says Vanashree Govender, Huawei’s Media Relations and Communications Manager, “Over and above the technical training on digital migration and how Huawei’s cloud computing infrastructure can greatly assist SMEs, the first of these additional sessions was designed to assist the women to look at how they integrate business into a balanced home/work life and the importance of taking care of one’s self. The second illustrated…

The EXPLORE Data Science Academy (EDSA), which started out training young data scientists in South Africa in 2018, has grown in just five years to become ExploreAI (EAI), a global solutions company with international reach across Europe, the USA and Africa. ExploreAI also has a new UK-based CEO Has Dosanjh, who is a seasoned executive in digital transformation and data collaboration applications. Commenting on his appointment at ExploreAI Dosanjh said, “I love taking organisations through complex transformations that involve the use of data, digital assets, and new ways of working. The CEO in me measures success by customer satisfaction and…

The six finalists were chosen following extremely strong competition from over 700 fintechs from 59 countries; Grand Finale to be held on 28 October at the Ecobank Group’S Pan African Centre in Lomé, Togo; Finalists will compete for the top price of $50,000 and admission to the ‘Ecobank Fintech Challenge Fellowship’ program. Ecobank Group, the leading private pan-African banking group, has announced the six finalists for the fifth edition of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge. The finalists come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Togo. The six fintechs stood out from a highly competitive pool of…

MTN SA today announced the appointment of Wanda Matandela as Chief Commercial Operations Officer (CCOO), effective 1 October 2022. The appointment follows a recent announcement regarding the introduction of the CCOO role to the MTN SA Exco as the company gears up to deliver on its Ambition 2025 strategy. “As we strive to achieve our strategic objectives of driving business growth, transforming customer experience and overhauling employee engagement, it is important that we have the right individuals in place to achieve this. I believe that Wanda’s wealth of experience will have a notable contribution towards enhancing our commercial and operational…

ITHUBA Holdings are on a quest to ensure that South African youth receive the education they deserve and to bridge the social divides that exist in the country. ITHUBA is again awarding qualifying students 100% bursaries for the year 2023, and applications are now open. High achieving learners in Grade 12 and first or second-year students are invited to submit their applications to receive an all-inclusive bursary covering everything from academic tuition, technology equipment, stationery, lodging and even living expenses. The ITHUBA Bursary Programme welcomes applicants looking to pursue their dreams in Commerce, including; Accounting, Management Accounting & Finance and…

JSE-listed technology company Altron has appointed Collin Govender Managing Director of Altron Systems Integration with effect from 1 October 2022. Having joined Altron in June 2017 as Group Executive: Shared Services rising to the position of Group Chief Information Officer, Govender was appointed Managing Director of Altron Karabina in January 2021. Over the past 18 months, he has successfully managed to turn around this business. In his new role he will retain oversight of Altron Karabina, putting an operational structure in place to ensure the continued growth trajectory of the business. Altron Group Chief Executive Werner Kapp said, “Collin is…

In a bid to mitigate against soaring petrol and diesel prices and reduce its carbon footprint, facilities management company Servest is planning to convert 70 of its over 700 national fleet vehicles to be fuelled by compressed natural gas (CNG). The first vehicles operating with dual fuel are already in the field, and the positive results have built confidence with the company’s drivers, their operational teams and more importantly, its customers. Servest, which celebrates 25 years in business this year, expects to see a return on this investment of about nine months’ worth of fuel savings. More importantly, customers have…