Author: Staff Writer

Toyota South Africa has teamed up with Altron and Vodacom Business, to roll-out connectivity features and in-car Wi-Fi on all new Toyota and Lexus models. Known as Toyota Connect, the new connectivity hub will be housed within the MyToyota App which was launched in 2014. The technology allows Toyota owners access to a myriad of convenience, connectivity and safety benefits. “As of 01 September 2019, all-new Toyota and Lexus models sold in South Africa will come standard with in-car Wi-Fi including 15GB free data (which you can top up) as well as a host of connectivity features and benefits…

Mozambique needs to create more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to take advantage of extractive sector megaprojects. This is according to the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), which believes that this sector is still 70% characterised by informal micro-enterprises. Mega-projects such as coal mines or gas liquefaction are often forced to import equipment, consumables and services from overseas because of the lack of local companies able to guarantee their supply. However, petrochemical group Sasol is seeking to change this and enable SMEs to grow by diversifying its supplier base. In South Africa [it’s home market], Sasol focuses specifically on…

The new Audi Q3 is a family SUV with great all-round talents. Just like the Audi top-of-the-line models, it features a digital cockpit and a large MMI screen with touch response. Numerous infotainment solutions from the full-size segment connect the compact SUV with its environment. New assist systems support the driver when parking, in town and on long journeys. These features also enhance comfort, as does the further developed suspension. The Audi Q3 range is priced as follows, along with the standard Audi Freeway plan (5 year / 100 000 km) and inclusive of all taxes: Audi Q3 35 TFSI…

Fuel and petrochemicals company Sasol released its plan to bolster connectivity in Mozambique to enable its workers well-equipped and ready for the digital world. Mozambique has become a hotbed of investor activity after one of the largest gas finds in the world’s recent history located offshore in the Rovuma basin, near the Tanzanian border. About 20% of the gas Sasol produces in Mozambique is used for power generation there. The balance mainly feeds into an 860km pipeline to the company’s Secunda plant in SA, to be used in its production processes. As part of its connectivity strategy, Sasol announced on…

Volvo’s best-selling XC90 has been recharged to offer South Africa’s growing families a new six-seater configuration. The refreshed premium quality SUV boasts new wheels, more colour options, and some subtle styling enhancements. Pricing for the recharged Volvo XC90 for 2019 starts at R1 023 700 (T5 Geartronic AWD Momentum) The latest XC90 follows in the esteemed footsteps of the all-new XC90, which was launched globally in 2015. At the time, it was the first of Volvo’s cars to feature the company’s new more prominent iron mark, which has the iconic arrow elegantly aligned with the diagonal slash across the grille.…

MTN has announced the launch of new-and-improved premium MTN Sky plans – MTN Sky, MTN Sky VIP and MTN Sky Black – offering unlimited calls, unlimited SMSs and a significantly higher inclusive-data value from R999 PMx24. As part of the plan, customers will receive exclusive access to Priority VIP Help Desk and travel discounts on flights and accommodation in partnership with Travelstart. “Tailored for customers who spend a lot of time on their phones, the revamped proposition is underpinned by our commitment to give value back to our high-spend customers by developing plans that are innovative and offer premium benefits,”…

JSE Limited has agreed to acquire Link Market Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd (Link SA). The operator of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) – Africa’s largest, multi-asset class stock exchange – is buying the second-largest share registry business in South Africa for a cash amount of R224,5 million. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals. JSE Limited will acquire a 74.85% shareholding in Link SA with Link SA’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) shareholder retaining the remaining 25.15% and the Link SA CEO, Iqbal Haniff, remaining as CEO of the company. The acquisition will see Link SA being merged into the…

South Africa’s Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) remains concerned about the lack of transparency and ongoing delays in the introduction of full number portability. Consumers have received no word from ICASA (the Independent Communications Authority of SA) on why, 13 years after the launch of mobile number portability in 2006, we still cannot port non-geographic numbers used for toll-free, shared-cost, premium rate and general voice services (i.e. 0800, 0860, 0861, 0862 and 087). “ISPA members receive daily requests from consumers looking to port non-geographic numbers but are not able to accommodate these requests due to the delay in implementing the…

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) calls FinTech firms to submit their innovative and sustainable solutions to challenges identified within the financial services industry. Today SARB launched the 2019 Global Fintech Hackcelerator Southern Africa competition. The Global Fintech Hackcelerator, powered by KPMG Matchi, is a FinTech acceleration programme that creates a platform for FinTech firms to demonstrate their innovative solutions to complex financial challenges in the Southern African region. FinTech firms from anywhere in the world can apply to participate in the programme, to address problem statements constructed by the SARB. The SARB views such global FinTech acceleration programmes as…

Uprise.Africa, an equity crowdfunding platform, will facilitate fundraising for Reeva Steenkamp documentary. The company aims to raise R40 million. The documentary series dubbed ‘My Name is Reeva’, set to be produced by Director and Co-Producer Warren Batchelor and Co-Producer Tony Miguel. Reeva’s dreams were short-lived after she was brutally murdered on the 14th February 2013 by celebrity athlete Oscar Pistorius. As we commemorate Reeva Steenkamp’s birthday today, a law graduate, aspiring model and reality show contestant who was a household name in South Africa, let us remember her as an individual who had a voice, said Uprise.Africa. The documentary delves…

Rand Merchant Investment Holding (RMI), through AlphaCode, has awarded entrepreneurial packages valued at R16 million to eight of SA’s most promising financial services startups. All businesses are under two years old and at least 51% owned by black South Africans. Each business will receive a package valued at up to R2 million including R1 million in grant funding and R1 million in support services. This includes mentorship, monthly expert-led sessions, exclusive office space in Sandton, marketing, legal and other business support services as well as access to like-minded entrepreneurs, RMI’s extensive network of thought leaders, potential clients and capital. The…

Thanks to a partnership between Sasol, Mozambique Institute of Vocational Training and the Labour Studies Alberto Cassimo (IFPELAC), last week, twenty artisan learners graduated as professional welders from the Inhassoro Training Center in Inhambane province. The Inhassoro Training Centre, which has been in operation since 2014 and now offers training to young people in a variety of trades, including welding, scaffolding, steel fixing and painting. To date, over 320 artisans have been trained with a total of 460 expected to be trained within the coming years. Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Ovidio Rodolfo, Managing Director for Sasol in Mozambique said:…

Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the fastest-growing investment zones for financial technology companies according to new research says Forbes. The GSM Association says in its Mobile Economy, Sub-Saharan Africa 2019 report that the region will remain the fastest-growing worldwide. Predicting a total subscriber base of over 600 million by 2025, which represents approximately half the population, Sub-Saharan Africa will become a flagship for mobile disruption. One of the driving forces behind this growth, according to Mike Smits, co-founder, uKheshe, a microtransaction platform, is unbanked. “Mastercard reports that while around 1.2bn adults opened bank accounts for the first time over the…

Meesho, a Bangalore-based social commerce startup, announced today the closing of a $125 million (R1.9 billion) fundraise led by Naspers, with participation from Facebook and existing investors SAIF, Sequoia, Shunwei Capital, RPS and Venture Highway. Former Vodafone Group CEO Sir Arun Sarin also participated in the round. Meesho is social commerce online marketplace in India that enables independent resellers to build small businesses by connecting them with suppliers to curate a catalog of goods and services to sell. The company also provides logistics and payment tools on the platform. These ‘social sellers’ then sell within their social networks on WhatsApp,…

JSE-listed technology group EOH announced on Friday it has appointed Fatima Newman as Chief Risk Officer. Newman joined the EOH management team and executive committee on 1 April 2019 and played a meaningful role in the forensic investigation lead by ENSAfrica and the interim report shared with the market on 16 July 2019. ENSafrica report has revealed evidence of a number of governance failings and wrongdoing at EOH. The report by the law firm unearthed wrongdoings including unsubstantiated payments, tender irregularities and other unethical business practices. The wrongdoings are primarily limited to the public sector business centralised in EOH Mthombo…

South African crypto firm Coindirect announced a new business to business cryptocurrency payment solution designed to facilitate borderless transactions within a secure and transparent environment. The company said the business to business (B2B) offering allows for merchants to receive payments in Bitcoin and a variety of other cryptocurrencies with only a small 1% merchant fee. The platform accepts cryptocurrency pay-ins and pay-outs both globally and locally allowing for the funds to be placed into the merchant bank account in either ZAR or Euros. “The South African market has had limited to no access to secure, transparent and cost-effective cross border B2B  payments…

MTN South Africa announced on Wednesday the launch of the 80GB Mega Deal at R299 per month. The mobile phone operator said the Mega Deal promotion is effective 1 August to 31 August 2019. It said that customers who sign up, or upgrade on the My MTNChoice 10GB data plan will receive 80GB Data (40GB Anytime + 40GB Night Express) every month for 24 months. In the first month of the customer’s contract, customers will also benefit from an additional 20GB promotional data and the 14GB Entertainment Pass. The Entertainment Pass includes social and content streaming data. MTN added…

AB InBev Africa is rolling out a Blockchain solution developed by BanQu, a US-based FinTech company. This technology enables farmers in the AB InBev value chain to have a line of sight of their barley, sorghum and cassava sales, and receive cash through a mobile money solution. AB InBev has also invested in BanQu, advancing an undisclosed amount to ZX Ventures, the company’s global growth and innovation group, in June 2019. “Our investment in BanQu is an investment in our future through empowering our farmers,” says AB InBev’s Solutions Africa Director of Innovation & Analytics, Sameer Jooma. AB InBev and…

Brainly, the world’s largest peer-to-peer learning community for students, parents and teachers, has announced a new funding round of $30 million (R422 million) led by Naspers, with participation from Runa Capital and Manta Ray. Combined with Brainly’s previous funding rounds, the latest investment brings total funding to date up to $68.5 million. The current round of funding will be used to enhance Brainly’s user experience and create the next generation of the platform. In addition, the funds will help further expand its user base in the United States, a key market for Brainly, which the company is already successfully monetizing.…

Zulu Nomad, a travel tour operator that creates curated experiences, has partnered with Geekulcha, the Northen Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism,  and BrownSense InSights will be hosting the Africa Travel Hackathon on 5 to 8 September 2019 while on the Premier Classe Train from Johannesburg to Cape Town. #TrainTourHack will consist of 20 teams of coders, designers and data scientists who will work on practical technological solutions for tourism industry for approximately 36 hours. With the guidance of mentors and seasoned travel influencers, the teams will work on developing solutions to tourism challenges around tourist safety, SMME digital…

London headquartered cryptocurrency exchange Coindirect has announced that customers can now buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on its platform using credit cards. This is a pioneering development in the South African cryptocurrency market, which has not yet experienced credit card to crypto payments. Using a credit card for cryptocurrency payments helps ensure the process is as quick as possible from sign up to ‘buy Bitcoin’, unlike purchases through bank transfers which are subject to traditional banking delays. Coindirect now has one of the largest offerings of cryptocurrencies in South Africa and stands as the only exchange in the country to offer credit…

Vodacom, South Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator announced on Thursday it has added 1.1 million new customers and also signed up 1.3 million data users for the quarter ended 30 June 2019. The Vodafone–owned mobile phone company said it added 608 000 customers in South Africa in the quarter, 522 000 added in prepaid and contract customer base grew by 8.9%. It also added 560 000 customers in international operations, up 5.3%. Its data customers increased to 38.9 million, adding 1.3 million in the quarter. The revenue of M-Pesa, its mobile money service,  increased 42.7% to R905 million, representing 17.7%…

In the congested and somewhat complex arena of blockchain technology lays a singularly unique company, built around the fundamental foundations from which crypto is built. MinedBlock is a Fintech Crypto payments processor who specialises in transaction processing (mining) for cryptocurrencies. MinedBlock has adopted a very concise and progressive mission statement from the offset and aim to capitalise on this through the execution of their Initial Exchange Offering (IEO). “Our vision is to become a major player in the cryptocurrency arena and for MinedBlock to own a significant part of the infrastructure required to process transactions and mint new crypto assets.…

Leading global beauty and cosmetics company, Avon Justine, has announced that it is once again the Diamond sponsor of the Direct Selling Association’s (DSA) Awards Luncheon held on Tuesday, 23 July, in Johannesburg. Avon Justine SA took the decision to sponsor this event in line with its quest to capacitate the regulatory body and ensure that it undertakes its mandate of ensuring that member companies conduct themselves with the highest level of business ethics. DSA’s worldwide are trade associations with member companies that market products and services to consumers through an independent, entrepreneurial salesforce also known as direct sellers. There are…

One of the last of the original motorsport-inspired BMW 5 Series models unearthed in South Africa. Car number 100 of South Africa-only “homologation” special built at BMW Group Plant Rosslyn to be subjected to full restoration. In December 2018 BMW South Africa announced that it would start restoring the legendary BMW 530 Motorsport Limited Edition (MLE). The restoration process began and included a special appearance by two retired BMW employees who worked at BMW Group Plant Rosslyn in the 1970s and built the legendary cars. Three months ago marked the start of the restoration process and included a special appearance…