Author: Staff Writer

Ride-hailing services, such as Uber, are transforming the way we move around. A few clicks on a smartphone can have you on your way in no time, meeting the modern consumer’s need for on-demand, accessible and convenient services. According to a recent report by Genesis Analytics and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), data from the South African Police Services shows that carjacking incidents have increased across the country over the past three years (2018 – 2020), jumping by a 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). To provide quick and reliable private armed and medical response to riders and drivers…

Audi South Africa is pleased to announce the appointment of Mulalo Makungo (Ratshikhopha) to the role Audi National Sales Operations Manager, officially from 1 April 2022. She brings with her over ten years’ experience in the automotive industry and has worked with the Barloworld and McCarthy Groups at Head Office level and across various other brands in the automotive sector, including BMW, General Motors, Burchmores and Traders Online. More recently, Mulalo held the position of Business Manager for the Volkswagen Brand since 2017. During her career, she has gained a firm understanding and appreciation for the Dealer retail environment and…

The banks and financial services of the future will have several different manifestations due to the impact of financial technology and the Internet as financial providers can collect vast amounts of user data from various sources. However, the majority of this data gets unused or remains unstructured, or is not analysed. The data could be either valuable data or unnecessary, how can businesses tell? Iron Mountain, the global leader for storage and information management services enabling digital transformation, has released the Smart and Secure Data Management In A Circular Economy guide on how to answer this question as well as…

Backbase, the creator of the category-leading Engagement Banking Platform, raised €120 million or R1.9 billion in growth equity funding from Motive Partners. Having grown organically to over €200 million in revenue, Backbase is now partnering with a FinTech specialist private equity firm, to further strengthen its claim on the Engagement Banking category. This growth investment values Backbase at €2.5 billion. Motive Partners is a founder-friendly partner, fully supporting Backbase in remaining an independent force and driving the Engagement Banking strategy, by continuing to focus on customer-centric innovation that transforms the financial services industry’s siloed channels and legacy applications. Most banks…

As the fuel price hits historic highs, commuters are starting to feel the pinch in increasing transport fares. The typical South African commuter already spends up to 40% of their income on transport and the minibus taxi sector is still struggling from the impact of the last two years on their operations.  However, relief could be possible from an unlikely source – electric minibus taxis.  Privately-owned minibus taxis are ubiquitous in sub-Saharan Africa and carry more than 70% of daily commuters. A project team of companies and research institutions today announced a research partnership to investigate and advance the feasibility…

Cape Town-headquartered venture capital (VC) firm HAVAÍC this week announced the completion of its first investment in ShopEx, Nigeria’s leading omnichannel direct-to-consumer retailer. HAVAÍC has finalised investment of $400,000 from its U$20 million HAVAÍC Universum Core African Fund. The investment forms part of a $625,000 convertible note round alongside existing angel investors. ShopEx mobilises a combination of traditional and digital channels to market, sell, and distribute some of the world’s most successful ‘As Seen On TV’ brands in Nigeria and other African markets, including Nutri-Bullet, Copper Chef, Power XL, Dream by Genie, Myfit Jeans, and Contour. Founded by CEO Isi…

SA’s investment app Franc has announced its B2B offering Franc Business.  The announcement follows Franc’s recent seed extension raise of R8 million, which included investment from pan-Africa focused venture capital firm 4DX Ventures.  The capital injection will in part fund their B2B initiative aimed at businesses who want to entrench customer loyalty and their value proposition with a ‘plug and play’ investment and savings offering. Franc was launched in 2017 by varsity mates, actuary Sebastian Patel and engineer Thomas Brennan, who were frustrated by the complexity and high barrier to entry of existing investment offerings, and concerned by the poor…

The informal sector accounts for about 18% of South Africa’s GDP, with over three million workers engaged in the informal economy. In addition, an estimated 2.9 million migrants reside in South Africa, many of whom struggle to access financial services in order to start small businesses like spaza shops, salons and kiosks. That’s an incredible portion of the population that remains underserved in the financial sector, unable to access or otherwise afford the services needed to grow their businesses. To better serve this sector, Hello Pay has created a new turn-key suite of business solutions that will enable growth, save…

Santam, South Africa’s short-term insurer, is enhancing its digital offering, with the announcement that it is increasing its interest in insurtech company JaSure by acquiring the remaining 49% shareholding. In 2020 Santam acquired 51% shareholding in JaSure. The company said the buyout is a significant growth enabler, that will realise digital offerings for clients across the Santam Group, particularly in its Commercial and Personal (C&P) insurance business. “We believe we can open up the potential for increased value-add to our clients and the Santam Group through a 100% ownership. We aim to leverage the existing and powerful client experience and…

SA Motor Lease, a division of PACE Auto Group, will become the latest leasing company in South Africa to offer long-term car subscriptions on the FlexClub network. This follows Avis Fleet launching its own long-term subscription offers earlier this year. FlexClub has created a vehicle subscription account that enables customers to easily subscribe for vehicles online, from a network of rental and leasing merchants. Customers with an account avoid prohibitively expensive security deposits, complex applications and can earn cashback on their monthly vehicle subscription spend. This comes almost a year after PACE Car Rental, the car rental division within the…