Author: Staff Writer

Africa Data Centres, part of the Cassava Technologies Group, a pan-African technology group, announced today is building a second data centre in Cape Town, South Africa. The new 20MW facility will cover 15,000 square meters in eight data halls and is situated on the northern periphery of Cape Town city centre. According to Tesh Durvasula, Chief Executive Officer of Africa Data Centres, there is a clear pipeline of demand for colocation space that cannot be served from the existing Diep River data centre. “The new Cape Town facility is a critical part of Africa Data Centres expansion drive in the area”.…

As part of Uber’s commitment towards safety, the company has initiated a Safety Sessions Programme in collaboration with South African Police Service (SAPS) to help address the safety concerns raised by drivers and delivery people on the Uber platform. During these sessions, held in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town over the past several months; SAPS officials were brought together with drivers on the platform to better understand the realities on the ground and how best to partner to assist in improving the safety of all. “We believe that e-hailing drivers should have regular engagements with SAPS officials in their…

South Africa’s digital systems aggregator and solutions provider, Nexio, a subsidiary of the Vodacom Group, has appointed Ed Gassner as the company’s CEO on an interim basis with immediate effect and until a permanent replacement is appointed. Gassner’s appointment follows last week’s resignation announcement of Mickey Mashale, who had been at the Nexio helm since August 2020. For more read: Mickey Mashale Steps Down As CEO Of Nexio, A Subsidiary Of Vodacom Gassner holds a B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering degree from WITS University and has extensive executive leadership experience spanning 30 years, specialising in technology companies. His most recent permanent role…

MTN Group today announced the appointment of Riaan Wessels as Chief Risk Officer: FinTech with effect from 1 July 2022. Riaan has 13 years’ experience at MTN. He first joined the company in 2004, as General Manager: Business Risk Management and returned in 2017 as Group Executive: Risk and Compliance. “As Chief Risk Officer: Fintech, Riaan will continue to add immense value at MTN by effectively managing risk exposures to the business and ensuring robust processes and controls,” said Serigne Dioum, Group Chief Fintech Officer. Over the past 20 years, Riaan has implemented complex programmes at multinational companies in the…

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…