Author: Staff Writer

Kyndryl, the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, has announced the appointment of Andreas Beck as the company’s Managing Director in the Middle East and Africa, with predecessor Vickram Nagi taking on a new role as vice president, Delivery Transformation Leader at Kyndryl. Beck returns to the region with a wealth of experience, working across numerous regions, industries and business units. Most recently, he served as Chief of Staff to Kyndryl’s Group president. Based out of the company’s headquarters in New York, Beck was leading strategic initiatives around the formation of Kyndryl and ensuring alignment of business strategy and priorities…

This month, commentators were abuzz after an exchange launched with a pan-African focus. MARA became the official partner of the Central African Republic with $23 million of funding, and commentators began speculating. So, what is the future of African cryptocurrency exchanges? “The CAR is the second country to make Bitcoin legal tender, but the conditions are all wrong for success. If you look at the demographics and the technological infrastructure, the move was symbolic more than economic,” said Richard Gardner, CEO of Modulus, a US-based developer of ultra-high-performance trading and surveillance technology that powers global equities, derivatives, and digital asset exchanges. “If you’re…

Vodacom has launched a follow-up to its stimulating #CodeLikeAGirl programme that will see 700 girls between the ages of 14 and 18 receive coding training from 27 June – 15 July 2022. The Vodacom #CodeLikeAGirl programme is aimed at inspiring more girls to explore careers that require coding skills to help them get a start in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields and industries. Often referred to as the jobs of the future, STEM drives innovation, social wellbeing, inclusive growth, and sustainable development the world over. Female participation is lagging in STEM fields in most countries. A report…

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…