Author: Staff Writer

Microsoft announced today it would buy videogame maker Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion or R1.1 trillion in cash. The tech group said this acquisition will accelerate the growth in its gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse. When the transaction closes, Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony. The planned acquisition includes iconic franchises from the Activision, Blizzard and King studios like “Warcraft,” “Diablo,” “Overwatch,” “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush,” in addition to global eSports activities through Major League Gaming. The company has…

Vodacom’s proposed acquisition of a 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt cleared a crucial hurdle today when Vodacom minority shareholders overwhelmingly voted in favour of the transaction. At a General Meeting this morning, shareholders also approved resolutions that pave the way to fund the circa R41 billion ($2.7 billion) transaction. Subject to the final outstanding regulatory approvals, Vodacom will fund the acquisition of Vodafone Group plc’s 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt by issuing 242 million new ordinary shares at R135.75 per share in addition to around R8.2 billion ($548 million) in cash. “This is an exciting and important milestone for Vodacom…

South Africa’s telecoms sector is off to a promising start in 2022 with the finalisation by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) of the number portability framework and the provision of a firm commencement date. This is according to South Africa’s Independent Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) which has for a decade and a half been calling for the full implementation of number portability. That call was finally heard and ICASA on 15 December 2021 published the relevant Number Portability Regulations in the Government Gazette. Most importantly, ICASA proclaimed that the Number Portability Regulations will come into force on 07…

From better healthcare access to improved food security, machine learning could tackle a wide range of challenges in developing countries. In 2020, a study published in Nature showed that Google’s machine learning artificial intelligence programme, DeepMind AI, outperformed radiologists in detecting breast cancer. After being trained on thousands of mammograms, the system was able to accurately identify 89% of breast cancer cases, compared to radiologists’ 74%. Just imagine what a difference the deployment of such a system could make in sub-Saharan Africa, where there are 0.2 doctors per 1000 people, according to the World Bank. And that’s just the start.…

Google Cloud today announced it is teaming up with Comair, operator of the British Airways brand and the Kulula budget carrier in Sub-Saharan Africa. The collaboration will accelerate the aviation group’s digital transformation plans in line with its mission to deliver seamless travel experiences for customers and help the travel industry regain momentum. Comair completed its infrastructure optimization plans as it migrated six labour-intensive, on-premise data centres to Google Cloud. The migration of traditional IT infrastructure enables the airline to run key workloads that include important financial data, secure customer records, airplane navigation information, and more—all on the cleanest cloud…

Telkom launches Easy Connect Fibre, an entry-level fibre solution for easy connectivity from home. Telkom Easy Connect Fibre is an affordable end-to-end broadband service inclusive of fibre broadband access and uncapped internet. Connection with Telkom Easy Connect Fibre requires no router as an optical network unit with voice capability will be installed. Telkom Easy Connect is a simple fibre connection that gives customers Wi-Fi to help them stay connected to their Monate without the worry of depleting their data or incurring extra charges. With Telkom Easy Connect Fibre, customers are guaranteed to get fast fibre connectivity to suit their budgets.…

Africa’s united for the 2021 CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the sporting events in Cameroon are live on TelkomONE via SABC Sport and a dedicated pop-up channel the streaming service has rolled-out for this pan-African soccer fest. After an opening ceremony this past weekend that captured the outstanding diversity of the African continent and its billion-plus people, the football action has kicked off in earnest. Altogether, some 52 AFCON games will be played until Sunday, 6 February 2022 and TelkomONE viewers will be able to access them live and via the Catch-Up service. Provided they have registered on…

Acer, one of the world’s largest vendors of hardware and electronics, has promoted Glenn du Toit from General Manager to Country Manager. This comes at an exciting time for the company as it continues to bring the latest hardware solutions to South Africa’s consumer, education and enterprise markets. Du Toit has been part of the Acer team for six years, and was appointed General Manager of Acer Africa in April 2020. Prior to this, he served as Head of Consumer Business for Acer Africa, overseeing the expansion of Acer’s business into the African market. Du Toit has extensive experience in…

Capitec Bank announced on Wednesday that it has appointed Group Services Financial Head, Grant Hardy, to be a chief financial officer (CFO) and financial director (FD) designate. Hardy replaces André du Plessis, Co-Founder of Capitec, who will retire on 30 June 2022. Hardy is a chartered accountant who completed his articles with Deloitte in Johannesburg in their Financial Services team. Following this, he spent 8 years working in the banking sector in the UK before returning to South Africa and joining Capitec Bank in 2015. He has fulfilled various roles in the Financial Management division at Capitec Bank, and in 2019…

JSE-listed technology company Altron has announced that Group Chief Executive Mteto Nyati will step down from his role effective 30 June 2022. This decision was informed by Nyati’s impending completion of a five-year term with the Altron Group, his successful contribution to increasing shareholder value by approximately six times during his tenure, and his search for a new challenge. Nyati, who led Altron’s transition from a family-controlled and managed business to an independent corporate entity, contributed significantly to the achievement of several strategic initiatives at Altron. These included establishing and growing a core ICT portfolio and transforming Altron from a…