Author: Staff Writer

Imagine this: The sound of people working is constantly punctuated by the screech-and-scratch of dot matrix printers and the beeping of fax machines. Mobile phones are only just becoming popular and are not yet smart. In fact, professionals are more likely to engage in a quick game of Snake than manage a full productivity suite via their AI-enabled smartphones. Conference calls involve groups huddled around a speaker in a boardroom, instead of teams having discussions in full high-definition via their company-issued laptops. Sound far-fetched? This was the office of the early 2000s, a mere twenty years ago, when the world…

SMEs around the world have been severely affected by the COVID-19-induced economic downturn. Maintaining working capital, a key challenge faced by SMEs has become an even more urgent concern amidst economic uncertainty. Delayed payments, emergency expenditures and incorrect forecasts can easily derail the fine balance between incoming and outgoing funds that small businesses must constantly maintain. As small businesses may not yet have established trust relationships with their suppliers, they’re often obliged to pay for supplies up-front in full, further complicating cash-flow conundrums. Traditional bank-backed lending models, with their sluggish turnaround times, have added to the difficulties faced by SMEs,…

New York-based FinTech player Wahed, the parent company of the halal financial investment platform Wahed Invest, has received a new regulatory license from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), the regulator of the South African financial markets. Launched in 2017, Wahed runs an online investment management platform in the United States which ensures its portfolio does not include investments in companies in restricted sectors such as gambling, firearms and alcohol. Acquiring a new license has been a huge achievement for the FinTech company as it ramps up efforts to deliver investment services in the country. With this regulatory approval, Wahed…

Orderin, South Africa’s pioneering food delivery app, has relaunched as a B2B delivery-as-a-service platform, giving retailers across various industries the power to move online and deliver goods in minutes, without the cost of building and owning all the infrastructure needed to do so. Founded in 2012, Orderin built South Africa’s first food delivery app, paving the way for a robust and competitive sector. Their new model focuses on delivery-as-a-service, as well as providing all the software (SaaS) organisations of varying sizes need to power their on-demand experience – from customer facing technology to delivery fulfilment. With plans of a phased…

Paxful, a global peer-to-peer FinTech platform, announced Transfer to Bank. The service will debut first in South Africa via a partnership with OVEX, the South African-based cryptocurrency exchange platform specializing in over-the-counter (OTC) trading. Utilizing OVEX’s instant cashout mechanism, all Paxful users in South Africa will now be able to convert their Bitcoin directly into local currency (ZAR). This new, completely automated feature will work alongside all banks in South Africa. Paxful plans to open up the service to a handful of other countries in the coming months. Additionally, the company expects to add Ethereum (ETH) and Tether (USDT) to…

Teraco, Africa’s largest vendor-neutral data centre and interconnection services provider, has completed the JB3 data centre facility, located within the Isando Campus in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, South Africa. This multi-billion-rand facility represents a strategic addition to Platform Teraco, offering enterprises a scalable platform for IT infrastructure deployment while sustaining performance, reliability, security, and the widest network choice. JB3 comprises 45000sqm of building structure, 12000sqm of data hall space, and 29MW of critical power load. When combined with the existing Isando Campus facilities, the critical power load totals 40MW across the campus data centre footprint with room for further growth.…

The Shoprite Group has launched its new ground-breaking digital business hub, ShopriteX which is piloting Checkers Rush, an automated, cashless “no queues, no checkout, no waiting” concept store, where employees can grab products and walk out. Incubated over the past year, ShopriteX is combining data science and technology create more personalised shopping experiences for customers. ShopriteX already delivered two industry-leading innnovations – Xtra Savings, South Africa’s fastest-growing rewards programme with 20 million members to date, and Checkers Sixty60 the first on-demand 60-minute supermarket grocery delivery service in South Africa. “We are serious about being Africa’s most customer-centric retailer, and the launch of ShopriteX represents our investment in fit-for-the-future precision retail, which is increasingly digital and data-led,” said Pieter Engelbrecht, Shoprite Group CEO. The launch is part of Shoprite’s…

South Africa has to date administered 9 557 542 jabs with 158 103 of those being administered on Monday. The total number of Pfizer administered in the last 24 hours was 122 056 and a total of 36 047 Johnson and Johnson were administered. Meanwhile, South Africa recorded 7 983 new COVID-19 cases bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 613 569. This increase represents a 21.1% positivity rate. “As per the National Department of Health, a further 299 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 77 440 to date,” the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said. The majority…

Shoprite is once again stepping up to enable entrepreneurs to grow their businesses with the 2021 Shoprite Hustle competition. The annual competition boosts small business development and will celebrate established and promising small business owners who stand to win a share of more than R1 million in prizes. The 20 winners will each receive R50 000 in cash, a laptop, digital and social media support and access to Startup Circles’ Ignition programme. Shoprite recognises the critical role the more than 2 million SMME’s (Small Medium and Micro Enterprises) in South Africa, many of which are in the informal sector, play in growing the country’s economic future. Established small business owners, aged 18 or over and a citizen or permanent resident of South Africa, are eligible to apply. Entries must be submitted online by 19 September 2021, and winners will be announced between 27 September and 31…

Affordable residential and student housing specialist, Quorum Holdings, is the first in South Africa to accept rental deposits in cryptocurrency, and to allow tenants to potentially benefit from an increase in value. While rental deposits are standard practice in South Africa, tenants do not usually benefit from the money being held by their landlords. And deposits can be held for several years, depending on the lease. With a growing portfolio expected to reach around 3,000 residential units in Johannesburg over the medium term and another 5,000 beds in student accommodation through a subsidiary Urban Circle, the business owns and manages…