Author: Staff Writer

DLO Resources, a black female-owned strategic investor, has bought 51% shareholding in Conco Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of Consolidated Power Projects. Conco Energy Solutions will be rebranded into DLO Energy Solutions. The transaction will enable DLO Resources to create South Africa’s first majority-black female-owned engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) & operations and maintenance (O&M) in the automation and protection space. “The importance of this acquisition for us as DLO Energy Solution is that it will finally lead to meaningful participation of black women in the energy sector, not just through shareholding but through the day-to-day involvement in the operations,” said…

Pick n Pay Smart Shopper loyalty members have another way of earning loyalty points, this time on all their travel bookings with South Africa’s newest flexible airline, LIFT. Smart Shopper members who book a LIFT flight online or in-store at any Pick n Pay nationwide, will earn 3X more loyalty points. Smart Shopper customers can use points earned when flying with LIFT and can spend these as real cash-back when shopping with Pick n Pay or with Smart Shopper partners. Smart Shopper and LIFT Airline will officially launch their partnership on Monday, 2nd August 2021. To celebrate a union that…

South African businesses, already under severe economic strain, are now counting the costs of rapidly increasing internal payments fraud. According to Ryan Mer, Managing Director, eftsure Africa, a Know Your Payee™ (KYP) platform provider, the number of recent high-profile cases before the courts only partly reflects the true scale of the problem. Estimates suggest that it costs the private sector more than R2 billion every year to combat theft and fraud. According to a PWC report, South Africa was ranked as having one of the worst white-collar crime rates in the world. A similar study conducted by the Association of…

To accelerate 5G in Africa, regulatory frameworks governing critical wireless backhaul spectrum, E-band (70-80 GHz), needs to be put on the agenda swiftly. This is the call made by ICT experts at the 6th Annual Sub Sahara Spectrum Management Conference which took place using a virtual format from the 20th to 22nd July 2021. For data to move from one point to another on the internet, there needs to be a medium that allows these points to interface with each other. Wireless backhaul is the use of wireless communication, such as microwave, to transport data between the wireless site and…

Go1, one of the world’s largest corporate education content hubs for on-demand training and resources, recently announced a $200 million or R2.9 billion Series D round – valuing the company at more than $1 billion or R15 billion. The online learning platform, co-founded by South African Melvyn Lubega and Australian Andrew Barnes together with their friends from high school, will be using this new investment to create new partnerships, expand its edtech product offerings, and grow its physical presence globally to support its more than 3.5 million learners at over 1,600 customer organisations worldwide. This Series D funding round was…

Capitec Bank is hiring. Big time. South Africa’s best digital bank, as rated in the SITEisfaction 2021 report, is looking to fill around 300 positions over the next few months. At a time when many companies are shedding jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and incessant low economic growth, Capitec is making room for more appointments. It’s a powerful indication that their purpose of helping South Africans simplify their financial lives so that they can live better is resonating. “We’re rapidly growing our team. South Africa’s response to our simple, transparent and affordable banking solution has been overwhelmingly…

BritBox, the British streaming joint venture between ITV and BBC Studios, is now available in South Africa at R99,99 per month or R999,99 for 12 months. After taking the United States, UK, Canada and Australia by storm and with over two million global subscriptions, BritBox will bring local consumers a wide range of top-quality viewing, including the biggest collection of British box sets, courtesy of a joint venture between British television powerhouses BBC and ITV, responsible for some of TV’s most iconic moments. Together they created a new streaming service BritBox, conveniently offering the best of both their programming  –…

Pineapple announced today that it has closed Series A round at R80 million to upend the car insurance industry. The investors in the new funding include Lireas Holdings, the ASISA ESD Fund, E4E, Vunani Capital and the Old Mutual Enterprise & Supplier Development Fund. Pineapple is an InsurTech startup that has captured the hearts and minds of many South Africans. After launching in 2018, the company has won many awards locally and internationally, including MTN Consumer App of the Year, Stanford startup award, and was the first Insurtech accepted into Google’s Launchpad Accelerator Programme. Pineapple launched into the South African market…

The National Development Plan sought to leverage the country’s geographic position by transforming the country’s capital, Lomé, into a regional trading centre and transport hub; it implemented business reforms and completed large infrastructure projects to attract investment; and, it established the Business Climate Unit to coordinate economic reforms and play a key role in improving the business climate for the private sector – improving the ease of doing business in Togo as a result. Consequently, the country has prospered – with its economic and digital transformation following a trajectory that has resulted in Togo rising more than 50 places in…

In its role as a premium provider for individual mobility, the BMW Group is actively helping to create the liveable city of the future. Here, its approach to mobility also looks beyond the company’s core business. With the unveiling of the electrified bicycle Concept DYNAMIC CARGO and the e-scooter Concept CLEVER COMMUTE, the BMW Group engineers are once again demonstrating their unrivalled ability to transfer know-how from the automotive sector to concepts for micromobility vehicles. Concept DYNAMIC CARGO Bicycles offer great flexibility of use, produce zero emissions and are one of the fastest and most efficient means of transport in…