Author: Staff Writer
Volvo Car South Africa has launched My.Volvo, a unique online store that will enable South Africans to purchase or rent a new car in as little as 20 minutes – and without leaving home. The store – the first for Volvo in the Sub-Saharan Africa region – is available exclusively to South Africans. However, this is not the first time that Volvo has dipped its toe in the online shopping arena. Volvo Cars global launched its first online sales store in 2020 as a result of lockdown restrictions the world over. My.Volvo offers a smooth, convenient and secure end-to-end vehicle…
Direct Transact, the largest independent provider of transaction processing solutions for banks and businesses in SA, is appointing three financial industry heavy-hitters to expand the local industry’s open finance capabilities in the global market. The company, which handles more than R30 billion in financial industry transaction flows per month – the flows of nearly 70% of SA’s second-tier clearing banks and nearly 10% of SA’s monthly transactional value through BankservAfrica – is appointing FinTech trailblazer Christo Davel as the company’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), C-suite banking veteran Arina McDonald as Non-Executive Director and banking technologist Clinton Haley as Executive Head…
Cyber protection company Acronis has received more than $250 million (R3, 6 billion) in a funding round from CVC Capital Partners VII and other investors. The investment values the company at more than $2.5 billion (R36 billion). Acronis said it will use the funds to further accelerate growth by expanding its portfolio of natively integrated cyber protection products. A significant portion of the investment will be used to further enhance Acronis’ go-to-market initiatives by expanding its partner network – most notably managed service providers (MSPs) – to help them better serve the cyber protection needs of their clients. Acronis has…
South Africa’s retail rewards industry has ballooned over the past decade as giants like Checkers, Pick ‘n Pay, Spar and Woolworths compete for a bigger slice of the consumer market. Store cards and rewards schemes have found favour among customers and retailers alike, but for different reasons. Customers are lured in with the promise of financial benefits in the form of loyalty points and discounts while retailers see the card as a cheap way to collect comprehensive customer data. This has led some market analysts to question the growing disconnect between the designers and users of the schemes. “Retailers have…
SA’s diversified technology group 4Sight has entered into a strategic partnership with Cognius.AI, a highly innovative AI specialist developer based in Singapore. 4Sight will collaborate with Cognius.AI in creating solutions that leverage Cognius.AI’s Sofia, conversational AI platform for the enterprise market. Cognius.AI’s Sofia platform has the potential to revolutionise AI by modelling AI to human interaction more closely on how human to human conversations work. Cognius.AI was founded at the end of 2019 and has already begun to make inroads into the enterprise market with its Sofia conversational AI platform. Conversational AI refers to technologies that users can talk to…
The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has announced the appointment of Makano Mosidi as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). In a statement issued on Monday, the PIC said Makano’s mandate will be to provide sound leadership in all aspects of the business’ information and communications technology as well as leveraging technology to position the PIC as the leading asset manager. Makano joins the fund manager from Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) at Standard Bank. “She is a seasoned and highly experienced CTO, having been in Executive roles for the past 24 years, with an overall ICT working experience of 31…
Telkom is launching a new multi-channel whistleblowing platform to enable the public to report any acts or suspected acts of fraud, corruption, and irregular conduct within the organisation. Telkom has partnered with safe line service provider Advance Call to launch the #Vulumlomo | Speak Up anti-fraud and corruption campaign to encourage the public to come forward and anonymously report any acts or suspected acts of fraud, corruption, and irregular conduct. Every individual has a responsibility to play their part in rooting out fraud and corruption in our society, communities, and organisations. South Africa was recently ranked #69 out of 180…
MTN has today made history in Rwanda by being the first mobile network operator to list its shares on the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE). As part of the May 4th listing by introduction, Crystal Telecom Limited’s shareholders now hold a direct 20% stake in MTN Rwanda and can trade their MTN Rwanda shares directly on the RSE. These shares were previously held by Crystal Telecom PLC. MTN Rwanda CEO Mitwa Ng’ambi said the listing was good news for MTN and Rwanda. “We are honoured to be the first telecommunications network provider in Rwanda to be listed on the RSE. We…
Vodacom is introducing a Support Package for job seekers through ConnectU platform, a free service you can enjoy by connecting to the Vodacom network. The Support Package is aimed at connecting more than seven million unemployed South Africans to jobs. Combining discounted voice and data offers, continued access to learning and skills with Udemy, access to six zero-rated job sites and its Future Jobs Finder tool – all housed under the ConnectU portal – Vodacom is committed to helping job seekers go Further Together. Vodacom is also donating Facebook advertising to job seekers, helping them to promote their profiles using…
MTN Nigeria subscribers dropped by 5 million to 71.5 million due to the effects of customer churn and the regulatory restrictions on new SIM sales and activations. This is according to the company’s Q1 2021 results released on Friday. Last December, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) announced that the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) directed the NCC to embark on another audit of the Subscriber Registration Database again. The regulator directed telecoms firms to stop selling SIM cards while it audits compliance with SIM registration rules. “We continue to collaborate with the Nigerian Communications Commission…