Author: Staff Writer
The African Bank Group taps Kennedy Bungane as CE0 and as an executive director of the bank and holding company African Bank Holdings. His appointment, effective 14 April 2021. “We welcome the appointment of Kennedy as the new permanent CEO. Kennedy has a keen sense for managing complex stakeholder issues. He has a proven track record in identifying and nurturing leadership, which promotes strong teams to deliver successful results. His passion for the role that banking can play in transforming society resonated strongly with the Board,” said the Chairman of the Board, Thabo Dloti. “As an experienced banker, he also…
Providing cheaper fuels to South African citizens will not happen with the flick of a switch but will require a multi-faceted, multi-departmental approach with the involvement of the private sector. This is the view of the Automobile Association (AA) which today made representations to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy on how to mitigate rising fuel costs in South Africa. “Our view is clear that a comprehensive, long-term analysis of the components of the fuel price needs to be done as a matter of urgency, and that all calculations relating to the fuel price be audited to…
Huawei’s Rotating Chairman, Eric Xu, said the company was optimising its portfolio to boost business resilience to cope with uncertainty brought about by geopolitical tensions, the resurgence of COVID-19, and US bans. Xu was speaking at the company’s 18th Global Analyst Summit attended by industry and financial analysts, key opinion leaders, and media representatives. “We want to boost the resilience of our entire business, and since last year we have been working to optimise our portfolio with this goal in mind,” said Xu. Enhancing software engineering capabilities Xu said one of the priorities was to further strengthen Huawei’s software engineering…
Cryptocurrency investment platform, Revix, with offices in Cape Town and London, has raised R58.5 million in off-shore capital funding. Founded in 2018 on the principle that everyone should be able to invest their own money and become their own wealth manager, the business’ customer growth has mirrored the exponential rise in the cryptocurrency market which is valued at over $2 Trillion – making the digital asset class more valuable than Apple. The capital will be used to launch Revix’s mobile application, a variety of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) investment opportunities, and for expansion to the European Union. Locally, the funding…
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has called on all NSFAS funded students, who are registered at a public university and Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges, to order laptops online. In a statement issued on Tuesday, NSFAS said that the scheme is expecting its first batch of digital learning devices (laptops) for NSFAS funded students on 18 April 2021. This follows a mandate from Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande. NSFAS Chief Corporate Services Officer, Sibongile Mncwabe said that since the directive of the Minister, NSFAS has gone into several consultations with stakeholders to…
SYSPRO, an industry-built ERP software solution designed to make things possible in key manufacturing and distribution industries, has unveiled its re-energized brand, visual identity and positioning to the market. The new brand tagline and positioning signifies SYSPRO’s evolving offering to the market and how the business continues to be committed to guiding customers to secure a digital future. Over the past year, manufacturers and distributors have had to contend with global vulnerabilities and disruptive forces. Many have now shown a sense of urgency in accelerating their digital transformation journeys for long-term resiliency. The industry has realized that digital transformation is…
If you’ve been working from home for the past year during the lockdown, you can claim a tax deduction from South African Revenue Services (SARS). Mostly it is workers who earn commission and independent contractors claim these expenses. “Claim for your home office if you started working from home at the end of March, and worked there for at least 6 months till the end of February 2021, to deduct this benefit in the tax year,” says Elani van der Westhuizen, senior tax technical at TaxTim, a digital tax assistant that helps you to complete your taxes by asking you…
Sendmarc, a cyber-security email protection and compliance business, is planning to use Kalon’s Venture Partners follow-on investment to scale the business into global markets. South African venture capital firm Kalon Venture Partners announced last January its first investment in Sendmarc. For more read: Kalon Venture Partners Invest in Cyber-Security Email Protection Firm Sendmarc was launched in 2018 by Sam Hutchinson, Keith Thompson and Sacha Matulovich. These key founding members were the pioneers in identifying a need for a safer and more secure email environment for small to large companies. The company provides the setup, implementation and reporting functionality for a…
Shoprite has launched an exclusive free funeral benefit offering for its Xtra Savings members. The programme is underwritten by Outsurance and will provide free month-to-month funeral benefits to beneficiaries of those who opt in and swipe their Xtra Savings cards four times or more during a calendar month. The initiative is the latest value addition to Shoprite’s Xtra Savings programme, which has gained over 11 million members, who’ve saved a collective R1.6 billion, since its launch just six months ago. In the event of a successful claim, the Xtra Savings Funeral Benefit will provide a predefined beneficiary access to a…
Global cryptocurrency exchange Luno added almost a million new South African customers during 2020, and over 250,000 so far in 2021. It has achieved 300% year-on-year growth compared to January 2020 and recorded $8.3 billion in transactions worldwide. Luno processed nearly $3 billion in volumes in SA last year, and was already above this number at the end of March. An estimated 15% of South Africans have invested in bitcoin – the second-highest percentage in the world according to the Global Web Index, beating even the USA and Japan. With over 2.1 million users in South Africa, Luno has around…