Author: Staff Writer

Trade Shield, a tech-based credit risk management solutions provider, has secured R15 million in funding from FNB’s Vumela Enterprise Development Fund, in partnership with Edge Growth. The funding will unlock growth opportunities in South Africa and globally. Since its 2023 launch, Trade Shield has shown impressive growth, strong market demand, and scalability as a SaaS-based business. Trade Shield helps businesses manage trade credit risk through automated data collection, predictive modeling, and AI-driven analytics. Its subscription-based platform provides real-time insights, enabling businesses to extend credit responsibly, boost revenue, and maintain stable debt ratios. Originally developed by Inoxico – a Vumela-backed company…

Volvo Cars is leveraging AI-generated life-like virtual worlds to advance the development of its safety software, including driver assistance systems (ADAS), with the goal of creating safer vehicles. By synthesizing incident data from advanced sensors in its cars, such as emergency braking, sharp steering, or manual interventions, Volvo can now reconstruct and explore these scenarios in new ways to better understand how to prevent accidents. This breakthrough is made possible by Gaussian splatting, an advanced computational technique that creates realistic, high-fidelity 3D scenes from real-world visuals. The virtual environment can be manipulated by adding or removing road users, altering traffic…

A user’s messaging app account might be of interest not only to jealous spouses and nosy coworkers, but also to cybercriminals. Stolen WhatsApp accounts are used for various types of criminal activity, ranging from spam distribution to sophisticated scam schemes. Cybercriminals constantly look for WhatsApp accounts and use various methods to gain access to them.  There are two ways cybercriminals can gain control of a WhatsApp account: they can add another device to an existing account using the “Linked devices” feature, or they can re-register the account on their own device as if the user had bought a new phone.…

Today, Google Cloud officially celebrated the opening of its first African cloud region in Johannesburg, a significant milestone in Google’s $1 billion investment pledge to help accelerate Africa’s digital transformation. Operational since January 2024, the Johannesburg cloud region directly supports African businesses and multinational corporations operating on the African continent by providing access to cutting-edge technologies: innovative AI and machine learning, powerful data analytics, and comprehensive security solutions. This enables organizations to improve operational efficiency, build groundbreaking tools, and ultimately unlock new opportunities for growth. Google Cloud’s region builds on wider infrastructure investments into the continent. In May 2024, Google Cloud announced a…

A man experiences a medical emergency, activates his car’s autopilot, and it navigates him safely to a hospital. A woman’s smartwatch detects an irregular heartbeat, sends her an alert urging her to seek medical attention, diagnosing her with a life-threatening arrhythmia that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.  An elderly man lost in the wilderness is found by a drone after three days of futile searching. Two hikers stranded on Table Mountain are saved thanks to location-sharing technology and an EMS helicopter. These aren’t movie scenes; they’re real-life examples of how technology is no longer just an enhancement—it’s a lifeline. Yet,…

Fleet management is transforming rapidly thanks to the introduction of technologies like predictive maintenance, sophisticated GPS monitoring, and even automation. The advent of these systems (and many more) has brought myriad benefits to the logistics industry, allowing for reduced operational costs, improved fuel efficiency, and—an increasingly important aspect these days—reduced environmental impact.  While all these innovations have modernised fleet management, the industry will receive a push into the future, thanks to the introduction of data-driven technology, advanced telematics, and Internet of Things (IoT) equipment. According to British-Dutch oil company Shell, it is estimated that in 2028, more than 35 million trucks…

Despite a severe financial crisis, the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) continues to waste money on Telkom lines instead of adopting cost-saving Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. This was revealed in an audit by the Gauteng Department of e-Government. VoIP, which converts voice into digital data transmitted over the internet, could save the province R33.9 million annually, a 91% reduction in costs. However, key departments remain resistant to the switch. The biggest offenders include: Health: R29.1 million Education: R3.2 million Social Development: R916,918 Michael Waters, DA Gauteng Spokesperson for e-Government, criticised the GPG’s reluctance, stating, “Given the financial crisis caused…

Walter Isaacson makes interesting observations about innovation in his book The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution. “But the main lesson to draw from the birth of computers is that innovation is usually a group effort, involving collaboration between visionaries and engineers and that creativity comes from drawing on many sources,” writes Isaacson. He adds: “Only in storybooks do inventions come like a thunderbolt, or a lightbulb popping out of the head of a lone individual in a basement or garret or garage.” Why invoke Isaacson’s words? Simply because South Africa’s recent celebration of…

The single most powerful way to empower tens of millions of South Africans quickly is to drive down the cost of smart devices and get cheap, reliable broadband into their hands. The ability to participate in e-commerce, remote work, online education and digital financial services creates a world of opportunity currently closed to the poor and unemployed, writes Solly Malatsi. Malatsi, minister of communications & digital technologies, writing in the Sunday Times stated that it was his mission to change that by opening wide a path to a digital future for every South African, from the most remote rural area…

A Vereeniging-based metal castings producer, Yellow Star Manufacturing (YSM), allegedly paid R14 million a year in bribes to Emfuleni municipal employees to secure an illegal electricity connection and tamper with meter readings, according to explosive claims by its former CEO, Andries Mar Sunday Times reports that the illicit arrangement reportedly saved YSM, a supplier to major mining and steel firms, millions of rand monthly, slashing its power bill by half. The scheme was so audacious that a transformer was allegedly stolen from an Eskom depot in the Free State and installed on YSM’s premises. Sunday Times reported that this alleged…