Author: Staff Writer
MTN Group today announced the appointment of Chika Ekeji as Executive: Strategy and Transformation as part of plans to further bolster management capacity to accelerate the group’s strategic ambitions. Effective 15 March 2021, Chika joins Africa’s leading mobile operator from management consultancy McKinsey & Company in Nigeria, where he led the West Africa Digital Practice and served telco, financial services, and public sector clients across Africa. “We are very pleased that Chika is joining us as we work to accelerate our strategic repositioning,” said MTN Group Chief Operating Officer Jens Schulte-Bockum. A Nigerian-American national, Chika has a Masters of Engineering in…
Ukheshe Technologies, the South African digital FinTech enablement provider, is targeting global expansion. Having established itself as a formidable payment technology specialist within the B2B sector, the company has set its sights on the Middle East, Europe and Asia Pacific. Apart from its regional African reach, Ukheshe will focus on establishing significant long-term partnerships in strategic locations within the Asia Pacific region, Europe, and the Middle East. The company has filled key senior positions with the announcement of Donovan Drew as President: Asia Pacific; Paul Selibas as President Project Engineering, based in Europe; together with Chris Pillay as VP of…
Openserve, Telkom’s network division, announced today that it would double the speed of its fibre lines in March 2021. Today, Telkom’s Consumer Division, revealed new high-speed fibre packages for existing and new customers as well as price changes. From 5 March 2021, as a promotional offer, new customers can experience 25/5Mbps Uncapped fibre from R399 and 50Mbps at R699, while existing Telkom internet fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) customers get a free speed upgrade, in some instances 2.5x times more the speed, to the new speed portfolio with no price increases while others get a price decrease. New FTTH Home Unlimited Bundles prices…
Telkom is calling all gaming content creators, gamers, producers and commentators to submit their work for a chance to win R100 000 and produce their own seasons. The #OpenUpTheGames competition is open until 30 April 2021 for submissions of a minimum 1 and maximum 3 lifestyle content pieces relating to gaming and no longer than between 5-10 mins each. The URL for submissions is: www.create.telkomone.tv. “Following the success of the #OpenUpTheIndustry content creation competition, we wanted to open up another industry of interest to our customers – gaming, in addition to other future segments to be disclosed in due time…
Vodacom is launching Digi-Parenting, a resource to provide parents with the tools, knowledge, and advice for building happy and safe digital homes for their kids. Children’s online use continues to increase. With this comes opportunities to learn and grow but also the potential for risky situations. To help with raising the next generation in a safe digital society, Vodacom is bringing Digi-Parenting. The resource is available to Vodacom and non-Vodacom customers. In a study by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention in South Africa, almost half of parents reported having never had any guidance on how to support or…
Hellopay and Mastercard announced a partnership to roll out SoftPOS – a contactless acceptance solution that turns any NFC-enabled Android device into a physical point of sale. This move is expected to boost digital payment acceptance at small informal enterprises in South Africa while supporting consumers’ preference for touch-free payments amidst social distancing. SoftPOS leverages Mastercard Tap on Phone, a simple and cost-effective digital payment technology developed for micro and small businesses like spaza shops, independent retailers, market stall traders, mobile servicemen and tradesmen who tend to operate in a cash economy due to the costs and complexity of obtaining…
Bolt, a ride-hailing and e-scooter firm, has secured a €20 million (R364 million) war chest of funds to expand in Eastern European and African markets. The funds were secured from the World Bank’s IFC. Bolt launched South Africa – its first African market – in 2016 and now operates in over 34 towns and cities across all nine provinces, connecting more than 25,000 drivers with passengers. Since its launch in South Africa, the company currently operates in seven African countries, providing earning opportunities for more than 400,000 drivers in over 70 cities across the continent. IFC’s funding will be targeted towards…
“We get to understand the clients and build tailor-made products for them, which makes it easier for them to give us feedback. It is more feedback for us, which enables us to further improve.”
South African signal distributor Sentech is leveraging the computing power of Amazon Web Services (AWS) to create streaming services in the country. The signal distributor provides broadcast transmission services to all SABC radio and television stations, commercial radio, and TV stations, and over 130 community radio stations country-wide daily. It also provides connectivity and infrastructure services to the retail, telecommunications, and public sector. Kopano Thage, Sentech’s acting Chief Marketing and Sales Officer, explains that AWS is one of the state-owned company’s suppliers and has assisted it in providing streaming solutions. “As the country went into Lockdown level 5 due to…
Software programming training academy WeThinkCode has announced plans to open a campus in Durban this July. The new facility will complement the school’s existing campuses in Johannesburg and Cape Town and is part of an ambitious plan to double their student intake to 600 this year. This will give more South Africans the opportunity to join the digital world and help build the country’s technology skills capability. E Squared Investments has committed R9,2-million to establish the new campus. “As an impact investor whose mandate is to attack poverty and unemployment in South Africa, there are strong synergies between WeThinkCode’s involvement…