Author: Staff Writer
The COVID-19 grant will only be paid until the end of January 2021. SASSA has determined a cut-off date for lodging appeals in respect of declined COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grants. The purpose is to strengthen administrative controls in the management of this grant and to give effect to a conducive environment for accounting. An opportunity to appeal a SASSA decision to decline your COVID-19 SRD grant application that was submitted to SASSA between the month of May 2020 – October 2020 will be closed with effect from 11 December 2020. Appeals for applications made during the extension period…
Christmas is a time of joyfulness and of time spent with family. Avon Justine has stepped in to make sure that it would be no different for patients at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital (NMCH). The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, (NMCF) in partnership with global beauty and cosmetics company Avon Justine, have bought some festive cheer to the children at its flagship project, NMCH, when they presented them with a Christmas hamper comprising of toys and goodies to the value of R50 000. The cheque handover and the donation of Christmas hampers took place at the hospital premises in Parktown, Johannesburg,…
South African-based mobile phone company Vodacom announced today that it has partnered with GSMA to drive the digital inclusion of persons with disabilities. Today, on International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), GSMA Assistive Tech has launched the ‘Principles for driving digital inclusion of people with disabilities,’ a framework for action aimed at increasing the digital inclusion of people with disabilities. “Vodacom’s vision of connecting everyone for a better future has enabled Vodacom to embrace the digital inclusion of consumers with disabilities for more than a decade. We are excited to join the GSMA’s Assistive Tech Programme by becoming a…
Vodacom Mpumalanga Region partnered with BPG Langfontein, a farming business that employs the majority of the people living in Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga province to create SA’s first smartphone only town. In September 2019, Vodacom deployed 3G and 4G sites in Wakkerstroom and later moved over 1500 farm workers from using 2G feature phones to 3G and 4G enabled smartphones. In fact, Vodacom’s commitment to accelerate network coverage for people who live in Wakkerstroom has already yielded a great number of results. Within months of Vodacom having moved farm workers in the area to faster 4G network, Wakkerstroom enjoys 100% internet…
Planet42, an Estonian car subscription company that helps individuals ignored by banks to get access to a personal vehicle, has announced a $10 million (R152 million) raise from US-based Lendable Inc, an institutional debt investor. To date, Planet 42 has bought and delivered over 2,000 second-hand cars in South Africa, its primary market. “Our ambition is to make mobility accessible to everyone who can afford it, including the people that banks deem ‘blacklisted’, which comprise more than 90% of our clientele,” says Eerik Oja, the CEO and co-founder of Planet42. “We’ve already signed up over 300 car dealerships across South…
African micro-insurance FinTech aYo Holdings has broken through the 10 million customer mark in under four years after starting operations. aYo’s new CEO Marius Botha says the milestone is set to trigger a period of further growth. MTN, Africa’s largest mobile phone group, has increased its shareholding in aYo through acquisition of additional shares. MTN now owns 75% of aYo, it was disclosed last week Monday. For more read: MTN INCREASES STAKE IN MOBILE MICRO-INSURANCE FIRM AYO In 2017, South Africa’s third-biggest insurer Momentum Metropolitan and MTN launched aYo. aYo provides you with a fast, convenient, and easy to use insurance right on your…
Telkom today announced the launch of a digital wallet officially dubbed Telkom Pay Digital Wallet or Telkom Pay. The company said Telkom Pay allows users to pay others and get paid themselves using their mobile phone through the WhatsApp messaging app to anyone on their contacts list. It also serves as a cashless Point of Sale (POS) payment option for businesses. “We are launching financial services solutions that cater to everyone and that are easy to access through one’s phone 24/7 at an affordable price for consumers and businesses. Our device insurance has been in the market for a number…
2020 marks the end of the UN Decade for Road Safety. South Africa joined other nations a decade ago as a part of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety to reduce road fatalities and injuries by 50% by 2020 due to the fact that it is a major public health threat across the globe, claiming 1.3 million lives every year and injuring about 20 to 50 million people more. Unfortunately, little progress has been made and South Africa’s road death statistics are unacceptably high. The number or road deaths peak during the Festive Season. Earlier this year…
Digital payments FinTech Ozow says it processed in excess of R1 billion in transactions in a month, for the first time in November 2020. This is thanks to a Black Friday surge where the single biggest transaction was more than R500,000 on a popular ecommerce site. After being founded in 2014, it took the company two years and nine months to process its first R1 billion. Since then, the growth has been exponential, says Ozow’s CEO and co-founder, Thomas Pays. “It’s astounding to see how popular instant payment solutions have become. A growing number of South Africans are using instant…
LocumBase, the independent online platform that brings medical practices and locum practitioners together through a simplified locum booking process, has secured funding from E ² Investments and Jozi Angels. Zulé Vuuren, LocumBase founder and Chief Energy Officer, says that as a market-first the platform is in a constant state of evolution as it aims to meet the needs of South Africa’s medical fraternity. “A product and service like LocumBase has not been done before on the African continent. There was a lot of learning to do before our product could address the needs of the market, which is why we…