Author: Staff Writer

Checkers Sixty60 has won the 2020 BCX Digital Innovation Awards, which recognises excellence in digital innovation in the corporate category. Sixty60, the first 60-minute grocery delivery service from a South African supermarket chain, also recently won the People’s Choice Award and the Best Enterprise Solution at the 2020 MTN Business App of the Year Awards. These awards recognise Sixty60’s innovation and the gap that it quickly filled since it was first launched in November 2019, shortly before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. To meet the massive increase in demand during lockdown, Checkers rapidly expanded Sixty60 to provide a much-needed…

Vodacom KwaZulu Natal Region, in partnership with KwaZulu Natal Department of Education and Durban University of Technology (DUT), are launching an exciting programme that will see over 300 young girls between the ages of 14 and 18 from previously disadvantaged schools receive coding and robotics training. Vodacom’s #CodeLikeAGirl programme aims to encourage more girls to explore careers that require coding skills to help them get a start in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Female participation is lagging in a field that is expanding globally and men continue to dominate the number of STEM graduates in most countries.…

Vodacom Tanzania’s Smart Kitochi, enabled by KaiOS, wins the Last Mile Connectivity Award at AfricaCom 2020 Awards. The Last Mile Connectivity Award recognises organisations and initiatives that have significantly increased access to reliable and affordable internet in underserved areas. KaiOS powers low-cost devices to significantly increase access to reliable and affordable internet in underserved areas and help build a better, more inclusive, digital world. Today KaiOS has shipped 135 million devices to over 150 countries. The first KaiOS-enabled device in Africa was announced at 2018 AfricaCom, and now these devices are available in most of the Sub-Saharan Africa countries and…

The Gauteng Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs) will from Monday dedicate 70% of their capacity to driving licence renewals to address current backlogs. “Working together with all the stakeholders, the province will ensure that 70% of all slots made available to the DLTCs will be dedicated exclusively to processing driving licence renewals on a daily basis. “We have also taken a decision that available capacity in the DLTCs, such as equipment, machinery and staff will be dedicated to addressing the backlog in driving licences renewals,” said the Gauteng Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure MEC, Jacob Mamabolo. Mamabolo on Wednesday said…

DStv’s much-anticipated DStv Explora Ultra has officially launched, ushering in a new world of video entertainment for customers, with more choice and value. The new Explora Ultra will be available at participating retail stores from next week. As part of the new experience, Netflix will be available for the first time on the Explora Ultra decoder. The first generation Explora launched seven years ago with updated versions of the device released over the years culminating in the Explora 3B decoder. The Explora Ultra builds on its predecessor with exciting new features. DStv, Netflix Partnership As part of the partnership, the…

Black Friday is a major shopping event each year, where consumers have traditionally flocked to retail stores to capitalise on massive specials and pre-Christmas deals. However, with COVID-19 fears still high and social distancing protocols in place, South African consumer behaviour has shifted away from physical stores and into the digital world, with Google statistics indicating that 77% of South African shoppers say the pandemic has affected how they will shop for the holidays and 51% deciding to avoid retail stores on Black Friday this year. Today, consumers are Phygital (Physical + Digital = Phygital) as they purchase goods and…

FinChatBot, a creator of conversational AI solutions for the financial services industry, has attracted $1.6 million (R25 million) in investments. The investment was led by Saviu Ventures, a French investment holding company which focuses on African startups; Mauritius-based Compass Venture Capital and leading South African venture capital firm Kalon Venture Partners. Both Compass Venture Capital and Kalon Venture Established in 2016, FinChatBot’s solutions have become key conversation and customer service channels for most financial service providers in South Africa. It now services 20+ top-tier financial service providers including banks and insurers, helping to sell and service financial products with no…

There are significant business opportunities in the mobile broadband space in building an ecosystem of affordable mobile devices to support user migration to 4G and 5G cellular network technology. This was the message emerging from the 5th Huawei Africa Mobile Broadband Salon taking place at the online Africacom Africa Tech Festival from 9-12 November. Delegates heard that the ICT industry had never been more important to society, and that it was now at the forefront of social development and restoring economies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Connectivity is the foundation for digital transformation,” said Salon facilitator Mohamed Madkour, vice president,…

Five winning bidders have been announced for the controversial National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) tender to supply laptops to students. The five shortlisted bidders are Pinnacle, CEOS Technologies, MLO Distinctive Solutions, ANG Group and East Side Group. The winning bidder will be responsible for procuring 730 000 laptops to benefit 430 000 students in 26 universities and 300 000 students in 50 TVET colleges across the country. The tender has been cancelled twice due to corruption allegations. “The review of the end to end procurement process was performed by NSFAS external legal attorneys,” NSFAS said in a statement. “The…

Sun Exchange, South African renewable energy start-up, today announced its expansion into sub-Saharan Africa with the launch of the crowdsale for a multiphase 1.9 megawatt (MW) solar-plus-storage project for Nhimbe Fresh, one of Zimbabwe’s biggest fruit and tobacco producers. This will be the largest Sun Exchange solar installation to date and the first outside South Africa. The multiphase solar and battery project will power Nhimbe Fresh packhouses, cold store facilities, pump sites, and Churchill Farm. The introduction of continuous, reliable power, at a lower cost than running diesel generators, is forecast to reduce the Nhimbe Fresh facilities’ energy costs by…