Author: Staff Writer

DataProphet, a South African in AI that enables manufacturers to step towards autonomous manufacturing, has been awarded the 2020 European Prescriptive for Autonomous Manufacturing Technology Innovation Leadership Award by international research firm Frost & Sullivan. For DataProphet, this is the fourth prestigious international recognition in a row as the company has also been named a 2019 World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer, received the AIconics Award for Innovation in Deep Learning and was recognised by CBInsights as one of 100 Most Innovative Artificial Intelligence Startups 2020. This award is a further testament to DataProphet as a thought leader in the field…

Prestigious, independent school, Bridge House and award-winning EdTech company, Digemy, have joined forces to create ConnectEd – the first Independent Examinations Board (IEB) curriculum online high school in Africa to utilise a dynamic adaptive learning platform. The school will launch initially for Grades 10 and 11, with other grades to follow next year and into 2022. Bridge House and Digemy have an aligned vision to change the traditional teaching model and, in the process, enable a first-rate education to be accessible to a much wider audience. “A key issue with the current education system is that all students are expected…

Avo, launched at the height of the national lockdown, has surpassed the 100 000 customer mark in September 2020 and continues to evolve alongside its market. Focusing on the balance of the platform strategy, Avo Business has signed up over 1 600 merchants as demand from customers has increased. “The growth we have seen on the Avo super app has not only been exponential but also inspiring in terms of South Africans robust appetite for digitisation and innovation,” says Ray Naicker, Chief Digital Officer of Nedbank Group. “Listening to our user base is key to our success. Data is an invaluable currency…

Statistics South Africa says almost two-thirds of South African households now have at least one person who accesses the Internet. Add this to the fact that October marks Cybersecurity Awareness Month in many countries, including SA, and it’s clear web users are ready for anti-fraud advice. That’s according to ZA Central Registry NPC (ZACR) which says that there are many ways whereby Internet users can help to prevent domain name fraud in South Africa. “SA web users are not powerless in the face of local and foreign fraudsters who prefer to direct the awesome potential of the web towards nefarious…

Telkom is looking for fresh local content creators to contribute content to and have it featured on its new video service called TelkomONE – the streaming platform that celebrates local talent. TelkomONE is the latest product offering by Telkom expected to launch in November 2020 and will boast a bouquet of local content including music, education and series. “TelkomONE is a proudly local and South African service and naturally, we want to host and showcase outstanding content by content producers from our very own shores, including filmmakers, videographers, writers and directors on the platform,” said Wanda Mkhize – Telkom Executive…

Liquid Telecom South Africa announced today that Deon Geyser has been appointed as its new CEO. His appointment is effective from January 2021. Geyser will be responsible for overseeing the strategic repositioning of the company as Liquid Intelligent Technologies and the execution of the new strategic direction of providing an integrated technology capability that enables customers to transform their business through new intelligent technologies.  “We are delighted to welcome Deon to Liquid Telecom South Africa,” said Group Chief Operating Officer Ahmad Mokhles. “He is a proven leader and his strong knowledge of both the local market and the continent,…

The Shoprite Group is launching a rewards programme for its Shopite branded stores on Monday 12 October 2020. The new Shoprite Xtra Savings card will benefit customers with immediate cash savings and launches a year after the Checkers Xtra Savings rewards programme, with more than 5 million customers signed up for and which put more than a R1 billion back in the pocket of consumers through savings and discounts in the last year. Xtra Savings will – in time – become the country’s biggest rewards programme reaching the Shoprite’s Group 19.3 million shoppers across South Africa. It comes at a…

MyBroadband Insights has released the Q3 2020 Mobile Network Quality Report, which shows that MTN has the best mobile network in South Africa. The report is based on 334,257-speed tests performed by thousands of MyBroadband Speed Test App users across South Africa between 1 July and 30 September 2020. The research shows that South Africa had an average mobile download speed of 29.16Mbps and an average upload speed of 11.46Mbps. MTN had the highest average download speed at 55.11Mbps, followed by Vodacom on 29.80Mbps, Telkom on 23.60Mbps, Cell C on 17.82Mbps and Rain on 10.02Mbps. Over the last quarter, the…

Vodacom customer *Mbaa Malolo’s life has changed overnight!  The first lucky recipient of a R500,000 cash injection towards a Dream Home, Malolo didn’t quite believe it at first. As part of the VodaBucks Rewards Programme, Malolo says he would “Shake” his device every day, and continued to do so until he received a notification informing him he had won R500, 000 towards a Dream Home. ‘I didn’t believe it, until a representative from Vodacom called me to confirm my luck,’ he says. “I was struggling to complete my housing project, as I only qualified for a R10 000 loan from…

Beauty company Avon has launched a new brand movement, ‘Watch Me Now’ which embraces and celebrates those that have been underestimated and unexpected, reaffirming its positioning that Avon is more than just a Beauty company. Avon stands for beauty, innovation, optimism and, above all, women – and has been for over 135 years. Mafahle Mareletse, Managing Director of Avon Justine, says “WATCH ME NOW is a movement created to celebrate our consumers and Representatives rise. We are here to help you transform into the person you’re meant to be. When you beat the odds, defy expectations, and fulfil your potential, we’ll…