Author: Staff Writer

ICT experts say service innovation is key to reaping the upcoming 5G dividend; with a strong focus on accelerating the proliferation of 4G LTE networks during the SADC Ministerial ICT forum held in Dar es Salam last week. Innovative Services will drive the 5G Dividend 5G is now a reality in Africa as South Africa’s mobile data network operator rain and Huawei jointly announced the commissioning of Africa’s first commercial 5G network. rain has built the 5G network using its 3.6GHz spectrum, which adopts Huawei’s 5G end-to-end network products and terminals, taking the lead in rapidly deploying 5G networks. The…

South African mobile data network operator rain and Huawei have jointly announced the commissioning of Africa’s first commercial 5G network. rain has invited a select number of existing clients to experience its 5G home offering of unlimited, ultra-fast 5G internet using Huawei’s 5G CPE Pro. rain has built the 5G network using its 3.6GHz spectrum, which adopts Huawei 5G end-to-end network products and terminals to take the lead in rapidly deploying 5G networks. According to the roll-out plan, rain expects the first phase of the 5G network to cover the key areas of Johannesburg and Tshwane. During 2019 and 2020,…

At Huawei Connect 2019, Huawei announced its strategy for the computing market. The conference is an annual flagship event hosted by Huawei for the global ICT industry and is held in Shanghai from September 18 to 20, 2019. This year’s Conference is themed on “Advance Intelligence” and aims to establish an open, cooperative, and shared platform for customers and partners to explore new opportunities for an intelligent future. At Huawei Connect 2019, in his keynote address Ken Hu, Huawei’s deputy chairman outlines Huawei’s computing strategy. “The future of computing is a massive market worth more than two trillion US dollars,”…

Refinitiv today announced the 2019 Top 100 most diverse and inclusive organizations globally as ranked by the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Index. The D&I Index, launched in 2016, ranks the top 100 publicly traded companies globally with the most diverse and inclusive workplaces, as measured by 24 metrics across four key categories: Diversity, Inclusion, People Development and News Controversies. The Index is then calculated by weighing each metric based on importance in the market and how each company compares with its peers. The index ratings are informed by Refinitiv’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data, designed to transparently and objectively…

Ulwembu, a South African black-owned management consulting and ICT services company, has bought a stake in JumpCo Consulting. JumpCO Consulting is a professional service and software product business focused on delivering digital economy-ready enterprise solutions in integration and business process management (BPM), cloud and container technology, app development and DevOps. Established in 2000, JumpCO is a gold IBM and premier Red Hat business partner and solution provider. The partnership is a collaboration of the best of both companies, with Ulwembu taking a definitive step into the IBM services and product market, and JumpCO broadening its reach and consulting offering through…

“My Name is Reeva”, a tell-all documentary focusing on the late Reeva Steenkamp, her story and the impact her murder and trial had on her parents, family and close friends has received bids from four private investors. One of the investors, who cannot be named at this stage is a well-known distributor of premium content across the globe. Uprise.Africa, an equity crowdfunding platform, facilitated the fundraising campaign for the documentary during women’s month in August 2019 with the launch being in conjunction with Reeva’s birthday on 16 August. The campaign was open to only private funders during the launch with…

With South Africa’s unemployment rate recently increasing to 29%*, leading direct-selling beauty brand – Avon Justine – today announced the launch of its initiative to provide women with sustainable earning opportunities, tackling the country’s growing unemployment crisis while playing its part in empowering talented, yet undiscovered, local female entrepreneurs. Speaking about the launch, Nishani Singh, Director at Avon Justine Pty Ltd, who says “While its positive to note that the ratio of South African women engaging in early-stage entrepreneurial activity compared to men is on the rise (annual increase of 17%**), an environment that supports female entrepreneurs needs to be…

During ITU Telecom World 2019, Huawei unveiled the DigiTruck project, in partnership with Belgium nonprofit organization Close the Gap, to provide digital skills training to rural and remote communities in Kenya. The DigiTruck is Huawei’s latest effort driving their digital inclusion initiative Tech4ALL. The Launching Ceremony of DigiTruck With the rapid development of the global digital economy, the World Bank’s latest report [1] points out that Southern Africa’s demand for digital skills in 2030 is as high as 230 million people, which is in stark contrast to the current prevailing lack of digital skills in Africa. In Kenya, for example,…

Vodacom Tanzania and Smart Lab have today launched “Vodacom Digital Accelerator,” a program that intends to help early-stage and growth-stage technology startups become profitable and revenue-generating businesses. The new program which will run yearly aims at identifying and supporting startup entrepreneurs in mobile, telecom, FinTech, media, health, education, and e-commerce will have three phases which include application, selection and acceleration. During the program which also aims at leveraging corporate resources, networks, mentors, and partners, participants will present their progress to a panel of investors and associates at the end of a 3-month acceleration period from which winners will get further…

South African-based venture capital firm Vunani Capital announced on Wednesday it has invested in e-commerce player SnapnSave. The venture capital, which invested through the Vunani Fintech Fund, did not disclose the investment amount and valuation. SnapnSave is South Africa’s #1 cashback grocery coupon app that gives shoppers cashback on their favourite products, wherever and whenever they shop, just by snapping a photo of their till slip. The investment by Vunani Capital, a prominent pan-African diversified financial services group, will be used to further grow and scale the shopper and vendor base of SnapnSave to further enhance the company’s position as…