Author: Staff Writer

MTN Nigeria is attracting more customers as it prioritises upgrading its network capacity to accommodate growth in traffic while continuing to expand 4G network coverage, albeit at a slower pace given the constraints presented by COVID-19. In the first half of the year, MTN Nigeria achieved 6.8 million in net additions to connect over 71.1 million customers to its network. The company also connected 3.8 million new users to the internet, bringing its active data subscribers to 29 million. MTN Nigeria’s MoMo (mobile money) subscribers increased by 1.6 million to 2.2 million in the six months to end June, according…

FinTech startup Remitly has raised $85 million (R1.4 billion ) at a $1.5 billion (R24.7 billion) valuation in a funding round led by existing investor Prosus’s PayU. The funding will enable Remitly to expand its suite of financial services products and digital solutions as the global demand for digital remittances continues to surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. Returning investor Prosus’s PayU led the round at a $1.5 billion valuation. They were joined by returning partners DN Capital, Generation Investment Management, Owl Rock Capital, Princeville, Stripes, Threshold Ventures, and Top Tier. “As the current health crisis continues to devastate the global…

As the COVID-19 crisis continues globally, carriers need to be prepared in four areas of network construction and business development to quickly unleash network potential and inspire business growth, said Huawei’s executive director and president of the Carrier BG Ryan Ding. He was delivering a keynote speech at the Better World Summit 2020 today. 1. Carriers need to maximize the value of existing networks. They should make the most of their networks and rapidly expand their capacity by using software or adding boards or replacing RRUs. This can help them respond to the soaring data traffic during the pandemic and…

FNB announced on Wednesday it has launched a virtual card for individual and business customers. The banking group said in a statement that the virtual card will be available by October 2020. Customers can access the virtual card via the FNB App and the RMB Private Banking App. Once available, customers can request the card anytime, anywhere at no additional cost. The virtual card is available to individual customers across Debit, Fusion and Credit Cards and for business customers on Debit Cards. All 3 million FNB and RMB Private Bank App users can conveniently use Virtual Cards for QR code…

South Africa’s digital system aggregator and solution provider, Nexio has named former Vodacom Business chief sales officer as its new chief executive officer, turning to an industry veteran to help drive growth. Unlisted Nexio said in a statement it had appointed Mickey Mashale as its new chief executive, effective August 1. “We are pleased to welcome Ms. Mickey Mashale as the new Chief Executive Officer of Nexio. Mickey is recognised as one of the industry’s distinguished female business thought leaders,” Nexio Board Chairperson and Vodacom Business CEO, William Mzimba said. “During her reign as interim acting CEO, Mickey has demonstrated a…

DStv announced on Monday that the pay-TV service will be bringing back US sports channel ESPN. The US sports channel eased broadcasting in Africa on 31 July 2013. MultiChoice Group (MCG) and The Walt Disney Company Africa today announced that they have signed an exciting partnership, which will see a significant addition to the sports available to its customers across the continent. The agreement will result in two 24-hour ESPN channels being made available to DStv customers from 29 July, where they will be able to enjoy the very best of US sports. Featuring every major US sport as well…

On the opening day of the online Better World Summit, Huawei’s Rotating Chairman Guo Ping elaborated on how synergy across five major tech domains will help unlock the full potential of 5G to drive commercial success. Guest speakers from China Telecom, Etisalat, MTN, GSMA, and 3GPP/ETSI were also joined by several thousand online attendees from more than 80 countries to explore how information and communications technology (ICT) can power new economic growth both now and in a post-pandemic world. Guo Ping talks about 5G commercial success at the Better World Summit 2020 Working together to fight the pandemic with technology…

South African consumers look set to accelerate their journey towards online shopping beyond the pandemic as they stay in to enjoy the investments they have made in their homes during the lockdown. This is according to new Consumer Pulse research from GfK South Africa into the behaviours and sentiment of online consumers during the Level 3 lockdown. The survey reveals that consumers are preparing themselves for a prolonged period of cocooning, with 59% of consumers expecting the pandemic to last more than another 12 months, and 34% predicting that it will continue for another 18 months or more. Only 2%…

Many companies are looking for new ways to access markets and clients, given the impact of COVID-19 on our economies.  Current market conditions, as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown, have limited the opportunity for face-2-face sales meetings.  Manufacturing Indaba has developed a new virtual event platform that solves this market dilemma.  The new platform is known as Africa B2B and is a virtual business event providing 2 full days of virtual business meetings. Africa B2B affords companies with 2 days of new local and international clients to network, engage, sell, and showcase products and services.  Companies are looking for…

Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, says the 64-dish MeerKAT, the pre-cursor to the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), will be expanded by 20 dishes at a cost of R800 million. The Minister said this when he outlined the department’s spending priorities during a virtual sitting of the National Assembly on Friday. Nzimande said that astronomy in South Africa remains important to its socio-economic landscape and that the heritage will further be strengthened through the MeerKAT, which has already been able to give the world a glimpse into the star-formation history of the universe. “To extend its research…