Author: Staff Writer

Two years ago, DataProphet received venture capital funding from Knife Capital to boost its innovation capabilities. DataProphet has now raised a $6 million (R101 million) Series-A funding round with Knife Capital following on, joined by the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) and Norican Group, a leading foundry engineering and equipment company. The funding will be used to strengthen the operational footprint of DataProphet internationally and fast-track the strategy of growing through and with their strategic partners across geographies and industry verticals. Founded in Cape Town in 2014, DataProphet is a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) that enables manufacturers…

Capitec, South Africa’s leading digital bank has been voted as South Africa’s coolest bank in the 16th annual Sunday Times Gen Next Awards, which recognises the country’s top brands as voted for by South African youth and young professionals. Thabiso Ntando, Brand Manager at Capitec, says: “We’re excited to be announced the coolest bank in SA. We have always said that we are the bank for all South Africans and this award shows that we are catering to the needs of our youth. I believe it is our client-centric digital offering that sets us apart and I’m particularly excited about our…

While COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on South Africa, work is afoot to create a new, inclusive economy that will create employment and foster sustainable growth for all South Africans, says President Cyril Ramaphosa. “As we work with our social partners to develop an urgent economic recovery programme, we are determined that we should not merely return to where we were before the pandemic struck. We are instead looking at actions that will build a new, inclusive economy that creates employment and fosters sustainable growth,” said the President on Monday. The President made this call in his weekly newsletter…

Huawei South Africa has added online training in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to its portfolio of free training it offers to South African ICT students of higher learning. This as part of its commitment to training in 4IR technologies such as 5G and cloud computing, which it kicked off last year. This was revealed by Huawei CEO Spawn Fan at the online opening ceremony for the 2020 ‘Seeds for the Future’ training programme to empower young people with globally relevant ICT skills. Seeds for the Future is Huawei’s global flagship CSR programme, designed to develop skilled, local ICT talent and bridge…

The world is all abuzz with the focus on the next most precious resource of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), data – the “black-gold” of the digital age. In order to be a major player in this new realm, South Africa needs to address its connectivity inequality. More and more human needs are being met through digital connectivity and a vital, thriving telecommunications market is the cornerstone for the acquisition of this new digital commodity. Valde Ferradaz, CEO of MVN-X, a business providing turn-key solutions for large scale organisations wanting to enter the mobile telecommunications market, believes Mobile Virtual Network…

In the face of COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of local South African heroes continued working, bringing information, hope and help to those less fortunate than themselves. MTN’s “Everyday Heroes” campaign called on South Africans to ‘shout-out’ their local heroes using #WeGoodTogether on social media, and the nation answered. Throughout the months of June and July, hundreds of nominations poured in, says Jacqui O’Sullivan, Corporate Affairs Executive for MTN South Africa. “Our campaign attracted the most heart-warming stories from South Africans, recognising those who are making lives brighter through their acts of kindness. In many cases these heroes are using their own…

MTN Group on Wednesday announced that the current group CFO of MTN Group, Ralph Mupita, has been appointed as the new group president and CEO. His appointment is effective from 1 September 2020. Mupita has served as the MTN Group CFO since April 2017 and has played a critical role in the development and execution of the group’s strategy, capital allocation processes, financial performance as well as in the resolution of a number of complex regulatory matters. “After a rigorous and extensive search process, we are pleased to have appointed someone of Ralph’s calibre, experience and ability to fill the…

Kaspersky analysis has revealed that phishing attacks are becoming increasingly more targeted. A number of new tricks have also been found – from HR dismissal emails to attacks disguised as delivery notifications. As a result of such tendencies, security solutions have detected 2,023,501 phishing attacks in South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda and Ethiopia. These and other findings are documented in Kaspersky’s new spam and phishing in Q2 2020 report. Phishing is one of the oldest and most flexible types of social engineering attacks. They are used in many ways, and for different purposes, to lure unwary users to the…

Many South African businesses have been decimated, and millions of employees are losing their jobs on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yellow Pages by Telkom Business aims to fast track the growth of SMEs by offering telecommunications and marketing support and has now teamed up with Fundrr to offer loans to businesses wanting to grow. Yellow Pages, which is a division of Telkom Business, provides support packages that help small businesses develop their online visibility and grow their sales and branding into new markets. “Online presence is more important than ever, especially during Covid-19. We offer all small businesses access…

Norman Goodfellows is a third-generation family-owned retail and redistribution business. Established in 1976, the company has been providing the finest wine, spirits, malts, soft drinks, party services and gifts for more than four decades. Today, the company delivers up to 1 000 deliveries a day. Norman Goodfellows has partnered with Picup to build fully integrated on-demand delivery into its e-commerce platform. The entire solution was implemented within three days and can now handle hundreds of deliveries daily. The wine and spirits merchant engaged with Picup and quickly implemented its logistics software. This solution automates the grouping of orders into specific…