Author: Staff Writer

Naspers Foundry, a R1.4 billion startup fund aimed at boosting the South African technology sector, has taken a R30 million bet on rising tech start-up, SweepSouth. SweepSouth is an online cleaning services platform that connects clients with trusted, reliable domestic cleaners. The investment kicks off Naspers’ commitment to supporting talented and ambitious entrepreneurs in South Africa who are using technology to improve people’s daily lives. “We are excited to announce our first Naspers Foundry investment and to welcome SweepSouth to the Naspers family. We are inspired by entrepreneurs like Aisha and Alen who use innovative technology to improve people’s lives,”…

The analytics group Lightstone released a study showing that there were 375 electric vehicles that had been sold in South Africa as of January 2018. The minister of transport, Blade Nzimande, updated that information in March 2019 and said that there are a total of 867 EVs registered in the country. The sudden rise in the number of electrically powered vehicles in South Africa can be the result of several trends that are currently taking place –and may keep the number of EVs growing. Gauteng accounts for half of this total with 390 of the 867 registered vehicles, while in…

Meet the brand new BMW M850i. As you can see, it is a four-door sports car. It is derived directly from a two-door sports car. Developed alongside the BMW 8 Series Coupe and the BMW M8 GTE endurance racing car. Distinctive proportions, wheelbase 201 millimetres longer than on the BMW 8 Series Coupe. Abundant spaciousness in the rear. It has more legroom than ever in a BMW coupe. Large door apertures make getting in and out easier. Considerable increase in shoulder room in the rear, more headroom in all seats than in the two-door members of the new BMW 8 Series…

South Africa’s youth have once again voted Avon the coolest make-up brand in South Africa. This is the eighth consecutive time that the iconic beauty brand wins this category at the Sunday Times Generation Next Awards. “We are pleased that the South African youth have once again given our Brand and fantastic products the thumbs up,” says Momin Hukamdad, Executive Director of Commercial Marketing at Avon Justine. “Winning this award for the eighth consecutive time highlights the quality and accessibility of our products and the fact that we work hard to ensure our customer’s needs and expectations are duly met…

S SBC) AfriTech, the leading global tech accelerator program in Africa, received 1804 applications for its 2019 cohort – an astounding 80% increase from last year. Now, the very best have been selected. The top 22 tech teams have been invited to attend the Final Selection Days to be hosted at Amazon Web Services’ Head Office in Cape Town from 10 to 11 July 2019. Of the 22 teams that were chosen, seven are from South Africa, six hail from Nigeria and two are from Kenya, with Uganda, Togo, the United Kingdom, Morocco, the United States, Senegal and Zimbabwe each…

SA Taxi has advanced its efforts to overcome the financial, structural and legislative hurdles facing the taxi industry by providing qualifying taxi owners with access to more affordable vehicle finance. The ground-breaking transformational ownership transaction, which secured the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) a 25% stake in SA Taxi as part of a deal worth R1.7 billion, has enabled SA Taxi to lower its cost of funding a minibus taxi. SA Taxi is now able to offer vehicle finance at interest rates as low as 15.5% per annum to lower risk grade customers, thereby expanding its product offerings to…

The MTN SA Foundation has partnered with Bellavista S.H.A.R.E., a division of Bellavista School, and USA-based non-profit Curious Learning, to pilot an award-winning child literacy app which significantly enhances reading fluency and comprehension. This is a response to calls growing louder for government, corporates and all citizens to step up to help solve a growing literacy crisis. The pilot of the ground-breaking app, called ‘Feed the Monster’, helps make learning the fundamentals of reading more meaningful and fun while reaching out to a wide community. In recognition of the importance of using the mother tongue to foster literacy at foundation…

Eighteen (18) young South Africans were selected to receive one of nearly 200 scholarships from the Avon Foundation’s Global Scholarship Programme. The programme offers financial support for Avon Representatives, their children and grandchildren to support their studies, education and career goals. These students from across the country will be awarded a bursary to support their tertiary education ambitions. They include: Ashima Alam Jadine Chetty Muchanyara Chitando Bernice Delport Andrew Howitt Nkosikhona Khumalo Mogatlogedi Malefo Nomagugu Sibong Mbane Sarini Moodley Patience Mutsvairigwa Okejimi Olufunke Monise Parazee Twane Roux Priyanka Sewnarain Aanisah Tootla Aletta Etrisia Van Wyk Philisiwe Zuma Jade Moodley Avon…

A new application round has opened for the R12.8million CDI Growth Fund to boost SME growth and job creation. The CDI Growth Fund is a grant fund specifically for growing South African small businesses who need a cash injection to scale up further and create jobs. Since its launch in 2017, it has already contracted with 38 SMEs, who have collectively created over 160 jobs. The CDI Growth Fund is managed by CDI Capital, which was incorporated as a subsidiary of the Craft and Design Institute (CDI) in 2016 to catalyse funding for SMEs. The funding has been enabled through…

IBM today announced the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University) as the first African partner on the IBM Q Network. Wits University will also be the gateway for academics across South Africa and to the 15 universities who are part of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA). Quantum computing promises to be able to solve certain problems – such as chemical simulations and types of optimization – that will forever be beyond the practical reach of classical machines. IBM first made quantum computers available to the public in May 2016 through its IBM Q Experience quantum cloud service and has…