Author: Staff Writer
Lula, an enterprise ride sharing platform which was launched eight years ago, has announced its acquisition of Zeelo’s operations in South Africa, a move that will see this local scale up grow significantly. The operations will transition to Lula’s tech-enabled ride-sharing solution, which enables people to be collected from their homes and taken to work and back again safely and reliably. Co-Founder and Executive Director, Xabiso Nodada, says that he – alongside CEO Velani Mboweni- started the business to connect people in emerging cities to economic opportunities, one shared ride at a time. “Without access to transport, you cannot access…
Novus Holdings has announced a R55 million investment in Bytefuse, an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) company, to enhance its capabilities to deliver enterprise scale AI solutions. Having observed Bytefuse’s success in enhancing Maskew Miller Learning’s (MML) educational services through advanced AI solutions, Novus decided to acquire a strategic shareholding in Bytefuse. “AI is at the forefront of significant change in our society, and our work with MML demonstrates its potential to create significant value in education,” said Greg Newman, Chief Executive Officer at Bytefuse. “This investment from Novus Holdings will enable us to scale our solutions and bring AI-driven innovation…
The 2024 Pan-African Data Centres Exhibition and Conference opened at the Sandton Convention Centre today. At this gathering nearly 3,000 global data centre energy customers, as well as 120 integrators, consulting firms, and industry associations shared advanced technologies, industry insights, and highlighted innovation cases. As a key participant in the exhibition and conference, Huawei experts offered their latest insights and solutions for data centre (DC) construction as Africa enters the intelligent era. Huawei’s input in the conference agenda covered topics like data centre investment, planning, construction, servicing, and solutions. Huawei engaged with experts from well-known consulting companies and industry associations…
A recent survey has unveiled significant insights into the online shopping habits of South Africans, revealing a growing trend towards digital retail. Over 56% of South Africans shop online multiple times per month, with a notable 20% of these consumers making weekly purchases. This shift towards frequent online shopping highlights the increasing reliance on e-commerce platforms for everyday needs. Clothing and fashion dominate the online shopping scene, with 69.9% of respondents indicating that they regularly purchase apparel and accessories online. This category’s popularity can be attributed to the convenience of browsing a wide range of styles and brands from the…
Eskom announced today that the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) has granted a license to continue operating Koeberg Nuclear Power Station Unit 1, which provides 930MW to the grid, for another 20 years until July 21, 2044. With this extension, Koeberg Unit 1 will join around 120 reactors worldwide that have safely operated beyond their initial 40-year lifespan. Eskom has safely operated Koeberg Nuclear Power Station for 40 years, investing in safety improvements and extensive maintenance to ensure its continued safe operation into the future. “Together with our business partners, we are proud of the achievement that ensures that Africa’s first…
Two top South African students, Thembelihle Khumalo and Thagisa Percy, have reaped the benefits of Huawei’s LEAP skills development programme, which included a trip to China. They plan on using the skills they acquired to ensure that South Africa’s Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is as inclusive and equitable as possible. Standing for Leadership, Employability, Advancement and Possibilities, LEAP aims to advance young people’s ICT skills and employability in the region. At the recent LEAP Summit 2024: ICT Talent and Sustainable Development for Sub-Saharan Africa, held in Shanghai, China, a new target of training 150,000 students was announced, marking a significant…
The solution to address youth unemployment and the skills crisis lies in how we upskill and empower youth with relevant digital skills of the future before they enter the workplace. ICT certifications are not enough to meet the rate of change needed in the workplace and secure sustainable job creation. As a result, South African companies that hire and create jobs for young people with real life practical skills that meet the current and future skills demands of business will succeed. World Youth Skills Day, observed on July 15th, recognises the importance of empowering young people with skills for employment,…
Liquid C2, a subsidiary of Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a pan-African technology group, proudly announces the expansion of its Cloudmania business into the Egyptian channel partner ecosystem. Cloudmania is Liquid C2’ award-winning distribution business unit for cloud and cyber security solutions with operations in 35 countries across the Middle East and Africa. Cloudmania’s strategic partnership with Microsoft has allowed it to equip numerous partners with cloud and cyber security services and solutions, including Microsoft 365 and Azure solutions, within a fully supported ecosystem. “Extending Cloudmania’s reach to Egypt reflects our confidence in the Egyptian economy following the launch of Liquid C2…
TurnStay, a South African travel-focused fintech, has secured $300,000 (over R5.4 million) from Silicon Valley and New York investors DFS Lab and DCG. The company plans to use the funding to expand into Africa and build on its significant traction. Founded by experienced entrepreneurs Alon Stern, co-founder of Slide Financial, and James Hedley, co-founder of Quicket, TurnStay reduces payment costs for African merchants and platforms in travel and tourism by leveraging strategies used by the world’s biggest booking companies. Stephen Deng, General Partner at DFS Lab explains: “TurnStay is building a much-needed offering for the African travel and tourism industry,…
Thuthukani, Thungela’s enterprise supplier development (ESD) programme hosted a graduation ceremony in honour of sixty-one (61) local entrepreneurs from communities surrounding its operations, who completed the programme. This is the second cohort of entrepreneurs to complete the programme since its inception in 2022. The training programme is provided by business development support partner, Raizcorp, a pioneering business incubator that supports the growth of small and medium-sized businesses. The programme equips entrepreneurs with business-skills training, technical enablement and comprehensive mentorship to build sustainable and profitable businesses. Mpumi Sithole, Executive Head for Corporate Affairs at Thungela said: “In the hands of small…
Audi South Africa is taking a significant step forward in supporting the adoption of electric vehicles by expanding its charging network. The company has announced the addition of 150kW DC rapid public chargers at strategic locations across the country. This move aims to enhance the convenience and accessibility of electric vehicle charging, making long-distance travel more feasible and supporting the growing community of electric vehicle owners in South Africa. Following extensive investments in 2022 and 2023 – during which time Audi and its strategic partners GridCars and Rubicon added more than 120 DC and AC public charging points to the…
Delegates at the 42nd Southern African Transport Conference (SATC) currently underway at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Tshwane were surprised to find colourful minibus taxis parked inside the foyer of the venue. This was a departure from previous years, but proof of the ongoing integration of South Africa’s taxi industry into the mainstream of the country’s transportation planning and policymaking. New Transport Minister Barbara Creecy officially opened the SATC event on Monday, when she noted that the taxi industry transports about 80% of all users of public transport in the country and must therefore form an integral part of…
The Shoprite Group invites all high-achieving students with a passion for retail to apply for its comprehensive bursary programme. Students enrolled for degree studies in Accounting, Biological Sciences, Information Technology, Logistics and Supply Chain, Retail Business Management, Food Sciences, and Agricultural Sciences can apply for funding from 1 July to 30 September 2024 for the 2024/2025 academic year. The bursary covers tuition and on-campus accommodation and provides a monthly grocery allowance as well as access to the Group’s Employee Wellness Programme. Most beneficiaries are offered employment upon graduation and receive on-the-job training to ensure a seamless transition into the business where…
The SKAO celebrated a significant construction milestone last Thursday with the assembly of the first SKA-Mid telescope dish on site in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. This achievement marks a major step forward in the development of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, a project set to revolutionize radio astronomy by providing unprecedented insights into the universe. The “big lift” of its 15-m-wide main reflector onto the telescope pedestal was performed by a team from the SKAO, the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) and China’s CETC54, which is manufacturing the dishes and also led the 10-country strong consortium behind their…
A human being can be conceived and brought into the world in roughly the same time it takes for a South African small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) to become aware of and report a data breach. That’s according to Jaco Voigt, Managing Director of PerfectWorx Consulting, a Cisco technology ecosystem provider. This concerning timeframe is broadly in line with the 277 days mentioned in IBM’s 2022 data security report. “The bad actors have become so sly that when one clicks on that dodgy link, nothing happens immediately. A false sense of security is created, particularly at under-resourced smaller firms that…
The latest offering from the Under Armour Infinite collection – the Under Armour Infinite Pro is a sleek, low-top running shoe with a performance edge. Designed for comfort, balance, responsiveness and performance – the UA Infinite Pro keeps you game ready for peak performance from start to finish. Under Armour’s Infinite arsenal equips athletes with everything they need for their weekly training sessions, from long days to everyday routines. Whether it’s early morning hill sprints or mid-week recovery runs, athletes are geared up with the perfect tools to enhance their running game for endless momentum. Go the distance with UA…
TymeBank has announced the appointment of Karl Westvig as its new Chief Executive Officer. The bank’s current CEO, Coenraad Jonker, will turn his full attention to his role as Executive Chairman of Tyme Group, where he will drive the growth of the multi-country digital banking group. The changes are effective 1 October 2024. TymeBank Chairman, Thabani Jali, said: “TymeBank has reshaped the banking landscape in South Africa, and the bank is on course to reach 10 million customers this year. We believe the time is right to redeploy key executives into positions that will best serve both TymeBank and the…
Under Armour, the global leader in innovative sportswear and performance gear, announces the opening of its latest Brand House store at Pavilion Mall, Westville, Durban. Located at shop 332 on the cinema level, this 228-square-metre retail space marks the 19th Brand House store in South Africa, embodying Under Armour’s commitment to delivering unparalleled shopping experiences and cutting-edge products to athletes and fitness enthusiasts. The Pavilion store features the Under Armour Brand House City Concept Evolution (BHCC EVO) retail design. This design inspiration highlights a slick and modern feel that aims to emphasize a clean aesthetic with a focus on materials…
Last week power utility Eskom announced that it had achieved 100 consecutive days without loadshedding. As positive as this news is for the country without loadshedding, the solar market has experienced a significant decline in growth. Is there still a case for solar in South Africa and will the industry survive? To put things into perspective, this year, Jaltech, which provides long-term solar finance through power purchase agreements, issued more than 400 solar proposals to businesses along with its solar installer partners. These proposals were valued at over R4.1 billion, averaging more than R120 million per week over the past…
On 28th June, Huawei announced a new plan to train an additional 150,000 talents in Sub-Saharan Africa over the next three years. The plan comes on top of the ICT leader’s initial goal to equip over 100,000 people in the region with digital skills by 2025. Huawei has already exceeded its initial goal by 120%, 10 months ahead of schedule, training over 120,000 individuals over the past 26 months. Both announcements were made at the LEAP Summit 2024: ICT Talent and Sustainable Development for Sub-Saharan Africa. LEAP stands for leadership, employability, advancement and possibility. The event, co-hosted by Huawei and…
South African-born Thea Booysen, known as ‘Thea Beasty,’ has made a name for herself in the eSports industry and co-owns an eSports team. She teamed up with Volvo Car South Africa and local designer Fikile Sokhulu to model a custom-made A/W ’24 Ready-to-Wear garment using upholstery from Volvo’s latest electric car and AI technology in the design process. “The aim was to use material from the car, combined with a design that was influenced by AI. It was a first in South Africa,” points out Volvo Chief Financial Officer Marishka Govender. “We wanted to inspire the public to view sustainability…
Huawei Africa Connect 2024 Sub-Saharan Africa kicked off at the Sandton Convention Centre, with attending Huawei senior leaders declaring a new era for the enterprise-focused annual event. Previously called Huawei Eco Connect, this year’s edition reaffirmed the company’s commitment to sub-Saharan Africa and providing innovative solutions to partners in these markets. Opening the event, David Wang, Executive Director of the Board and Chairman of the ICT Infrastructure Managing Board for Huawei, commented that it was exciting to see so many governments and businesses in the region racing to go digital and many pioneers were already deploying intelligent applications. “We have…
Huawei has announced the launch of its Huawei Cloud Stack 8.3 offering at the Huawei Africa Connect 2024 conference, which took place in Johannesburg, South Africa. The launch of the offering was announced in a keynote speech delivered by Hu Yuhai, Vice President of Huawei Hybrid Cloud. Titled, “Leap to Cloud to Accelerate Industrial Intelligence”, the speech also saw Hu provide details on how Huawei Cloud Stack provides trusted cloud infrastructure, innovative cloud service abilities and extensive industry know-how to help government and enterprise customers in Africa accelerate cloud adoption. In line with this, Huawei Cloud has ramped up investments…
“Intelligent technologies are fast approaching, driving us to constantly innovate networking technologies so as to better embrace business changes.” That was the message from Leon Wang, President of Huawei’s Data Communication Product Line during his keynote at Huawei Africa Connect 2024, which took place in Johannesburg this week. The event, which was themed “Accelerate Industrial Intelligence” also saw Huawei introduces the Xinghe Intelligent Network Solution based on the Net5.5G target architecture, with the aim of accelerating industrial intelligence and building, “a solid bridge to the intelligent world.” Today, intelligent transformation initiatives and upgrades are gaining momentum across the globe, with…
From ancient modes of transport, the advent of trains, ships and trucks to the recent rise of e-commerce, the logistics industry has undergone incredible advancements. In recent years, GPS tracking, route optimisation algorithms, and real-time delivery updates have fueled the evolution of last-mile delivery. Today, we find ourselves in an era where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is driving transformative change in last-mile delivery across the globe, delivering not just parcels but also increased efficiency, security, and sustainability: Efficiency in that AI-powered delivery management systems utilise machine learning algorithms to optimise delivery routes, considering traffic conditions, delivery time windows, and customer preferences…