Author: Staff Writer

Broadband Infraco has partnered with Google to offer additional skills training under its Digital Skills Programme, “Grow with Google”. This training will be offered to learners and teachers in remote rural areas outside of the school curriculum. The aim of the collaboration is to provide learners and teachers in remote rural areas with the necessary skills to prepare for today’s changing work environments and the impact that the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) will bring about. “Having experienced the roll-out of infrastructure and internet; and noticing the lack of adoption of the connectivity being provided to some of the schools due to…

The new MINI Cooper SE will be the first purely electrically powered premium small car, paving the way to a sustainable yet at the same time highly emotional driving experience in urban traffic. The first solely electrically powered model of the British brand offers pure MINI feeling with locally emissions-free driving. It model-specific lithium-ion battery enables a range of 235 to 270 kilometres. The high-voltage battery is situated deep in the vehicle floor, ensuring there are no limitations in terms of luggage compartment volume as compared to the conventionally powered MINI 3 Door. With the new MINI Cooper SE, the British brand once again…

MTN, South Africa’s second-biggest mobile phone operator, has collaborated with JSE-listed financial services group, Sanlam, to make a range of innovative and inclusive financial services available to MTN’s digitally-savvy customers. “At MTN we believe that everyone deserves the benefit of a modern connected life and that we are uniquely positioned to help make this a reality. By harnessing the power of our technology, we can offer our customers a range of financial services, anytime and anywhere,” said Rob Shuter, Group CEO of MTN. The Insurtech investment and product knowledge of Sanlam, the largest insurer on the continent, matched with the…

South Africa topped Opensignal’s Africa Download Speed Experience table with a fairly impressive score of 15 Mbps, while Tunisia, Morocco and Kenya also managed average speeds of over 10 Mbps. The mobile analytics company has compared 10 of Africa’s mobile markets to see how they stack up against each other in mobile network experience. Almost all the African countries it analyzed saw their Download Speed Experience scores increase over the past year, as Tunisia saw the biggest increase of 3.6 Mbps to reach 13.4 Mbps. South Africa’s score was quite a way behind the leading global scores, but the country…

Cabin settings will be altered in response to the driver’s facial expressions to help tackle stress Reports suggest 74 per cent of people admit to feeling stressed or overwhelmed every day New mood-detection system is one of a suite of technologies Jaguar Land Rover is exploring as part of its ‘tranquil sanctuary’ vision to improve the overall driving experience Jaguar Land Rover is researching new artificial intelligence (AI) technology to understand our state of mind while driving – and adjust cabin settings to improve driver wellbeing. The technology uses a driver-facing camera and biometric sensing to monitor and evaluate the…

Spotify announced today it has launched a “Lite” version of its music streaming app in South Africa. With Spotify Lite, you can easily control your data and storage. It’s only 10 MB, so it’s quick to install and load while offering the same great listening experience that lets you discover, play, and enjoy millions of songs. It also comes with the ability to set a data limit and get a notification when you reach it. This way, you’ll be able to focus on finding your next favourite song—not worrying about data. No need to worry if you’re running low on…

Warehouse Management Software Solution has received an undisclosed Series A funding round from Knife Capital – a venture capital firm with offices in Cape Town and London. Knife Capital invests via a consortium of funding partnerships, including SARS section 12J Venture Capital Company KNF Ventures and select family offices. Granite WMS is an easy to use barcode-based warehouse management system (WMS) developed by South African automated identification business: Cradle Technology Services. It integrates into various Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and accounting software packages and expands warehouse operations and business processes to help deliver products on time, accurately and cost-effectively.…

De Beers Group is investing $315,000 R4.4 million) over three years in programmes that aim to encourage young women to study STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects and to pursue engineering careers in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. “With a global shortage of engineers, and women representing only 11 per cent of the engineering workforce, attracting more young women into engineering is vital,” Katie Fergusson, Senior VP Social Impact, De Beers Group, said. “In our fast-changing world, we need diversity of thought to find new solutions, so we are therefore thrilled to be able to partner with WomEng and…

Audi has launched a virtual reality-enabled Audi Customer Private Lounge (CPL) at Audi Centre Centurion in Gauteng, bringing the brand in South Africa in line with global trends, by offering an innovative, digital, retail solution which allows customers to customise the Audi of their choice. With the VR solution, customers can get an extremely realistic experience of their individually configured car, down to the last detail. The Audi CPL allows for a one-to-one engagement between a customer and a sales consultant in a digital, premium and intimate environment. Once in the CPL, digital technologies like the VR headset and 75-inch…

South Africa’s Naspers through its Naspers Ventures division and EQT Ventures have invested €30 million (R474 million) in Dott, a European micro-mobility company. EQT Ventures is European multistage venture capital fund with commitments of just over €566 million. Other investors include existing investors Axel Springer Digital Ventures, Felix Capital, FJ Labs, U-Start Club, and angel investors. Dott is a micro-mobility European start-up founded by Maxim Romain and Henri Moissinac, gathering the most experienced team in mobility and tech in Europe. Its mission is to beautifully design micro-mobility for safety, comfort, and durability, to make green travel an easy choice for…