Author: Staff Writer

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…

South Africa’s minibus-taxi industry is a key part of the country’s economy, providing affordable, accessible mass transport. At the same time, the taxi fleet uses carbon-emitting internal combustion engines. Reducing South Africa’s environmental impact must consider the electrification of the minibus-taxi sector. However, this is a complex process, and electrification will introduce many challenges. A paper to be presented at the forthcoming Southern African Transport Conference (SATC) outlines some key considerations. The conference addresses the theme, ”Upskilling and reskilling the transport industry for current and future challenges”. The analysis of prospects for an electrified taxi industry underscores the importance of…

Shoprite has introduced an innovative digital solution for its Cash & Carry stores, marking the wholesale brand’s first venture into ecommerce. Bulk-buying customers can now browse and purchase a wide range of goods at highly competitive prices through a fully automated online shopping system, with free delivery within a 50km radius. Spaza shops and smaller retail businesses often face significant obstacles, including high transportation and fuel costs, and difficulties in meeting demand within the informal sector. Overstocking can also result in high carrying costs, increased risk of theft and cash flow challenges. “We are committed to supporting small businesses by…

There is an increase in phishing and smishing attempts aimed at loading debit and credit cards onto criminals’ digital wallets. Phishing is a type of cybercrime in which people are duped into providing sensitive information such as login credentials, passwords, PINs, card details, or ID numbers by using deceptive techniques such as fake emails and websites. Smishing is the use of text messages – apparently from reputable institutions – to trick people into disclosing similar information. Criminals have realised that the process of loading a debit or credit card onto a digital wallet is similar to the process of making…

On 17 January 2024, Datacentrix announced that Convergence Partners, through its Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund (Convergence), alongside the existing Datacentrix management team, entered into a definitive agreement with Alviva Holdings to acquire 100% of Datacentrix. The agreement was subject to the fulfilment of conditions and regulatory approval. Datacentrix is pleased to announce that all conditions precedent have been met. The Competition Commission and Independent Communications Authority of South Africa have unconditionally approved the transaction. “We are delighted to be part of Datacentrix, one of the leading system integrators in South Africa. We are excited to embark on this journey…

In recent times, few technological advancements have gripped the public imagination like artificial intelligence (AI). As this technology becomes more commonplace, it presents an opportunity for South African businesses to rethink their operations to enhance existing revenue streams – or even create new ones. The TCS AI for Business Global Study, a comprehensive report on the state of AI adoption and its impact, shows that 69% of businesses are more focused on using AI to spur innovation and increase revenue, than on productivity improvement and cost optimisation. Globally, a staggering 86% of top business leaders worldwide are already using AI…

The new OPPO Reno12 FS 5G has landed in South Africa, adding to its popular, highly stylish and accessible AI phone. The Reno12 FS 5G features a brand-new Cosmos Ring Design, a dynamic Halo Light, and a 120Hz Smart Adaptive Screen, all protected by the robust All-Round Armour. It impresses with its stylish design and solid build. As an AI Portrait Expert, OPPO Reno12 FS 5G not only takes the lead in enhancing creativity in photography with advanced AI features like AI Eraser 2.0 and Smart Image Matting 2.0, but it also boosts productivity with AI tools including AI Recording…

Absa today introduced Absa Pay, a secure, simple, and fast payment option for our customers in South Africa. This new service allows online purchases without the need to provide bank card details. Absa Pay enhances our suite of world-class digital payment solutions. This service uses a new Application Programming Interface (API) to facilitate direct and secure communication between the customer’s bank and the merchant, significantly reducing the risk of fraud. “We are excited to introduce this payment solution to approximately 3 million digitally active customers. This is a significant development in the right direction for the bank as we continue…

Payments infrastructure company Stitch today announced that it will partner with Absa, one of South Africa’s leading banks, to make the newly launched Absa Pay available to Stitch merchants. Stitch will offer all available direct bank APIs, including Absa Pay, Capitec Pay and Nedbank Direct API, as part of its broader Pay by bank solution. With this addition, customers of Absa will be able to make payments directly from their Absa account to any Stitch merchant that integrates Absa Pay. Pay by bank is the fastest-growing payment method in South Africa, with rising demand from consumers due to its seamless…

Global technology brand HONOR has announced that the all-new HONOR 200 Lite 5G is now available for purchase in South African stores. Colour, Pricing and Availability  The HONOR 200 Lite 5G is now available at your nearest retailer or network provider in two colours: Starry Blue and Midnight Black, and will retail for the recommended price of R9,999. All purchases will come with free gifts to the value of R2,499, including an HONOR SuperCharger plus cable and screen protector in the box, free postal repair pickup and delivery service, 3-year battery health protection and a 180-day screen accident warranty excluding…