Author: Staff Writer

MTN has delivered on its commitment to the growing number of TikTok users in South Africa by launching customised MTN TikTok data bundles, available to all prepaid customers. The data bundle is available on *136*2# from as little as R5 for a 100MB daily bundle. TikTok is a short-form video sharing app which, according to DataReportal has surpassed 1.5 billion downloads and 500 million active users worldwide. Although there are no official figures to measure the penetration of TikTok in South Africa, local hashtags such as #tiktoksouthafrica and #southafrica indicate that the social media service has a total of 7,000…

Short-Term insurance brands are among South Africa’s most successful businesses and have changed consumer perceptions of what used to be grudge purchase with smart branding and ongoing product innovation. Nonetheless, short-term insurance remains a slippery transaction. Consumers often pay premiums for years on end, without claiming or receiving anything in return for their purchase. But this year everything will change. Solvency, an emerging financial services challenger brand, is disrupting the status quo with an Insurance Savings Account (ISA) that is funded through car and household insurance premiums. Solvency is a product underwritten by GENRIC Insurance Company. “The Solvency solution offers…

South African venture capital firm Kalon Venture Partners announced its investment in cyber-security email protection and compliance business, Sendmarc. Sendmarc was launched in 2018 by Sam Hutchinson, Keith Thompson and Sacha Matulovich. These key founding members were the pioneers in identifying a need for a safer and more secure email environment for small to large companies. Sendmarc provides the setup, implementation and reporting functionality for a global email protection standard known as DMARC. This protocol is designed to give email domain owners the ability to protect their domains from unauthorised use, such as impersonation attacks or email spoofing. The purpose and…

Naked, South Africa’s first end-to-end artificial intelligence-driven insurance platform, is building on its significant success in car insurance by bringing its next-generation insurance to the home insurance market. Customers can now get comprehensive, instant, and hasslefree cover for their home and the things they own through Naked’s completely automated digital process. Naked offers customers a comprehensive set of short-term personal insurance products that are built on new generation technology and a fairer business model. In April 2018, Naked launched an award-winning car insurance offering that uses automation to offer significant premium savings and higher levels of customer control over the…

Liquid Telecom is to launch the first 5G wholesale roaming service in South Africa. The company said the wholesale roaming service would be available from early 2020 in all major South African cities, this latest fifth generation of mobile internet connectivity will enable wholesale operators to create innovative, ultra-fast and scalable digital services for their customers. The 5G wholesale network will also help accelerate the evolution of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in South Africa. Reliable connectivity up to 10 times faster than 4G will allow businesses to harness trends such as the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics and artificial…

SAP announced BCX as top place winner in the category of SAP EMEA South Award for Partner Excellence for Service Excellence at a ceremony on 14th January. The award is measured by year on year increase in certified personnel. “This award is around service excellence,” said BCX CEO, Jonas Bogoshi,” And is a great way to kickstart 2020 across our markets. It talks to our values of collaboration, innovation, service and agility. “BCX has repositioned itself with a customer centric strategy, focusing on customer service challenges and putting the customer at the heart of the organisation, so to be recognised…

There were lots of big winners in 2019. In politics, Boris Johnson came up trumps (no pun intended). At the Oscars, Bohemian Rhapsody was the big winner. In motorsport, Lewis Hamilton reigned supreme. And, in the South African motor industry, the Volkswagen Tiguan was the big winner in the resale value stakes. According to Darryl Jacobson, managing director of True Price, this enterprising start-up has conducted the first-ever study into annual winners in the resale value stakes. “We decided to analyse which 2018 model year vehicles achieved the best resale value (measured against the original list price) during 2019. This…

The National Traffic Information System (NATIS) has introduced an online method to report accidents for insurance purposes. If you are involved in a minor accident there is no need to visit your nearest South African Police Services. You can just visit the NATIS website to automatically generate a Crash Report Number for insurance. Only accidents in which no one was injured or died can be reported on the NATIS website. According to the NATIS website, the submission of a crash report will be legally binding and the criteria are as follows: All crashes must be reported within 24 hours or the…

Enhanced automobile displays will soon be able to locate open parking spaces, see-through obstructions, and coach drivers into safer operation visually, using the world around them. Altia, an advanced automotive cockpit display solutions provider, is showcasing what’s next in driver interface design at CES 2020, in multiple exhibits and demonstrations taking place throughout the show. Altia is a software and services company offering a complete solution for production user interfaces. The company will be showcasing HMIs (human-machine interfaces) that include the newest features and innovations in: 3D graphical displays that give instruments and objects increased realism and value Integrated cockpit designs with…

Dr Xolani Humphrey Mkhwanazi passed away peacefully in the early hours of Saturday morning, 4th January 2020 at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre in Parktown Johannesburg, having been admitted on the 14th December 2019. Dr Mkhwanazi was appointed to the JSE-listed technology group EOH board on the 5th June 2019, as chairman and independent non-executive director, lending his tremendous credibility and insight to the company and the board at a most critical time for the organisation.  “I worked closely with Dr Mkhwanazi who played a pivotal role in helping to guide EOH towards a better future,” Stephen van Coller,…