Author: Staff Writer

SA’s Wireless Application Service Providers’ Association is advising smartphone users alarmed by the ‘deepfake’ phenomenon that the expected promulgation of South Africa’s Cybercrimes and Cyberbullying Bill is imminent. Furthermore, there are practical ways web users can protect themselves from the growing trend to bully, shame and otherwise digitally harm people by overlaying their images onto unrelated photos and videos to concoct an untrue and alternative version of reality. In this fake reality made possible by ‘deep’ machine learning, reputations are destroyed and self-harm becomes a real possibility. “Local legislation offers some protection but with deepfake videos increasing by 84% since…

Seedstars World, the largest startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes is coming to South Africa for the 7th time, to hold 2 dynamic pitch events this time: 21st November 2019 at 4:00 pm in Cape Town, with the support of the local host Seedspace Capetown, 8 Spin Street Cape Town CBD. 28th November 2019, at 3:00 pm in Johannesburg at JoziHub, 44 Stanley Ave, Milpark, Johannesburg. After careful screening, the Seedstars team will shortlist up to 10 Startups per city of the best seed-stage startups in each city to give a 3 minutes pitch in English, in…

MTN today announced the first two winners of the MTN CakeCrush competition launched in October this year. As part of MTN’s big 25th birthday celebrations this summer, the competition gives customers a chance to win one of 25 VW Polo Vivos and their share of millions more in prizes. Ntombizamabele Oscarina Maganga from Kokstad, Kwa-Zulu Natal and Andile Angelo Manci from Bhizane, Eastern Cape are the two lucky winners of the VW Polo Vivos. The new cars are a fantastic festive season gifts for Ntombizamabele and Andile who are looking forward to many happy miles, road trips and brighter adventures…

Summer’s here and school holidays are upon us. “Millions of young South Africans will soon be experiencing the lazy, hazy days of summer and with them, plenty of free time to surf both the sea and the web,” says André van der Walt, chair of SA’s Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA). With smartphone penetration well over the 100% mark, it’s clear that many South African families now have multiple devices in the home. Unfortunately, coupled with the convenience of always-on connectivity is the constant threat of unsavoury web content. Good news for parents in the run-up to the summer holidays…

The limited fastest Mini ever has been revealed and is known as the MINI John Cooper Works GP. The new car packs more power and some serious aero. The MINI John Cooper Works GP name has been used by the BMW-owned brand in the past and embodies maximum performance and uncompromising dynamics. It follows on from the likewise limited-edition John Cooper Works GP small series of 2013 and 2006. This model is limited to just 3,000 units. The MINI John Cooper Works GP distils the racing essence of the modern MINI. Classic MINI icons such as the elliptical headlights and…

It is not enough for business to simply stick to the fundamental products and services they have always offered. In the digital age it’s disrupt or die. Caption: Lu Baoqiang, Vice President of Huawei Southern Africa Region According to the IDC, digital transformation is essential for an organisation to adapt quickly to changing markets. Business opportunities are fleeting, the IDC said, and if your business does not have the agility to seize them, your competition will. The IDC said that digitally transformed organisations can react quickly to changing market dynamics, and adapt their strategies quickly and on-demand. Companies that are…

IBM, American Cancer Society (ACS), the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), today announced a new alliance to help improve access to high-quality cancer care and treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa called Allied Against Cancer. The Alliance will support a network of African oncology experts and technical assistance partners to help improve the quality of cancer care, including collaborating closely with the African Cancer Coalition to establish priorities and execute these initiatives locally. There are more than 800,000 new cancer cases each year in Sub-Saharan Africa and incidence is projected to double by 2040. And…

MTN South Africa announced on Monday morning that it has signed a new long-form roaming and services agreement with Cell C, subject to certain conditions precedent. In May 2018, Cell C signed its first roaming agreement with MTN, providing Cell C with 2G, 3G and 4G roaming services on MTN’s network in select areas of South Africa. The new agreement will see this access expanded to enable Cell C to roam on MTN’s network in all areas of the country. This is aligned to MTN’s strategy to further develop the group’s wholesale business and will allow both MTN and Cell…

Luno’s CEO Marcus Swanepoel, speaking at AfricaCom 2019, has outlined how the implementation and use of cryptocurrencies will be an important part of Africa’s future. Luno can see that as cryptocurrencies develop over the next ten years, they can become part of everyone’s lives, solving many of the issues currently associated with existing fiat currencies. Commenting after his keynote at AfricaCom, Swanepoel said: “Cryptocurrencies are on a growth path which can help solve the fundamental problems of the existing monetary system, which in many parts of Africa is not fit for purpose. At the moment we tend to hear about…

Safaricom and Huawei have jointly received the prestigious Most Innovative Service “the Business of Tomorrow” award at AfricaCom 2019 in Cape Town. Safaricom and Huawei Executives at AfricaCom 2019, winners of “Most Innovative Service” Award. George Njuguna, IT Director, Safaricom (Left) and Stanley Shen, Director Safaricom KAD at Huawei Kenya (right) This award recognizes the two companies for offering the new revolutionary Mobile Money Overdraft service, known as “Fuliza”. This service enables users with insufficient funds in their M-PESA accounts to borrow money to complete their M-PESA transactions. The service was officially launched in January 2019 and has been gaining…