Author: Staff Writer

As of January 2020, commercial 5G networks have been deployed in 378 cities across 34 countries, according to the new VIAVI report “The State of 5G Deployments,” now in its fourth year. The country with the most cities with 5G availability is South Korea with 85 cities, followed by China with 57, the United States at 50, and the U.K. with 31 cities. In terms of regional coverage, EMEA leads the way with 168 cities where 5G networks have been deployed, Asia is second with 156 cities, with 54 cities covered by 5G across the Americas. Africa is represented by…

Following the launch of the MultiChoice Innovation Fund last week in KwaZulu-Natal, the second in a series of regional seminars around this exciting new funding and development initiative took place in Cape Town today. MultiChoice Group, in partnership with the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism, as well as WESGRO hosted entrepreneurs and SMEs under the theme of ‘Spurring a culture of innovation within the SME segment of South Africa’. The seminar aims to further the goals of the Innovation Fund by driving innovation in the tech and video entertainment sector and unearthing entrepreneurs with unique business ideas.…

Minister Stella Ndabeni Abrahams, who heads the Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies, has stressed the need for partnerships and collaboration with global companies like Huawei to grow innovation in the SA ICT sector as the country moves into the era of digitisation. Speaking during a community stakeholder engagement in Mthatha, after the launch of Huawei’s free 5G training for ICT students at the Walter Sisulu University, the Minister said; “It is very important that we understand that through collaboration with global companies like Huawei, we can build on and enhance the ideas that we have.” “That is why when…

The BMW Group will unveil its first pure-electric Gran Coupe on 3 March 2020 at the Geneva Motor Show. The BMW Concept i4 heralds a new era in Sheer Driving Pleasure; it provides a whole new take on the dynamic excellence for which BMW is renowned and blends a modern, elegantly sporty design with the spaciousness and practicality of a four-door Gran Coupe – all while generating zero local emissions. “The BMW Concept i4 brings electrification to the core of the BMW brand,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design. “The design is dynamic, clean and elegant.…

This week Uber users in South Africa will have the option of receiving a four-digit PIN code to provide to their driver before starting a trip. This added layer of verification can help ensure users get in the right car and drivers are picking up the correct rider. Most users will be able to set up the PIN verification feature in their app, with the feature rolled out to all users in the coming weeks. Users can opt-in to the PIN code feature by navigating to their app settings and tapping “Verify Your Ride.” From there, users can choose to…

Dread diseases such as cancer not only have a devastating effect on individuals but can also prove to be costly for society, as they can have a potentially large impact on productivity and the overall economy. Every cancer-related death in individuals of working age, as well as every absence from work due to cancer—whether temporary or permanent—represents an economic loss to society. “Cancer is a costly disease, with potentially significant impact on productivity and the economy, meaning that aside from directly affecting the lives of those diagnosed, it potentially also has a largescale knock-on effect on communities. This should certainly…

Public Enterprises Deputy Minister Phumulo Masualle says there is still a commercial case for SA Express, and that it can play a critical role as a feeder airline to service secondary routes and key cities in the Southern African region. Masualle said this after engaging the business rescue practitioners of SA Express, which was placed under business rescue on 6 February 2020 by an order of the Johannesburg High Court. The business rescue process was as a result of legal action undertaken by service provider Ziegler. The service provider, whom SA Express had contended in its responding papers to the…

AutoTrader, South Africa’s largest and most trusted motoring marketplace, has invested in making the K53 learner’s book available free of charge to all South Africans via Help Guides. Leveraging the reach of one of the most visited sites in the country, AutoTrader’s goal is to champion wider access to the K53 manual as a crucial step to greater mobility and financial freedom to many. “As one of SA’s leading online auto trading sites, we have the opportunity to assist many South Africans,” said George Mienie, AutoTrader CEO. “Obtaining a driving license is a necessary step toward finding personal mobility.” AutoTrader’s…

iiDENTIFii, South Africa’s very own leading-edge company has been invited to demonstrate their innovative artificial intelligence development for thousands of leaders in the field at Finovate, Berlin, this month. iiDENTIFii provides a secure and user-friendly technology platform that authenticates physical identities in a connected world. And they are on a mission to stop identity fraud by making seamless identity authentication accessible to everyone, everywhere, on any mobile device. Gur Geva, Co-CEO of leading digital authentication company iiDENTIFii, not only represented iiDENTIFii at this year’s Finovate event in Berlin, Germany, which took place from 11 – 13 February 2020 but he…

Amsterdam-based venture capital fund Two Hop Ventures has announced that it has taken a stake in Johannesburg-based Bitcoin SV (BSV) wallet and merchant payment startup Centbee. Centbee is growing globally from its base in South Africa. The deal comes after South African-based venture capital fund Paper Plane Ventures successfully exited to Two Hop. Centbee was in the news last year when it raised £1 million in a Series A round from Canadian-born billionaire entrepreneur Calvin Ayre. “Not only is Centbee one of the most used wallets in the BitcoinSV (BSV) ecosystem, it’s building products and services with a strong focus on regulatory compliance.…