Author: Staff Writer

Entrepreneur-led Investment growth partner Silvertree Holdings has invested growth capital and operational resources in South African skincare brand SKOON. SKOON. is- a successful natural skincare collection that uses best-in-class, natural and non-toxic ingredients in scientifically lab-formulated combinations. SKOON. sells its products to a local customer base via its own website, skincare salons, as well as leading retailers, such as Faithful to Nature, Wellness Warehouse and Superbalist. It is the fastest-growing skincare brand on Faithful To Nature and ranked in the top 5 best-sellers on the site. In the month of October, SKOON. will launch in three Edgars Beauty stores, housing…

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MTN has launched its Summer YouTube Contract Promotion, which is offering new and existing customers 20GB YouTube Data and up to 50GB Anytime Data when they sign up or upgrade to selected price plans. Customers can use the free data to catch up on their favourite series, upload, download, stream and watch YouTube content. The free data can be used at any time of the day and is available for the first 30 days of the customer’s contract. “MTN has been connecting South Africans for 25 years. Throughout all the years, MTN has remained committed to offering our customers solutions that…

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MTN announced on Friday the appointment of Djibril Ouattara to the position of MTN Ivory Coast CEO. The appointment is effective 1 November 2019. The appointment follows the departure of former CEO, Freddy Tchala in September. Djibril is a seasoned executive with experience spanning more than 15 years in telecoms. In his most recent role as CEO of MTN Congo Brazzaville, he made significant strides in delivering on the company’s BRIGHT strategy, the company said. He has implemented a successful turnaround including a network transformation which won MTN Congo Brazzaville the award for ‘best network’ in the country for two…

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The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2019 to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea. The prize is also meant to recognise all the stakeholders working for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia and in the East and Northeast African regions. When Abiy Ahmed became Prime Minister in April 2018, he made it clear that he wished to resume peace talks with Eritrea. In close cooperation with Isaias Afwerki, the President of…

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Using a speed test to indicate the likely experience of an Internet customer is like trying to gauge a car’s performance simply by looking at its speedometer. That’s according to Huge Networks Commercial Director, Rad Jankovic, who says there are other ways to more accurately measure Internet Service Provider (ISP) performance. “Internet speed tests are unreliable indicators of Internet customer experience. They are limited by factors that are not related to the capacity of the Internet line such as everything from the physical distance to the server to congestion on the local LAN. There are too many variables that can…

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The Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA), in collaboration with Investec as lead sponsor and supported by Sanlam Investments, today announced the shortlist of nominees for the 2019 SAVCA Industry Awards. The winners across four categories will be announced at a gala dinner to be held on 7 November 2019. The official shortlist for the 2019 SAVCA Industry Awards finalists are: GoMetro: Use innovative technology GoMetro aids public transport planning in emerging markets by mapping commuter movements; Aerobotics: Utilise drone technology, Aerobotics helps to improve farmers’ yields by analysing crops to detect pests and diseases early on;…

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MTN South Africa, the country’s second-biggest mobile phone operator by subscribers, announced on Thursday that it has reached 95% 4G coverage across the country. The company disclosed this in a statement celebrating 25 years of “keeping the people of South Africa connected and having a positive impact on their lives”. Looking back to 1994, the company hosted the first-ever call on its network when there were just four million landlines in South Africa and only 1% of black South Africans owned a phone. Just ten years later, MTN had signed up 10 million subscribers, with penetration into rural areas and…

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Johannesburg Internet Exchange announced on Thursday it is increasing its backbone capacity. The exchange said INX-ZA has signed an agreement with Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) by which the wholesale connectivity provider will donate fibre to the community-run, multisite Johannesburg Internet Exchange (JINX). The DFA donation will specifically provide JINX with redundant no-cost, high-speed fibre between the Isando and Parklands Internet exchange point location. This will enable JINX to make use of wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) technologies, radically enhancing the exchange’s backbone capacity. Historically, one piece of fibre counted as one link. The agreement between DFA and JINX will see WDM technologies…

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China Mobile is interested in buying South Africa’s struggling third-biggest mobile operator by subscribers, Cell C. On Sunday, a source with knowledge of the matter told ITWeb – an online technology publication – that talks are taking place between Cell C and China Mobile, saying “a deal is imminent”. The speculation comes as struggling Cell C continues to drag down the shares of the JSE telecoms group Blue Label Telecoms, which owns almost half of the cellphone group. Last month, Cell C reported R8 billion net loss, after-tax, for the year ended-May 2019. As of 31 May 2019, no value…

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Just after a year of restoration, BMW South Africa revealed its latest classic project car as a limited edition “homologation” special developed specially by BMW Motorsport for South Africa. Today BMW South Africa unveiled its latest restoration project – the track-inspired BMW 530 MLE – at the “Home of BMW Legends”, BMW Group Plant Rosslyn. Now, the meticulously prepared BMW 530 MLE has enjoyed its first showing at BMW Group Plant Rosslyn in the company of four BMW Group South Africa employees who were on hand to build the original more than four decades ago. Restored by Luis Malhou of…

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