Author: Staff Writer
DappRadar, a global platform for discovering and analyzing dapps, has announced it has raised $2.33 million in seed funding. The investment was led by Naspers, a global internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world, through its Naspers Ventures division, with participation from Blockchain.com Ventures and Angel Invest Berlin. DappRadar will use the investment primarily for R&D, developing new functionality to help the business expand its service and reach the next stage in its growth. DappRadar tracks over 2,500 dapps across seven blockchains, including Ethereum, EOS and TRON, with plans to expand to others, filtering data to…
The deadline for the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) Youth Challenge competition has been extended to 30 September 2019. The bank is impressed by the number of entries received since the launch of the campaign in July and believes that the deadline extension will provide more young people with more time to think through and submit entries, which can contribute to building Africa’s prosperity. Called the DBSA Youth Challenge, the competition invites entrants aged 18-35 to submit innovative development ideas that address infrastructural needs across various sectors. The winning submissions will attract a total of R1.5 million in prize…
MTN Group reiterates its stand against any form of xenophobia and damage to property and remains concerned about the situation in its markets. The mobile phone operator announced on Wednesday it has shut down all of its stores and service centres in Nigeria. MTN in a statement confirmed that over the last day four its outlets in Nigeria have been the subject of attacks and it had to close some stores in Johannesburg. The company said there are no reported injuries. “While we remain committed to providing uninterrupted services, the safety and security of our customers, staff and partners is…
The Molecular Sciences Institute (MSI) at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa, in partnership with the Cirrus Initiative, today announced plans for a new artificial intelligence (AI) research operation in Africa. The AI initiative was announced at the 2019 AI Expo Africa in Cape Town. Hosted by the MSI in the Wits School of Chemistry, the newly formed Cirrus Initiative will focus on the analysis of research data in chemistry, with a view to collaborate with physics, technology and engineering projects using machine learning. Advances in AI and its application in addressing the challenges facing Africa…
As MTN we strongly condemn prejudice and xenophobia and we reiterate our unequivocal condemnation of any and all violence, Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator said in a statement on Tuesday. “As a leading pan-African telecommunications company with operations in 21 countries, MTN believes in the potential of an Africa whose nations pursue deeper trade, integration and cooperation,” MTN said. “We actively encourage the dialogue necessary to maintain peace and sustain strong relationships and urge all our customers and stakeholders to support and defend the principles of human rights, diversity and inclusion and an integrated collaborative Africa.” South African police on…
JSE-listed tech firm Datatec has acquired 70% of Cilnet, a Portugal-based Cisco systems integrator and managed services business. Datatec announced its subsidiary, Logicalis has bought 70% stake in Cilnet. The company, which is valued at more than R billion, said the transaction will increase Logicalis’ Cisco technical expertise for the Iberian region. It also complements the existing Spanish operation with a data centre, collaboration, networking, infrastructure and managed services capabilities. Cilnet was founded in 2000 and has over 90 employees, including 8 Cisco Certified Internetwork Experts (CCIEs). The company designs and integrates networking, data centre and contact centre solutions, complemented…
They have changed the way we live our lives, have simplified everyday tasks and made us more productive, and once again it is time for the biggest celebration of app development on the continent. The MTN Business App of the Year Awards is taking place on 24 October and event founder and organiser Creative Space Media is urging any local champions of app development talent in South Africa to enter. The Awards categories include best consumer solution, best enterprise solution, best incubated solution, most innovative solution, best health solution, best gaming solution, best agricultural solution, best educational solution, best financial…
Sun Exchange, a global solar micro-leasing marketplace, has kickstarted a R7 million ($460,000) Uprise.Africa equity crowdfunding campaign, for about 5.2% equity stake in the company. Following a two-week private sale period, the Uprise.Africa campaign is now open to the public. Sun Exchange is renowned as a technology and renewable energy leader across Africa. Since launching in 2015, the company has built a community of more than 8,000 Sun Exchange members across approximately 140 countries and brought solar power to 13 South African schools, businesses and organisations, offsetting 1,500 tonnes of carbon per year, and growing. It has received extensive accolades for its unique approach…
AlphaCode, Rand Merchant Investment Holdings (RMI)’s incubation, acceleration and investment vehicle has awarded R23 million supplier development loans to three FinTech startups, Zande Africa, Bright On Capital and Livestock Wealth. All businesses have exciting growth stories. Zande Africa started in 2016 with just two founders, Siya Ntutela and Mdu Thabethe. The business provides trade and merchant finance to spaza shops to enable stock purchases. It now has a turnover of R17 million with 71 staff and it is about to open a third depot in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, after growing its operations in Nelspruit and Ermelo. Bright On…
Vodacom Tanzania and Flickswitch today announced the availability of SIM Manager, a mobile connectivity management platform for companies looking to provide Mobility and Internet of Things (IoT) services. The new Vodacom service creates an innovative mobile eco-system that gives businesses in Tanzania with large scale communication needs access to self-help online SIM management tools. Customers can now self-provision mobile numbers and build their own monthly packages by setting up smart Top-Up rules. “We firmly believe that the launch of this service will stimulate innovation and support for both SME’s and large corporates alike with the necessary business tools to address…