Author: Staff Writer

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…

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…

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…

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…

FNB announced on Tuesday its plan to grow its national footprint by opening more branches. The bank said it will be adding seven more branches to its existing national footprint of 619 branches in South Africa. Before the end of its financial year, the bank plans to open additional branches in the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and the Western Cape. Chief Executive of FNB Points of Presence, Lee-Anne van Zyl says on average, FNB branches service approximately 1.6 million customers per month using digital zones (self-service terminals) and in-branch service consultants. “The branch network is very important in our…

MTN today announced the launch of e-SIM technology for postpaid customers. The e-Sim technology is available on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 42mm. These watches are only available to customers purchasing a 2-4-1 deal with the Samsung Galaxy Note10 or Note10+ on the newly upgraded MTN Made For Me or Sky Price plans. Jacqui O’Sullivan, Executive for Corporate Affairs at MTN South Africa: “We invested substantially in building the best mobile network in South Africa with the aim of offering our customers the best in innovation and experience to match.” New and existing postpaid customers who sign-up or upgrade on MTN…

CredoLab, an alternative credit scoring FinTech company, has launched in South Africa to help financial institutions and other lenders credit score more people, especially those who are new to bank and new to credit. Launched in Singapore three years ago, CredoLab develops bank-grade digital scorecards using smartphone device metadata. CredoLab signed up two banks and a leading airtime credit provider in SA earlier this year. CredoLab’s sales director for Europe and Africa, Michel Massain, was in the country last week meeting other large financial institutions, credit bureaus and consumer lenders. “You need a credit score to participate in the economy but…

SA Taxi has teamed up with Bridgestone South Africa, a tyre manufacturer, to provide tyre specifically designed for the Toyota minibus taxi. The tyre has been designed to meet not only the stringent requirements of the Ses’fikile Toyota Quantum minibus taxis but also the Original Auto Equipment Manufacturer requirements. SA Taxi finances entrepreneurs who operate minibus taxis that may not otherwise have access to credit from traditional banks. The South African National Taxi Council owns 25% of SA Taxi. Through SA Taxi Rewards, an associated multi-faceted loyalty programme, operators will be able to save R400 per tyre and earn rewards…

MTN Group today launched its “We’re good together” initiative. This is aimed at demonstrating how, in partnering with our host countries, we can change lives by improving digital access, driving financial inclusion, empowering and enabling SMEs, creating jobs and broad community development, among many others. As a pan African company with roots that are deeply anchored in the continent, MTN is telling its story that doing good business extends far beyond corporate social investment initiatives. Watch the Video Below: Our approach going forward is to always ask: how far can we all go? “To harness the potential of Africa and…

The top 12 innovative and sustainable FinTech solutions have been shortlisted for the Global Fintech Hackcelerator Southern Africa. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will host a Fintech Demo Day on 29 October 2019 to select the two winning solutions. In August 2019 the SARB joined forces with KPMG Matchi to run the 2019 Global FinTech Hackcelerator Southern Africa, an acceleration programme that creates a platform for FinTech firms to demonstrate their innovative solutions to complex financial challenges in the Southern African region. FinTech firms from all over the world were invited to submit an application in response to problem…