Author: Staff Writer

South Africa topped Opensignal’s Africa Download Speed Experience table with a fairly impressive score of 15 Mbps, while Tunisia, Morocco and Kenya also managed average speeds of over 10 Mbps. The mobile analytics company has compared 10 of Africa’s mobile markets to see how they stack up against each other in mobile network experience. Almost all the African countries it analyzed saw their Download Speed Experience scores increase over the past year, as Tunisia saw the biggest increase of 3.6 Mbps to reach 13.4 Mbps. South Africa’s score was quite a way behind the leading global scores, but the country…

Cabin settings will be altered in response to the driver’s facial expressions to help tackle stress Reports suggest 74 per cent of people admit to feeling stressed or overwhelmed every day New mood-detection system is one of a suite of technologies Jaguar Land Rover is exploring as part of its ‘tranquil sanctuary’ vision to improve the overall driving experience Jaguar Land Rover is researching new artificial intelligence (AI) technology to understand our state of mind while driving – and adjust cabin settings to improve driver wellbeing. The technology uses a driver-facing camera and biometric sensing to monitor and evaluate the…

Spotify announced today it has launched a “Lite” version of its music streaming app in South Africa. With Spotify Lite, you can easily control your data and storage. It’s only 10 MB, so it’s quick to install and load while offering the same great listening experience that lets you discover, play, and enjoy millions of songs. It also comes with the ability to set a data limit and get a notification when you reach it. This way, you’ll be able to focus on finding your next favourite song—not worrying about data. No need to worry if you’re running low on…

Warehouse Management Software Solution has received an undisclosed Series A funding round from Knife Capital – a venture capital firm with offices in Cape Town and London. Knife Capital invests via a consortium of funding partnerships, including SARS section 12J Venture Capital Company KNF Ventures and select family offices. Granite WMS is an easy to use barcode-based warehouse management system (WMS) developed by South African automated identification business: Cradle Technology Services. It integrates into various Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and accounting software packages and expands warehouse operations and business processes to help deliver products on time, accurately and cost-effectively.…

De Beers Group is investing $315,000 R4.4 million) over three years in programmes that aim to encourage young women to study STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects and to pursue engineering careers in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. “With a global shortage of engineers, and women representing only 11 per cent of the engineering workforce, attracting more young women into engineering is vital,” Katie Fergusson, Senior VP Social Impact, De Beers Group, said. “In our fast-changing world, we need diversity of thought to find new solutions, so we are therefore thrilled to be able to partner with WomEng and…

Audi has launched a virtual reality-enabled Audi Customer Private Lounge (CPL) at Audi Centre Centurion in Gauteng, bringing the brand in South Africa in line with global trends, by offering an innovative, digital, retail solution which allows customers to customise the Audi of their choice. With the VR solution, customers can get an extremely realistic experience of their individually configured car, down to the last detail. The Audi CPL allows for a one-to-one engagement between a customer and a sales consultant in a digital, premium and intimate environment. Once in the CPL, digital technologies like the VR headset and 75-inch…

South Africa’s Naspers through its Naspers Ventures division and EQT Ventures have invested €30 million (R474 million) in Dott, a European micro-mobility company. EQT Ventures is European multistage venture capital fund with commitments of just over €566 million. Other investors include existing investors Axel Springer Digital Ventures, Felix Capital, FJ Labs, U-Start Club, and angel investors. Dott is a micro-mobility European start-up founded by Maxim Romain and Henri Moissinac, gathering the most experienced team in mobility and tech in Europe. Its mission is to beautifully design micro-mobility for safety, comfort, and durability, to make green travel an easy choice for…

The BMW Group and Daimler have signed a contract to jointly develop technologies for driver assistance systems, highly automated driving on highways, and automated parking. This cooperation was initially announced in February and now finally an agreement has been signed by both German car automakers. In addition, further talks are planned to extend the cooperation to higher levels of automation in urban areas and city centres. This underscores the long-term and lasting nature of the undertaking, which will extend to encompass a scalable platform for automated driving. The non-exclusive cooperation is also open to other OEMs and technology partners, with…

Frogfoot Networks, a licensed open access fibre network provider, announced on Wednesday it is rolling out fibre infrastructure in Protea Glen, Soweto, in a phased approach, with up to 20 000 homes and business, standing to benefit from access to affordable, reliable broadband connectivity. The areas being covered as part of the infrastructure rollout are Protea Glen East and West, with work starting in the West. This region will be divided into 10 Zones, while Protea Glen East will comprise 11 zones. Work on the project is set to commence in early July, and it is expected that the first…

VALR, a Johannesburg-based cryptocurrency trading platform with over 50 cryptocurrencies, announced on Wednesday that it is launching Ethereum-Rand (ETHZAR) trading to allow customers to buy and sell Ether. The company said the Ether-Rand (ETHZAR) trading will go live on 11 July at 11:11 a.m. In the last three weeks we have facilitated over R170 million worth of Bitcoin trades, VALR’s Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer, Badi Sudhakaran said. “Today we are excited to announce the launch of our second ZAR trading pair: ETHZAR,” he added. VALR is financially supported by ex-FNB CEO Michael Jordaan and US-based Bittrex. Bittrex is one of the…