Author: Staff Writer
South Africa’s automotive gig economy is seeing an uptick in activity thanks to tech startups like Screan, an innovative digital platform that connects prospective used car buyers and dealerships with second-hand car inspection experts nationwide. According to statistics 3.9 million South Africans already participating in the gig economy providing much needed income and employment for individuals who may face challenges in finding traditional full-time employment, such as those in rural areas or with limited access to formal job markets. While the gig economy is nothing new what has changed is that technology is now enabling more widespread, flexible and on-demand…
Vodacom announces the launch of the first-ever SME Summit, dubbed #SME Thrive Summit. This free impactful gathering aims to provide invaluable resources, knowledge, and networking opportunities to help small businesses thrive and contribute to the sustained growth of the South African economy. The day will be jampacked with activities to help SMEs grow their businesses. It will feature a series of informative sessions, exhibitions (exhibitors by small business owners), keynote presentations, live master classes as well as panel discussions. “SMEs remain a crucial foundation of the South African economy. We recognise their vital contribution in fostering innovation, creating jobs, and…
The data centre sector is at the heart of an increasingly digital world, and South Africa is witnessing a rush of construction of data centres in an otherwise stagnant economy. However, without diversity and greater representation of women in its workforce, meeting the growing demands of future digital lifestyles will become ever more challenging. It is also incumbent upon data center owners and operators — whose industry is responsible for between 1% and 2% of global energy consumption — to achieve sustainable, green, and efficient ICT operations within their sector. Energy efficiency and gender equality are both clear objectives of…
The go-to-market strategy implemented by 4Sight continues to deliver strong business performance, with the company maintaining its momentum from the previous financial year, again reporting double-digit growth in revenue and profit. Revenue for the six-month period under review increased by 37.1% to reach R451.3 million, compared to R329.2 million for the corresponding period in 2022, with revenue growth experienced from all business clusters. The company’s maiden dividend declared at 2,5c per share is another milestone achieved by the 4Sight team. “Since my appointment as CEO in November 2019, my focus remains driving innovation through product-focused digital transformation, with the support…
From AI hype to uncertain China’s reopening: join the international broker OctaFX as it compiles the 12 most important events that shaped the Forex market in the past year. The past year thoroughly shook the financial markets and had a lasting impact on the Forex market. As OctaFX celebrates its 12th anniversary, the company took this opportunity to compile a list of the most important events in the world of finance, along with their implications for investors and traders in 2023 and 2024. 1. The end of the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hike cycle. Starting in March 2022, the…
The South African Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), represented by Acting DG Ms Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani, and Huawei represented by CEO Will Meng, have signed a partnership agreement on the sidelines of the BRICS Ministers of Communications Meeting which took place in Cape Town last week. Huawei’s wealth of technical expertise and global experience in digitisation and its application across the private and public sectors make the company well placed to take on an advisory as well as practical role in assisting South Africa reach its goals in respect of the BRICS ICT Development Agenda and Action Plan (DAAP), which…
After becoming the country’s first retailer to tap into the Roblox space in 2022, Game launches Season 2 of ‘the Game game’ on the platform on 4 August 2023, bringing with it a new first for South Africa – locally-inspired and designed user generated content (UGC). Within the first hour of the GAME Game going live, it amassed more than 10 000 plays, with all limited UGC items (over 1000 units) claimed within this time frame. I attached an image of this limited piece, which was a groove-powered jetpack – complete with a boom box. Comments from players included feedback…
Our youth will be tomorrow’s leaders. This is something we frequently hear, but how are we preparing them? South Africa is a nation with many issues, and the ongoing problems that South African youth face today are extremely troubling. In this article, we speak to industry experts and ask them how we can help prepare our children for the future. Future-proofing youth with software development skills The most in-demand expertise and one of the most challenging sets of skills to get on the South African market actually remain inside the software development field. Andrew Bourne, Regional Manager, Africa at technology…
Continued growth in used passenger car sales and the drop in the average used car price in July bodes well for consumer affordability and the sustainability of the used car market. Used car sales momentum continued to pick up in July with sales growing by 8% month-on-month. A total of 32,090 units were sold, reflecting an increase of 2,434 units over June, according to AutoTrader Used Car Sales data. The current value of these used cars sold to date swelled a further 7.3% month-on-month to a whopping R12,932,363,057. And year-on-year growth rose 7.8% over July 2022’s cumulative total…
Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are embracing the call from their CEOs and board members to take a more strategic role in the business – from being more involved in environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives – to spearheading digital transformation to shape the future of the business. However, the CFO’s traditional role of financial scorekeeping, regulatory reporting, and cost optimisation is just as crucial as ever in light of chronic inflation, slow economic growth, and a heavier compliance burden. Forward-thinking CFOs increasingly seek new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) to co-pilot this complex…