Author: Staff Writer

South Africa’s current focus on external attacks by organised cybercriminals masks the fact that 95% of cybersecurity issues globally can be traced back to human error, according to sources that include the World Economic Forum. Employees leaving Cloud databases unsecured and open to the public, misdirecting emails, losing unencrypted work devices and improperly sharing credentials are just some examples of why Surfshark’s latest quarterly analysis of global data breaches indicates that, to date, about 70 out of 100 South Africans have been affected by data breaches. “It’s easy enough to find out that the South African government spends 0.7% of…

You can now get instant tax help via a WhatsApp message or voice note, thanks to TaxTim, South Africa’s digital tax assistant. Ahead of the July tax season, TaxTim has launched TimAI, a South African AI tax assistant, on WhatsApp, making instant tax answers free to anyone in the country. If you have a tax question, simply send a message or a voice note and get a clear answer in seconds. For South Africans who conduct much of their daily communication via WhatsApp, and where tax remains one of the most widely misunderstood parts of personal finance, it removes two…

Telecommunications operators across Africa are directing billions of rand into network upgrades, high-capacity fibre backhaul, and 5G rollouts. However, new research from Cloudera, the only hybrid data and AI platform company that brings AI to the data anywhere, suggests that this heavy physical infrastructure build still sits on fragile data foundations upon which investment returns depend. Locally, massive infrastructure commitments are being made, such as Vodacom’s R85.2-billion “Vision 2030” programme and MTN’s continued network transformation with plans to scale AI-driven operations, extend 5G coverage, and modernise its core network. These large projects showcase the scale of the capital deployments at…

South Africans are visiting shopping malls less than they did, staying for shorter periods and their trips are more deliberate. Online shopping and lifestyle changes have fuelled South Africa’s changing shopping habits, and shopping malls are reimagining their purpose to keep customers coming through their doors. Lightstone Retail tracked South African shopping behaviour in February 2023 and again in February 2026, using anonymised vehicle movement data from Tracker covering between 450 000 – 510 000 passenger vehicles per month and unlike retailer surveys or operator reports, the telemetry data captured what drivers actually did, not what they said they did.…

Eskom continues to strengthen the resilience of South Africa’s power system, sustaining measurable improvements in generation performance and network stability as winter demand intensifies. Year-on-year gains in generation availability, reduced unplanned outages, and lower reliance on diesel, alongside targeted interventions through the Load Reduction Elimination Programme, are enabling more households to access a stable and consistent electricity supply System performance continues to strengthen, with the financial year-to-date Energy Availability Factor (EAF) rising to 63.24%, up marginally from 63.05% in the previous week, and significantly higher than 57.91% recorded over the same period last year—an increase of 5.33% year-on-year. This reflects…

A summer of suspense, seduction and obsession begins with the premiere of FX’s “The Shards,” the new drama series from executive producer Ryan Murphy based on the acclaimed bestselling novel by Bret Easton Ellis. The series will premiere Thursday, 6 August exclusively on Disney+ in South Africa. Set against the vivid backdrop of 1980s Los Angeles, the series follows a group of privileged high school seniors at an elite prep school as they navigate identity, sex, jealousy, obsession and the dangers lurking beneath the surface of American adolescence. At its center is Bret (Igby Rigney), an aspiring writer and keenly observant teenager whose reality…

City Lodge Hotels has launched the Buzz App, a new mobile food and beverage ordering app that allows guests and visitors to order directly from their smartphones. Available at all City Lodge Hotels properties across South Africa, the app offers a simple tap, pay, and collect experience that saves time, cuts queues, and makes ordering more convenient than ever. Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo, Chief Operating Officer at City Lodge Hotels, says the launch is one of many exciting developments across the group. “As our food and beverage offering continues to grow, and several of our newly refurbished hotels introduce signature restaurants and…

Florion, a first-of-its-kind South African energy intelligence business co-founded by Robert Futter, today announced its launch. Futter brings more than 20 years of advisory experience in energy, infrastructure and project finance. The company has already secured a large mining and beneficiation client operating in one of the country’s most energy-intensive sectors. The launch comes as South African businesses move beyond a focus on load shedding into a far more complex energy environment, integrating a mix of grid power, solar, wheeled and traded energy. While this provides new opportunities to reduce costs and emissions, it also introduces a new category of commercial…

Salesforce, customers, and partners accelerate AI adoption, customer transformation, and skills development across South Africa As businesses across South Africa look to grow revenue, improve productivity, and unlock the transformative potential of artificial intelligence, one message emerged with clarity from Agentforce World Tour Johannesburg: no organisation transforms alone. Held on 3 June 2026 at Kyalami International Convention Centre, Agentforce World Tour Johannesburg drew nearly 2000 business leaders, technologists, and innovators for a full day of keynotes, expert-led sessions, live demonstrations, and partner showcases. The event — the most significant Salesforce ecosystem gathering on the African continent — made clear that…

A young woman unwillingly must leave her disabled mother at home to walk to the local library just to use the public internet to pay the household bills. A few blocks away, a family rations its online time, relying entirely on a son’s cellular data plan to check critical medical updates because traditional broadband is too expensive. At the weekly outdoor farmers market, small business owners regularly turn away customers because weak cellular signals prevent them from accepting credit cards. These are the everyday realities in Bellflower; a suburb of 75,000 people located just 25 minutes outside of Los Angeles. Despite its proximity to America’s second-largest city, the community has long suffered…

Las Vegas, NV  – In today’s increasingly complex financial markets, successful investing requires more than identifying opportunities—it demands discipline, risk awareness, and the ability to adapt to constantly changing conditions. For Brian Ferdinand, Portfolio Manager and Trader at EverForward, these principles form the foundation of a trading philosophy centered on consistency, accountability, and long-term performance. As financial markets become more data-driven and globally interconnected, investors face a growing volume of information and rapidly evolving market dynamics. Ferdinand has built his approach around combining structured analysis with disciplined execution, helping guide portfolio construction and capital allocation decisions across diverse market environments.…

Eskom today launched Eskom Green, a dedicated renewable energy business designed to accelerate the development of utility-scale renewable energy projects and support larger power user customers in achieving their decarbonisation and energy transition objectives. Eskom Green has been designed in response to global benchmarking research on over 20 utilities. The insights indicate that the development of renewable energy projects requires agile decision-making, access to diverse sources of capital, partnership-based delivery models, and bankable project structures. These differ materially from Eskom’s legacy vertically integrated generation model. “Eskom Green is a utility-scale renewable energy business that rapidly accelerates the options available to…

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup takes centre stage across the globe, SuperSport is set to redefine morning television with the launch of The Morning Cup. Premiering on 11 June, this brand-new, live daily broadcast is an electrifying collision of football, culture, music, entertainment, and unapologetic conversation. Anchored by dynamic SuperSport presenters Lwazi Ziqubu and Fiso Mazibuko, the main studio boasts a formidable, pan-African roster of co-hosts. Bringing their unmatched star power to the desk are legendary SA television and radio personality Phat Joe, Nigerian comedy icon Basketmouth, award-winning Kenyan actress Sarah Hassan, and Egyptian-Jamaican sports presenter Sirayah Shiraz. For Phat Joe,…

How do we address youth unemployment while ensuring the automotive sector has the skills needed to keep South Africa’s automotive industry moving? The question is becoming increasingly urgent. According to Statistics South Africa’s Q1 2025 Quarterly Labour Force Survey, unemployment among young South Africans aged 15-34 rose to 46.1%, with young women continuing to face even greater barriers to entering technical and traditionally male-dominated industries. At the same time, the automotive sector is evolving fast. Modern vehicles are increasingly reliant on advanced diagnostics, electronics and connected technologies, creating growing demand for technicians with far more than mechanical skills alone. For…

As the global community prepares to mark World Environment Day on 5 June under the theme of Climate Action, Mr Price Foundation is demonstrating how South Africa’s bright minds can contribute to environmental sustainability, and economic growth. Through the Waste Innovation Challenge, delivered in partnership with the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) programme, the Foundation is moving beyond traditional cleanup campaigns. Instead, it is shifting the narrative by framing plastic waste not merely as an environmental crisis, but as an untapped economic opportunity, by mobilising South Africa’s youth to reimagine waste as a driver of economic opportunities. South Africa…

One of South Africa’s leading bond originators, BetterBond, has introduced a faster, paperless and more secure digital home loan journey designed to simplify the property finance process for South African buyers. Designed to eliminate repeated data capture, reduce administrative delays and offer 24/7 digital access while keeping consultants at the centre of the experience, BetterBond Online represents a significant step forward in digitally enabled home loan origination. “Buying a home is one of the most significant financial decisions a person will ever make. It should not be defined by paperwork, delays and frustration,” says Stephan Potgieter, CEO of BetterHome Group Mortgage…

BMW Group South Africa is celebrating 20 years of the BMW IT Hub, a milestone that recognises two decades of investing in South African people, skills and digital capability. Established in 2006 as a specialised support unit, the hub is one of four business entities in South Africa and has transformed into a cornerstone of the BMW Group’s global digital ecosystem. Today, it stands as the largest BMW IT Hub outside of Germany, powered by more than 2,500 technology professionals managing everything from production line data to customer-facing platforms across more than 130 BMW locations worldwide. A major player in…

As football fever sweeps across the globe, McDonald’s South Africa is bringing the excitement of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ closer to home with a nationwide campaign designed to unite fans through great food, exclusive collectibles, family experiences and unforgettable moments of national pride. At the heart of the campaign is the launch of the limited-time McDonald’s FIFA World Cup Meal, giving fans the chance to enjoy their favourite menu items while celebrating the beautiful game. Customers who purchase the FIFA Meal (Large Big Mac Meal or 10 piece Chicken McNuggets Meal) get a FREE collectible cup for only R99.90.…

Johannesburg, South Africa – June 3, 2026 – Salesforce today marked a significant moment for South Africa’s technology sector at its annual World Tour event at the Kyalami International Convention Centre in Johannesburg, unveiling a series of announcements designed to accelerate the country’s transition to what the company terms the “Agentic Enterprise,” a new model of work in which humans and AI agents collaborate to drive productivity and customer outcomes. The event brought together business leaders, technology practitioners and ecosystem partners across more than 40 expert sessions. The programme opened with a keynote address delivered by Linda Saunders, Country Manager…

Absa has announced a significant renewal of its long-standing strategic collaboration  with Salesforce, through a new three-year agreement that will support the bank’s growing focus on artificial intelligence, automation, and real-time data insights to create more personalised and efficient banking experiences for customers. This agreement extends across various business divisions with broader deployment planned across the Group’s African Regions. The renewed agreement reinforces Absa’s position as the leader in the continent in digital innovation supported by its pioneering use of generative AI. Over the next three years, the collaboration will focus on several key technology capabilities across the Group which…

Aions Ventures has launched Aions Seed Fund I, a R100 million seed fund to back early-stage South African technology startups and help bridge the country’s gap between early traction and Series A. The fund includes R60 million allocated through the High Impact Seed Fund of Funds (HISFoF), a R300 million fund-of-funds initiative managed by the SA SME Fund and backed by the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and E Squared Investments. A further R40 million has been committed directly to Aions Seed Fund I by TIA, bringing the fund’s total committed capital to R100 million. The HISFoF is mandated to allocate…

According to new data from South Africa’s leading digital assets app Luno, tokenised stocks and ETFs are attracting first-time investors to the US market. Luno has just reached 50,000 xStocks (tokenised stocks) customers since the launch in August 2025. xStocks are digital representations of popular US shares and ETFs. The top five most popular buys by volume are: Tesla (TSLAx) Gold ETFs (GLDx) Nvidia (NVDAx) MicroStrategy (MSTRx) S&P 500 ETF (SPYx). The mix reflects a blend of high-conviction tech companies, macro hedging via gold, and broad index exposure. Adoption has been rapid, says Christo de Wit, Luno’s country manager for…

A phone call regarding an overdue account is generally one of the most dreaded conversations a consumer can have. Even when a missed payment is merely an oversight, the interaction feels deeply personal and embarrassing. Yet, as South Africa grapples with an escalating household debt crisis, a surprising trend is emerging in customer experience: some consumers are finding genuine comfort in talking to AI voice agents rather than human debt collectors, explains Bruce von Maltitz, CEO of1Stream. The reality of South Africa’s credit crunch Von Maltitz says one of the more interesting trends emerging currently is that some consumers are…

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) recently prioritised diversity when updating its Listings Requirements (effective 16 February 2026) with initiatives aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This agenda emphasises board diversity across gender, race, age, and culture, with a sharpened focus on age inclusion as part of its broader agenda to foster equitable and representative corporate leadership. While gender and race remain important considerations, the inclusion of age diversity underscores the JSE’s recognition of the value of intergenerational collaboration in driving sustainable growth. This progressive step ensures that boards reflect not only demographic representation but also a balance of generational…

From today, 1 June 2026, all travellers crossing South Africa’s borders must submit an online customs declaration and declare any foreign-registered vehicles they bring into the country. This launch of the South African Revenue Service’s (SARS) new digital Traveller Declaration System, together with stepped-up education of customs rules at every port of entry, marks a major step in modernising border controls, streamlining legitimate trade and travel, and curbing non-compliance. The new requirements are grounded in South African law, specifically Section 15 of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964, which obliges travellers to declare all goods, including vehicles, when entering or…