Author: Staff Writer

Huawei has teased its soon-to-be-released products, including the Huawei MatePad Pro 13.2”, and announced a new global product launch in Dubai on December 12th. This will be the largest tablet Huaweihas released to date, and it signals that the company is doubling down on the tablet category. This is exciting news for all tablet enthusiasts and marks a milestone in the evolution of Huawei’s tablets.  A decade of excellence in the tablet market The global tablet market has continued to shrink since 2016, as new large-screen smartphones and lightweight laptops have emerged to fill the market. Despite this move, Huawei…

Some call artificial intelligence (AI) the peak of human ingenuity. Although still in its infancy, the successes of AI are mounting. The technology’s ability to automate repetitive processes with intelligence makes it a decidedly disruptive power in many sectors. It is transforming businesses and entire industries, from healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics to banking, financial services, and insurance. Yet, research shows a marked decline in enthusiasm about AI and increasing outrage about its societal impact. An August 2023 survey from the Pew Research Centre found that 53% of Americans say AI is doing more to hurt than to help people keep their personal information private.…

Cape Town-headquartered Venture Capital (VC) firm HAVAÍC has announced its first investment in Sportable. The sole African institutional investor, HAVAÍC is contributing US$1 million as part of a US$15 million Series A investment round, also including renowned US-based sports investor Ryan Sports Ventures and Australian fund XV Capital led by Stirling Mortlock and James Godfrey. Founded by three South Africans in 2016, Sportable deploys Micro-Tracking (MT) technology to enhance data collection and analysis in ball and contact sports, particularly rugby, soccer, and American football. MT modules fitted in balls and on players are plotted by Radio Frequency (RF) beacons around…

After reporting a successful Black Friday, Pick n Pay asap! is keeping the online festive spirit alive with up to R30 million in mystery presents delivered to its customers over four weeks.  Every customer spending over R350 will get a guaranteed present – ranging from discount codes up to R100,000 in cash – until 24 December 2023. Over 20,000 presents have already been claimed.  Vincent Viviers, Executive Co-Head of Omnichannel at Pick n Pay, says they saw the enthusiasm of customers shopping online, particularly on-demand, during Black Friday to secure savings. “We know it has been a challenging few months…

Sungrow introduces residential solution designed to align with the specific load shedding landscape in  South Africa. The solution is a purpose-built system that caters to the backup needs at every stage of load shedding, delivering a reliable and noise-free power supply. It has High Voltage Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) Battery, which ensures high performance, enabling up to 30A continuous charging and discharging current with exceptional efficiency. The multi-stages protection design and extensive safety certifications guarantee a secure and reliable power source for homeowners. The organisation’s High Voltage LFP Battery allows for an extendable lifetime and support for 3-8 modules per…

It’s the festive season! Naturally, the roads are busier than usual and motorists want to reach their holiday destinations as fast and safely as possible. But there are a number of dos and don’ts when sharing the roads with trucks. “Truck drivers tend to have a bad reputation, and unfairly so. Many are some of the most experienced drivers on the road if you consider the number of kilometres travelled in their career, to the number of accidents,” points out Ryan Gaines, CEO of City Logistics, a leading privately-owned logistics company in South Africa. Here truck drivers share some guidelines they implore road users…

Topco Media hosted over 200 professionals and industry stakeholders at the Future of HR Summit & Awards 2023 recently in Sandton, Johannesburg. “Our role is to always seek to evolve as a collective. The Future of HR has been our focus since 2015, helping progressive companies and forward-thinking human resource specialists”, says Ralf Fletcher, CEO of Topco Media. “Good business, to us, encompasses human capital, diversity, equality, inclusion, sustainability, performance, innovation, and tech. Our programs cover these topics to create a new, impactful future,” he added. The summit, emceed by media personality and eNCA news anchor, Abigail Visagie, brought thought…

In late November, 40 skilled young graduates who’ve taken part in Huawei’s ICT Academy, got the invaluable opportunity to put themselves forward to prospective employers at Huawei’s annual ICT Talent Job Fair.  The annual fair is the culmination of the Huawei ICT Academy Programme, and aims to nurture ICT talent and empower women in technology, by promoting local Huawei-certified graduates to Huawei partners and offer them employment opportunities. Since launching the programme in 2017, more than 286 graduates have been placed in jobs at Huawei and its channel partners. At this year’s event, students had the opportunity to do onsite…

Liquid Intelligent Technologies (Liquid), a pan-African technology group, today announced the appointment of Lerato Pule as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for its South Africa operations, effective 1 February 2024.  “I am pleased to welcome Lerato to the executive team at Liquid South Africa. She is an accomplished and well-established CFO with an extensive understanding of the industry in which we operate,” Deon Geyser, CEO of Liquid Intelligent Technologies South Africa, said. “As a results-driven leader, she will be instrumental in overseeing Liquid South Africa’s financial strategy as the organisation continues to build on its vision of a digitally connected future…

In today’s contemporary work landscape, there is a myriad of tasks we can accomplish. Reech, an innovative startup, is set to officially unveil a groundbreaking service platform in 2024. Reech offers a visionary solution to multi-skilled and talented people who are able showcase their multiple profiles on one platform.  This offers less hassle in half the time at the click of a button.   The platform is safe and easy to navigate and registration to join and be a part of the network only takes a few minutes. Yentl Swartz is one of the first multi-faceted individuals who have already signed…

FBS, a global broker, has solidified its leading position in the realm of financial and trading services, being awarded for the Best Forex Broker Africa, Best Introducing Broker Program Global, and Best Client Support Asia by World Business Outlook. These achievements recognize FBS for its competitive trading conditions, quality services, and long-term commitment to providing swift access to financial markets to people globally. To prove its excellence, FBS had to withstand three rounds of careful jury evaluations and showcase its competitive offerings and unique value propositions. As a result, the World Business Outlook award committee has granted FBS mastery trophies…

Enter the Telkom Summer Campaign Competition 2023 for a shot at winning a portion of R200 million in weekly prizes. The Competition will run until 31 January 2024, encompassing all days in between. How to enter To enter the draw, simply recharge and spend R20 or more weekly OR sign up for any Telkom Mobile or Broadband contract. Your summer is waiting, Mzansi. “So don’t just show up, show up BIG with the best value network.” Prizes include: The Competition comprises of weekly prizes giveaways by means of random draws. Weekly prizes include: UPSs Inverters Fast food vouchers Internal Use…

MTN has announced its strategic collaboration with WIM Technologies, to implement an innovative solution called Unison FWA, designed to significantly enhance the Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) experience for MTN’s valued customers. This partnership underscores MTN’s unwavering commitment to delivering superior internet connectivity solutions and brings a wealth of benefits to its customers.  Unison FWA, the innovative solution now at the heart of this partnership, is set to bring MTN’s home internet packages to a new level of consistency and reliability. The solution ensures subscribers remain connected to designated mobile cells within their contracted geographic locations. This, in turn, mitigates network congestion…

Vodacom Mpumalanga Region will spend over R450 million on its network in the current financial year to ensure the delivery of best-in-class coverage and customer service while expanding connectivity throughout the region. This significant investment includes deploying more sites in urban, township and rural areas and increasing network capacity and resilience, particularly during loadshedding. “In achieving our purpose-led goal of ensuring digital inclusion for all, we are investing in network upgrades and deploying new sites to increase access to reliable connectivity. By keeping our customers connected to essential online services, from education and healthcare to financial services, we are helping to empower businesses,…

In response to an overwhelming demand for larger data bundles from customers, MTN today announced the launch of MTN Super data price plan, a tailored, data-rich offering for our Prepaid customers who live their lives “on the gig”. The Super Data bundle price plans offer rich data volumes ranging from 30GB to 200GB at an affordable price – meeting the needs of prepaid and residential customers who are heavy data users. “This aligns with our commitment to providing solutions that best meet customer needs and enable everyone to enjoy the benefits of a modern connected life,” says Seun Soladoye, General…

Topco Media, a leading events and media company, proudly hosted the Future of HR Awards 2023 on 23 November at the prestigious Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg with over 150 attendees. In this opening address, Ralf Fletcher, CEO of Topco Media emphasised the transformative role of HR in shaping the future of work. He stated, “It’s the people’s practices that allowed organisations to attract and retain the talent that achieved these results.” Reflecting on the conference, Fletcher highlighted the global competition for highly skilled talent and the need to showcase and celebrate African talent in the face of evolving challenges.…

JSE-listed Pepkor reports a 7.7% increase in annual revenue, reaching R87.4 billion for the full year ending September 30, 2023. The group’s operations demonstrated exceptional working capital management, resulting in a 15.9% rise to R13 billion in cash generation compared to the previous year. Pepkor, the owner of household brands such as Pep, Ackermans, Tekkie Town, Buco, and Incredible, maintained a store base of 5,917 at year-end. despite ongoing national challenges affecting the operating environment and consumer livelihoods, the group successfully secured market share gains in key product categories. Key market share gains in highly competitive retail segment While the…

The existence of Dark Matter is a long-standing puzzle in our universe. Dark Matter makes up about a quarter of our universe, yet it does not interact significantly with ordinary matter. The existence of Dark Matter has been confirmed by a series of astrophysical and cosmological observations, including in the stunning recent pictures from James Webb Space Telescope. However, up to date, no experimental observation of dark matter has been reported. The existence of Dark Matter has been a question that high energy and astrophysicists around the world has been investigating for decades. “This is the reason we do research…

Dell Technologies announced the winners of the South Africa Partner Awards 2023 at the recent Dell Technologies Forum held at the Kyalami Convention Centre.  The Awards recognise partners for growing their business within the Dell Technologies Partner Programme and unlocking new possibilities for their customers with transformational technology solutions.  Congratulations to all the winners of the Dell Technologies South Africa Partner Awards 2023:  ·        Partner of the Year: First Technology ·        Excellence in New Business Development: Ubuntu Technologies ·        Excellence in Expansion: Ubuntu Technologies ·        Excellence in Storage Sales: Nexio ·        Excellence in Server Sales: Dimension Data ·        Excellence in Client Solutions Sales: First Technology ·        Breakthrough Award: VIC IT Consulting ·        Excellence in Engagement: Ubuntu Technologies…

Next Travel Connect, an innovative South African firm, is poised to revolutionise the way global travelers maintain connectivity across more than 90% of popular tourist destinations. Introducing its cutting-edge global connectivity mobile network tailored for the contemporary traveler, Next Travel Connect not only provides competitive rates on unlimited data and voice plans worldwide but also distinguishes itself through comprehensive travel connectivity solutions. “Our mission at Next Travel Connect is to connect the world in a way that’s never been done before,” said Deepak Logan, Founder and CEO of Next Travel Connect. “We understand the pain points of international travellers –…

Volvo Car South Africa has announced that a special armoured version of the XC90 flagship SUV has joined its local line-up, offering select clients the option of ordering discreet ballistic protection directly from the Swedish luxury manufacturer. The armoured XC90 – which forms part of Volvo’s broader global product offering – provides certified 360° ballistic protection according to the NIJ-IIIA standard, without compromising on either comfort or performance. The ballistic certification test is carried out on the complete vehicle, based on the stringent NIJ-IIIA standard in combination with the VPAM BRV 2009 standard (B4). The armoured XC90 is thus rated to…

The Shoprite Group’s crime fighting efforts have resulted in a year-on-year decline in armed robberies and burglaries, and its successful prosecution of criminals has ensured sentences totalling 1 384 years and three months – including 24 life sentences – in the past three years.   In addition, suspects still awaiting trial – where the Group successfully opposed bail – have to date been in custody for the equivalent of 395 years and 8 months. “Our top priority remains creating a safer environment for our customers and our employees,” explains Oswald Meiring, Head of Group Security and Loss Prevention. “Securing arrests and…

In an effort to mitigate the impact of load shedding and bolster network resilience, MTN South Africa has spearheaded a comprehensive modernisation project across a number of provinces. This initiative aligns with the company’s commitment to providing innovative solutions that alleviate the challenges posed by load shedding while fostering increased access to the advantages of a connected world.  As part of a broader modernisation strategy and significant investments to fortify network resilience against the disruptions caused by load shedding and criminal activities targeting power stations, MTN has achieved noteworthy milestones in multiple provinces. In KwaZulu-Natal, MTN has already modernised 245…

Pick n Pay Smart Shopper has introduced ‘Smart Hopper’ – an exciting game in its relaunched app which customers can play daily to win vouchers, helping them save even more. The gameplay involves customers navigating through several levels, reminiscent of classic arcade games, as they hop between virtual shelves to collect products. The game gets progressively more challenging, and the rewards increase as customers unlock new levels. The enticing rewards include 5X Smart Shopper points on select products or categories, bonus points for fuel purchases at BP, and exclusive cash-off vouchers. The game can be played daily so regular players can…

MTN Group and NEC XON, a subsidiary of NEC Corporation, announced the successful implementation of Africa’s inaugural 400G optical transponder solution, Phoenix. This groundbreaking endeavor marks a significant step for the telecommunications sector in Africa, holding the promise of transforming the landscape of optical network construction and operation, thereby revolutionizing internet delivery throughout the continent. The introduction of the Phoenix solution represents a notable advancement in the telecom industry, with the potential to reshape networking and connectivity not only within Africa but also on a global scale. MTN’s proactive adoption of this cutting-edge technology serves as a commendable example for…