Author: Staff Writer
Africa REN, a leading renewables project developer in West Africa, is delighted to announce the successful financing of its Walo Storage project, in Senegal. The Dutch development bank FMO and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), acting through Ninety One, fund manager of EAIF will invest up to a total of €32 million in syndicated debt into Walo Storage, a project fully developed by Africa REN, with the support of the Seed Capital Assistance Facility and FMO. The financing is provided by: FMO, through a €11 million loan, and an additional €8m loan provided by the Access to Energy Fund,…
inDrive, a global mobility and urban services platform, announces the appointment of Mark Loughran as its Group President, effective July 12th, 2023. Reporting directly to founder and CEO Arsen Tomsky, Mark’s role is to chart and drive inDrive’s business strategy, scale the company’s investments and new businesses, and optimize internal processes. He will also spearhead further development of inDrive’s inVision hub, whereas the company engages in initiatives to support justice and equality in science, education, sports and the arts. The appointment comes amid inDrive’s transformation into a multinational and multi-vertical group of companies. This new decentralized structure will facilitate agile…
A technology training and skills development company, ALX, calls for the removal of barriers preventing South African youth from leveraging digital transformation opportunities. The call for action aligns with this Youth Month theme for 2023, “Accelerating youth economic emancipation for a sustainable future.” “Government, civil society and the private sector must rally to address infrastructural challenges and create opportunities for young people to acquire in-demand skills that will enable them to participate in the global digital economy,” says Divesh Sooka, General Manager at ALX South Africa (SA). This comes as ALX, yesterday, announced the opening of its first ALX Tech…
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) warns the public to be cautious when conducting financial services business with Forex Private Jet Injectors (FPJI) and Kabelo Emanuel Mogale (Mogale). It has come to the attention of the FSCA that Mogale and FPJI operate as forex services providers. Mogale and FPJI provide trading signals in respect of forex to members of the public through social media platforms. The FSCA points out that persons offering advice and intermediary services in respect of financial products on behalf of South African citizens are required to be authorised by the FSCA. Mogale and FPJI are not…
The Komati Power Station’s transition from a coal fired station to a repurposed, multifaceted hub is well underway, with Eskom issuing a tender notice for a service provider to drive the socio-economic development plan for the transition from fossil to renewable energy. Komati was officially taken off the grid in October last year after serving the population since 1961. No Eskom employees lost their jobs as a result of the closure. “Part of the plan includes management and implementation of mitigation measures for the socio-economic impacts resulting from the shutdown of the fossil-fired generating units at Eskom’s Komati Power Station.…
Cell C says it has successfully completed its network migration ahead of schedule and is now operating with access to circa 14 000 towers countrywide, with more than 12 000 sites 4G/LTE enabled. The company said on Tuesday it is a win for its customers as they will benefit from the expanded national coverage, better quality connection, fewer dropped calls and generally a more stable network during loadshedding as the partner network is investing in back-up power. “This is a huge milestone for Cell C and our valued customers,” explains Schalk Visser, Cell C’s Chief Technology Officer. “We have effectively…
Most South African retail workers are feeling overworked but the vast majority believe technology is the answer to their situation, a Microsoft-sponsored IDC study has revealed. “We often refer to them as ‘the deskless workforce’ – our economic lifeline during the height of the pandemic, working overtime to maintain our supply chains, at considerable risk to their own physical and mental health,” said Colin Erasmus, Chief Operations Officer at Microsoft South Africa. “We owe them solutions to their challenges, and technology has enormous potential for retailers to take the important first steps toward improving the employee experience for associates.” In…
In a world plagued by biased narratives and the spread of “fake news,” a seismic shift is underway. Brace yourselves for the arrival of newsGPT.ai, an unprecedented platform that promises unbiased AI news, leaving giants like CNN shaking in their boots. With a mission to revolutionize the way news is delivered, newsGPT.ai aims to excite and empower readers seeking genuine, trustworthy information while turning the tide against media giants. newsGPT.ai’s cutting-edge technology utilizes state-of-the-art algorithms and natural language processing to ensure unparalleled accuracy and fairness. By eliminating human biases and political inclinations, this groundbreaking platform guarantees readers access to unfiltered…
Through a new, international tech collaboration, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) will soon launch Colo 2.0 – an advanced managed infrastructure as a service (IaaS) solution that will provide JSE clients with cloud-based colocation services. “The launch of Colo 2.0 will further entrench our position as a centre of innovation for financial markets on the African continent. We will provide our clients with leading edge innovative hosting and connectivity solutions for their colocation needs. This collaboration with two global market leaders is paramount to fostering innovation at the JSE,” says Langa Manqele, Head of Equities and Equity Derivatives at JSE.…
Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a business of Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, has successfully installed the Mauritius Telecom T3 subsea cable connecting Mauritius to South Africa. This cable has been deployed at Liquid’s landing facility in Amanzimtoti, south of Durban. The move will bring a much-needed boost to the stability and redundancy around the connectivity that exists between the two countries. The T3 cable consists of four fibre pairs, with a design capacity of 13.5 Tbps per fibre pair and 54 Tbps for the whole system. With this, Liquid Intelligent Technologies South Africa is bringing a critical increase in the…
Vodacom has introduced a new range of mobile data bundles designed for students who are on Vodacom’s NXT LVL proposition. These student bundles are launched to offer relief at a time when the cost of living keeps rising and the interest rate is at a 14-year high, putting immense pressure on our already burdened youth segment. Accessible bundles include a 5GB All Access data bundle bolted with a 5GB Night Owl bundle for only R49, valid for 14 days. High data users can get access to a 30GB All Access data bundle, which comes with an additional 30GB Night Owl…
Salesforce remains steadfastly committed to helping solve one of South Africa’s key challenges – the digital skills gap and job creation. Last year Ursula Fear, Senior Talent Programme Manager at Salesforce South Africa, announced the Salesforce ecosystem is expected to create 31,800 new jobs and generate $5.1 billion in new business revenue in South Africa by 2026. Further to this commitment Fear today announced Salesforce’s partnership with Collective, a private sector-led initiative aimed at addressing the massive gap between the oversupply of digital jobs and the undersupply of people with the skills to fill them in South Africa. “It’s a…
In the first half of 2023, the world’s central banks are at the end of rate hike cycles, leading to a weakened U.S. dollar. The banking crisis threatened to collapse financial markets and still influences them, shaping winning investment strategies. High inflation in early 2023 forced central banks worldwide to increase interest rates. This significantly impacted the financial sector, with many regional banks facing the risk of bankruptcy or going bankrupt. The demand for AI (artificial intelligence) technologies drove growth in capital markets. Having a clearer picture of the peak rates, investors can now consider investment options most likely to…
Visa today announced the launch of the new Visa Africa FinTech Accelerator programme to help enable Africa’s expanding start-up community through expertise, connections, technology, and investment funding. The initiative was introduced by Visa Executive Chairman Alfred F. Kelly Jr. at Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Africa in Marrakech, Morocco. The Visa Africa FinTech Accelerator will enable up to 40 start-ups each year to accelerate and grow through a three-month intensive learning program focused on business growth and mentoring. Following the program completion, Visa intends to further support fintech growth with capital investment in select participating businesses, while accelerating their commercial launch…
Cell C today announced the appointment of two esteemed industry leaders, Maya Makanjee and Godfrey Motsa, to its Board of Directors. The company said in a statement their inclusion in the board demonstrates Cell C’s strategic focus on accelerating growth and fuelling investor confidence. Maya Makanjee is an accomplished business leader with a wealth of experience in various executive director positions across multiple industries spanning close to 30 years. With a Master’s degree in Business Leadership and a Bachelor of Commerce degree, Maya brings a diverse skill set to the table ranging from FMCG, Telecommunications, and Financial Services. Her track…
Huawei ranked No. 3 in South Africa’s IaaS market by revenue in 2022 while being the No. 2 IaaS vendor in China and the No.5 globally. Huawei maintains sustained high growth and ranked No. 3 in South Africa for IaaS by revenue in 2022. According to the latest research report “Market Share: IT Services, worldwide 2022” (April 2023) released by Gartner®, Huawei ranked No. 3 in the South African IaaS market by revenue in 2022 while being the No.2 IaaS vendor in China and the No.5 globally. The cloud computing IaaS market maintains high growth. In the Southern Africa region,…
A South African team has taken a top spot in the annual Huawei Global ICT Competition. The winning team included students and graduates from the University of Johannesburg (UJ), and the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN). They progressed to the Global Final, held in Shenzhen, China, after competing among tens of thousands of students from across Sub Saharan Africa and globally. At the Grand Final, they were one of 146 teams from 36 countries and regions competing in the major prize categories. The Huawei ICT Competition is one of the largest ICT events in the world and is aimed at…
Everybody’s talking about ChatGPT, which is the fastest growing consumer app ever unleashed in the world. It took two months for this incredible app to reach more than 100 million users—and there are few signs that its growth is slowing down. It’s an example of a technology called generative artificial intelligence (AI), which has the potential to change our working and personal lives as much as the internet did. Ahead of Youth Day (June 16), TCL discusses four things that young people should know about generative AI. What is generative AI? Generative AI enables machines to generate original content such…
Presidential spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, has batted away suggestions that South Africa may be hit with international sanctions due to its non-aligned stance regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Magwenya was addressing the media at the Union Buildings on Monday. Government has repeatedly described its stance as one supporting the emergence of peace between the two countries through negotiation and talks. “We are a little bit surprised at this talk of sanctions, which we regard as reckless and as very damaging to our already ailing and struggling economy. We find this talk of sanctions as being purely alarmist and we find it to…
South African consumers are finding ways to cope with the tough economic times and using loyalty/reward programmes is one of them. TrendER/infoQuest, a South African online research company recently conducted a survey, asking consumers which loyalty programmes they belong to, which they use most often and which are their favourite loyalty programmes. This research was conducted during May 2023 and 300 consumers were interviewed. On average, consumers belong to 8 loyalty programmes In terms of age groups, those in the 35–49 age category belong to the most loyalty programmes at 10, while the younger generation, those aged 18–24, belong to…
Unemployed and unskilled South African youth (aged 18 to 34) are now invited to apply for specialist training and educational programmes at the Shoprite Group throughout the year. With youth unemployment at a staggering 63.9%, the Group’s talent attraction and development strategy places a strong focus on offering early careers to unemployed youth. Through its Retail Readiness Programme, the Group has invested over R586 million into more than 32 000 learners since 2016. Arguably the largest and most successful skills development initiative undertaken by a South African retailer, the seven-week programme equips unemployed youth with the basic skills required to work in a retail environment or to start their…
Liquid Dataport, a business of Liquid Intelligent Technologies (Liquid), a pan-African technology group, and Angola Telecom, a fixed network operator in Angola, announced a new terrestrial fibre route between Luanda, Angola to Johannesburg, South Africa, via DRC, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The addition of this route to Liquid’s regional fibre backbone is a significant addition to its existing 110,000 km network, providing its regional customers’ access to high-speed connectivity at affordable costs. Hon. Mário Oliveira, Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, said, “We have made significant investments in our telecommunications sector over the last 25 years, which includes terrestrial,…
South Africa’s Telkom confirm on Monday that it is engaged in exploratory talks with consortium led by Sipho Maseko (Afrifund Investments) and comprising Axian Telecom and the Government Employees Pension Fund, managed by the Public Investment Corporation. Telkom said the consirtium wants to acquire a controlling stake in a partial state-owned company. “The company confirms that it has received an unsolicited non-binding indicative letter from the consortium for the acquisition of a controlling stake in Telkom, the merits of which are being assessed by the Telkom board,” said the company in a statement. “In this regard, the company has requested…
FTSE-listed tech firm Network International (NI) today announce that it has been appointed as a digital payments technology partner to Vodacom Financial and Digital Lifestyle Services. This means it will provide a fully managed service offering. The NI omni-channel digital payment capabilities will allow card holders to pay anywhere in multiple ways, while enjoying seamless and secure payments, with end-to-end tokenization. The deal sees NI providing managed services card issuing, and acquirer processing services transaction switching capabilities, as well as other value added services and related back-office support functions. The solution will mean merchants can offer a range of payment…
JSE-listed Alexforbes has appointed Kuseni Dlamini as chair-Designate. His appointement is effective 1 July 2023. Subject to regulatory approval, Dlamini will also serve in the nominations committee and member of the Mergers and Acquisitions and Remuneration committees. Dlamini currently serves as the Chair of Massmart, Aspen Pharmacare, Sandvik Mining Southern Africa Holdings and Fedgroup Holdings and Tennant Group. He is the Lead Independent Director of the JSE-listed fintech, Capital Appreciation Limited. In the non-profit space, he serves as co-Chair of the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), Chair of the University of Pretoria Council and is a member of the…