Author: Staff Writer
Microsoft is deepening its commitment to accelerating customer transformation in Africa with two key leadership appointments. Lillian Barnard has been named president for Microsoft Africa, dedicated to unlocking opportunities for African organisations by providing them with the technology they need to elevate and expand their businesses. Kalane Rampai will succeed Barnard as Managing Director of Microsoft South Africa, helping strengthen the country’s role as a key contributor to Africa’s growth through broadscale digital innovation. The new appointments are an important milestone in Microsoft’s ongoing effort to drive impact in Africa at scale. The company was the first hyperscale cloud provider…
Mediclinic is now offering safe, non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for expectant parents as part of their DNA-based diagnostic and clinical interpretation services. This is a recent addition to the product offering, following the launch of Mediclinic Ancestry testing earlier this year. Mediclinic Precise NIPT screens for common chromosomal conditions in the foetus, such as Down syndrome, Patau syndrome, Edwards syndrome, sex chromosome aneuploidies (chromosomal conditions caused by the loss or gain of a sex chromosome) and optional screening for up to five microdeletion syndromes which may be missed during routine prenatal screening. According to Dr Liani Smit, a medical…
Eagle Intelligent Health, a new telehealth app that provides “access to quality healthcare”, has launched in South Africa to connect local skilled doctors and specialists with individuals in need of healthcare. Made possible through a partnership with MediBüddy, a subsidiary of BüddyCentral Group – a South African-based financial services group – the Eagle Intelligent Health app enables users access to telehealth services, regardless of their location. Telehealth is a growing global trend that has accelerated over the past three years and continues to do so. It has become increasingly popular in South Africa, where access to quality healthcare remains a…
A leading technology training and skills provider warns that South Africa’s (SA’s) job creation strategy must adapt or risk leaving millions behind in the global digital transformation opportunity boom. Industries across the globe are rapidly being digitised, evolving their labour requirements to allow for far more opportunities for young people to break into the digitalised world of work. “SA’s young workforce are at risk of being left behind in this digital paradigm shift because of a stagnant labour force pipeline that has yet to adequately address the needs of the economy,” says Divesh Sooka, General Manager ALX South Africa. Committed…
Conversations around diversity and inclusion have become a common topic in boardrooms across the world. With many multinational technology companies making headlines over the past few months, it is no surprise then that the momentum around issues concerning women and girls in STEM fields has once again risen to the fore. On Thursday, 27th January, International Girls in ICT day was celebrated with the central theme focusing on ‘Digital Skills for Life’. However, this should be advocated for on an ongoing basis if sustained change is to be seen. Ultimately, organisations must reach common goals that encapsulate encouraging girls and…
As the world celebrates International Girls in ICT Day on 27 April, it’s important to put the spotlight on those young women who are building ICT careers for themselves even in the face of major challenges. One such young woman is 22-year-old Rumaanah Khan who, having spent her life striving for excellence and working to make her close- knit family proud, is now reaping the rewards of hard work and making the most of the opportunities made available to her. Rumaanah is all the more remarkable as she suffers from fibromyalgia, a condition which causes musculoskeletal pain, accompanied by extreme…
Huawei Digital Power has held its FusionSolar 2023 Channel Partner Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, during which the tech giant released its latest sustainable energy solutions for residential and industrial applications. Xia Hesheng, President of Huawei Digital Power Sub-Saharan Africa Region, spoke of the global importance of achieving carbon neutrality, and of countries’ pursuit of energy sovereignty. He outlined the huge commercial value of the PV industry which is driving the accelerated development of clean energy. Xia believes that businesses can choose to focus on short term targets, but this isn’t always a winning strategy. If you want to do…
Huawei has successfully held the Fusion Solar Forum 2023 at the sidelines of the Solar Show Africa 2023 this week in Johannesburg. Industry associations, sector organisations, industry leaders and experts gathered to share industry trends and insights and presented innovative solutions and best practices which will contribute to the development of the industry on the continent. Leo Chen, President of Huawei Sub Saharan Africa, said that the quest for global carbon neutrality, energy security, and commercial value are driving the rapid development of a new international energy industry. The urgency of Africa’s own transition is being accelerated by power shortages…
Bridgestone’s trusted fleet management solution, Webfleet, is launching its third African presence in Botswana, by partnering with Kgare Digital. This expansion it is set to bring high-end tech skills, much-needed investment and jobs in the country. Webfleet’s partnership in Botswana joins the company’s presence in South Africa and Namibia, the first two African markets where Webfleet started to conduct business in order to improve logistics client business efficiency, while contributing to the safety of road users. “Being part of Bridgestone, we recognised the opportunity to leverage the companies’ large African presence to expand the telematics and connected vehicle solutions we…
Convergence Partners has announced the acquisition of a strategic stake in 42Markets Group, an incubator, investor and builder of high-growth specialist businesses in the financial and capital markets sector. The introduction of Convergence Partners as new investors will enable the 42Markets Group to accelerate growth through the buildout of its product set and further geographic expansion. The investment is through its Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund (CPDIF), a $296m private equity fund focused on investing in digital infrastructure opportunities across sub-Saharan Africa. 42Markets Group is focused on the digital transformation and improved efficiency of capital markets in Africa. The business…
The 2023 Shanghai Auto Show is opening its doors for an electrifying new edition and Maserati is thrilled to show the world its latest full-electric creations, marking the historic moment of being the first Italian luxury brand to produce 100% electric vehicles. And of course, China is the cradle of this fascinating and exciting revolution mobility – not only in terms of innovation but also of forward-thinking and embedded interest in the luxury market – and the ideal venue for the global premiere of Maserati Grecale Folgore. On this special occasion, the Trident’s first full-electric SUV is in good company,…
Capital Appreciation, a FinTech group listed on the JSE, is buying Dariel Solutions, the holding company of Dariel Software, for a total consideration of R131,2 million. The transaction will be settled through a combination of cash and the issuance of treasury shares. Dariel will be part of Capital Appreciation’s software division. “Dariel fits our model of investing in established, asset-light companies that deliver innovative and disruptive FinTech solutions to mainly institutional clients, with a culture and business ethos well-aligned with that of the Group,” Capital Appreciation CEO, Bradley Sacks, said. “We have experienced significant growth in our businesses due to…
SnapScan, the Cape Town-based fintech company that launched its QR code payment technology in 2013, is no stranger to developing innovative payment tools. Its latest product, the SnapStore Pro card machine, is no exception. After years of supporting small businesses with convenient, mobile payment solutions, the fintech has recently leveraged its partnership with Standard Bank to develop an exciting new card machine to improve the payment experience for both businesses and their customers. “SnapScan and Standard Bank both recognised the need to provide the most in-demand payment options for small businesses with the kind of fintech pricing and experience they’ve…
The Invigilator App, a local Covid 19 education startup, has been scaled for the global market. Mexico, India and Australia are the first to integrate the app into their tech-education management system. The startup has nearly one million local students using its platform. The Invigilator was launched three years ago, when the coronavirus pandemic hit our shores, as an education-focused assessment monitoring app. Its main objective is to face-check and track students taking online or face-to-face courses, as well as an anti-plagiarism feature that ensures students submit original work. The uniqueness of the app is that it opens up education…
Eskom said today that Stage 6 loadshedding will continue to be implemented until 05:00 on Saturday. Thereafter, Stage 3 loadshedding will be implemented from 05:00 until 16:00 and Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 until 05:00 on Saturday. This cycle will be repeated on Sunday until 05:00 on Monday morning. These loadshedding stages may change at short notice. Eskom will publish a further update as soon as any significant changes occur. Breakdowns are currently at 15 930MW of generating capacity while the generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 6 505MW. Over the past 24 hours…
Bolt, the leading on-demand mobility platform in Africa, has introduced a driver selfie verification feature to increase passenger safety by combating driver impersonation. The feature has been fully rolled out to all drivers operating on the Bolt platform across South Africa. It will require drivers to take a selfie, thus verifying their identity before going online. The driver’s selfie will be matched against the Government database (Department of Home Affairs) to ensure the right driver is behind the wheel. Drivers, at random, will also be prompted occasionally to share a live selfie to ensure that the correct driver is behind…
inDrive, the global mobility and urban services platform, is launching inCode 2023, the company’s inaugural annual global hackathon. inCode will award €16,000 for the top ideas to make ride-hailing safer and more inclusive. inDrive invites the world’s top tech talent to register teams of 1 to 6 people, whose entries will be judged by inDrive experts on idea, impact, code quality, UX/UI quality, and feasibility. The inCode hackathon challenges innovators to: Improve safety: Discover ways to make ride-hailing safer and more secure for all, so both riders and drivers have complete peace of mind. Advance accessibility: Propose methods to make…
CYBER1 Solutions, a cyber security services company with 26 years of industry expertise, has announced the expansion of its European presence, and the appointment of Hilbert Long as the General Manager for the region in line with the EMEA expansion plans. The company’s European office will be based out of London and with staff across EMEA. The business aims to grow its footprint in the region by expanding its set of cyber security services to current and future customers. “Our strategy is to grow the entity to become a self-sustaining fully-fledged business within the European market,” says Long. “We aim…
African insurtech aYo Holdings, created by telecommunications giant MTN, has launched its operations in Cameroon with innovative insurance products that offer local consumers affordable accident and death cover. aYo launched in January 2017 in Uganda and has since reached 20 million customers across Uganda, Ghana, Zambia and Côte d’Ivoire, whilst other markets being readied for launch later this year. The company has paid in excess of $2,2 million in claims. Laetissia Enonga CEO of aYo Cameroon, estimates that less than 2% of Cameroon’s population currently has insurance. “Most people think insurance is a luxury product, but we want to show…
Huawei has announced an amazing HUAWEI Battery Replacement campaign to reward its smartphone users in the South Africa. This special campaign offers customers the chance to obtain a genuine battery replacement tailored to their specific device model at a remarkably low price and starting at just R149.00. Users can enjoy the benefits of a new and genuine battery that promises optimal performance and longevity and a 90-day warranty on it. Genuine Huawei Battery As part of the Battery Replacement Campaign, users have the opportunity to get a new Genuine Huawei battery replacement for their specific device model. With a Genuine…
Huawei kicked off its 20th annual Global Analyst Summit (HAS) today in Shenzhen. The summit was attended by more than 1,000 industry analysts, financial analysts, key opinion leaders, and media representatives from around the world, who gathered to discuss the status of the ICT industry, including development strategies, roadmaps for digital transformation, and future industry trends. Sabrina Meng, Huawei’s Deputy Chairwoman, Rotating Chairwoman, and CFO, opened with a keynote. “Digitalization is a blue ocean for the whole industry,” she said. “Huawei will keep investing in domains like connectivity, computing, storage, and cloud.” “We aim to provide our customers with digital…
Telecoms giant MTN (brand value up 24% to R74.3 billion) is South Africa’s most valuable brand for the twelfth time in the past thirteen years, according to leading brand valuation consultancy, Brand Finance. Every year, Brand Finance puts 5,000 of the biggest brands to the test, and publishes over 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries. The world’s top 100 most valuable and strongest South African brands are included in the annual Brand Finance South Africa 100 2023 ranking. MTN’s brand value continued to grow in 2023, meaning that its value is now up 50% from its pre-pandemic…
MTN National Wholesale is standing tall as the industry’s go-to network “backbone” partner at a time when public and private sectors are prioritizing network and digital ICT tools in their economic reconstruction and recoveries. In line with the company’s Ambition 2025 strategy, particularly around the pillar of Network as a Service, MTN aims to become the number one digital network and service provider of choice to the wholesale market in South Africa by 2025. To this end, MTN National Wholesale is ramping up the number of innovative enablement solutions it can deliver at speed and with added cost and efficiency…
Telkom’s Enterprise and Supplier Development programme, Telkom FutureMakers, has partnered with venture builder firm, Aions Creative Technology to grow local start-ups. This partnership comes on the back of a competitive pitching process where the venture builder firm was awarded R58 million in funding that will reflect Telkom FutureMakers’ commitment, to growing and partnering with ICT SMMEs who form the backbone of the South African economy. Founded in 2015 and having assisted more than 2500 SMMEs to date, Telkom FutureMakers’ vision is to develop leading entrepreneurial programmes that invest in and incubate ICT businesses, provide access to market through their supply…
The continued support of the annual SA Investment Conference (SAIC) by local and global sponsors will enable the country to continue to attract investors and allow the economy to grow and create much needed jobs. SAIC acknowledged long term sponsors of the prestigious conference. This included Anglo American, Discovery, Exxaro, Huawei, Naspers and Vodacom. At a prestigious awards dinner, President Cyril Ramaphosa presented Huawei with an award for its continued support and partnership with the SAIC, since its launch in 2018. Huawei is a key partner in South Africa’s digital economy transformation and also invests heavily in ICT skills training.…