Author: Staff Writer

Solar power and alternative energy specialist Metrowatt is redefining the concept of customer service in the energy sector with the opening of its first walk-in Solar Centre in Parkhurst, Johannesburg.  Reflecting Metrowatt’s commitment to resolving domestic energy challenges, the Solar Centre allows consumers to interact directly with energy experts, derive optimal savings, and access customised alternative energy solutions suited to their unique needs.  Metrowatt is part of the Myriad Capital Group, which was founded 23 years ago by Chairman Greg Wilson. “Over the years, we have committed ourselves to overcoming many of the connectivity challenges facing South African businesses and…

South Africa’s Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) invites applications for its “ISPA Inspires Educational Sponsorship” for the 2024 academic year. Visit the ISPA Inspires website for more information and to register and submit your application. Sponsorship for the 2024 academic year will be awarded to one or more promising young candidates interested in pursuing a career in the ISP (Internet Service Provider) sector. Sponsorship is available for not only universities, TVET and technical colleges, but also any institution providing any type of accredited ICT training or sector specific courses where there is an identified shortage of skills in South Africa.…

The future of work in South Africa is evolving as remote work has become a prevailing trend. Recent studies indicate that remote work has witnessed a remarkable surge in South Africa after Pandemic, with over 70% of companies now incorporating remote work policies. The shift has been accelerated by technological advancements, changing employee preferences, cost effectiveness and the flexibility it offers to businesses and organizations during unforeseen disruptions as experienced in South Africa and indeed across the world during the COVID19 Pandemic. The success of remote work A leading research firm in South Africa, PwC in its latest survey, revealed…

 As the second day of the SAPHILA 2023 conference – the African SAP User Group’s (AFSUG) official biennial conference for SAP users – opened, delegates were able to find out more on how SAP has addressed its own digital transformation to most powerful effect. SAPHILA 2023 took place at Sun City, North West Province, on 10  and 11 July 2023. Over the past 10 years, cloud technology has redefined entire industries and changed how companies run their day-to-day businesses. SAP has made a long-term commitment to become a fully-cloud company itself, and adopt SAP standard solutions. In this regard, Dr…

As one of the top ten mining countries in the world, South Africa’s economy relies heavily on this industry as well as those closely related to it, such as construction. Yet this also makes these industries attractive targets for cyber criminals. The mining industry is among the most at-risk industries for fraud and in some countries it tops the list of revenue lost due to fraud, closely followed by construction. Due to the nature of these industries and the often-elaborate fraud schemes that target them, huge losses can result from just one instance of fraud. Furthermore, fraud is on the…

Obscure Technologies – a dynamic cyber security specialist, has announced its strategic goal for further expansion across Africa. Building upon its exponential growth since its establishment in 2016, the company aims to capitalise on its collective efforts with vendors in these markets and thereby drive expansion into new territories. The plans will commence with the Indian Ocean Islands, East, and West Africa, where Obscure Technologies will establish a regional presence and support offerings. To accelerate the achievement of this objective, the company has appointed Yaadhna Singh Gounden as the Head of Development for the African region. Yaadhna brings over fifteen…

South African retailer Game, a leading provider of electronics and appliances, is offering their customers the opportunity once again to purchase the latest in home entertainment, office, cellular, large appliances, audio and gaming at everyday low, low prices with their Electronics Mania sale happening until 26 August 2023. The sale will run both in-store and online while stock last. Further, for customers needing some extra help with getting their tech set-up, Game has a hands-on Tech Squad that is a dedicated team of assistants who help customers set up any device, laptop or smartphone that they buy in-store. Mark Scott,…

The BMW Group celebrated the launch of its new test site in Sokolov, Czechia (widely known as the Czech Republic). With Petr Očko, the Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade in Czechia, and Petr Kulhánek, the Governor of the Karlovy Vary region, in attendance, Ilka Hortsmeier, BMW Group’s Board Member for People and Real Estate, and Frank Weber, BMW Group’s Board Member for Development, officially opened the Future Mobility Development Center (FMDC) for fully automated development and test drives. As the first development location of its kind in central Europe, the FMDC, in which 300 million euros have been invested,…

Despite technological advances in cybersecurity, humans remain the weakest link in companies’ security strategies – and social media isn’t helping. Says Tony Walt, co-founder and director at Port443, “Staff training is essential for cultivating cybersecurity awareness. Employees must understand that posting even ‘non-sensitive’ personal information can lead to identity theft. It also potentially exposes their work passwords and puts their employers at risk.” For instance, birthday wishes on your social media profiles can help threat actors work out the first six digits of your South African ID number. Your social media profile also gives criminals clues about the seventh to…

In January 2025, the global anti-money laundering watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), will review its decision to greylist South Africa and interrogate the public and private sector measures to address its concerns. The country will need to demonstrate a practical, scalable plan to combat money laundering, fraud and other financial crimes. Failing to achieve this will have serious economic knock-on effects, such as a significant decrease in international capital inflows and downgrading by credit rating agencies, all of which will negatively impact the Rand. An extended greylisting is also a serious threat to state-owned enterprises that rely on…

In the past year, identity theft has skyrocketed – a worldwide trend that has not gone unnoticed by the public. A report from earlier this year showed that consumers are looking for more security from their banks: 56% want more security measures for non-routine transactions, and 47% want more even for routine transactions. Clearly, it’s in the best interest of any organisation, but especially financial institutions, to constantly review and update their security systems. But what exactly should this involve? Paul Carter-Brown, Co-founder and CTO of fintech enablement partner Ukheshe, says there are broad components to digital financial security, referred…

Bayer South Africa recently hosted a hackathon organized in collaboration with Empire Partner Foundation (EPF) which brought together some of the most talented young minds to develop creative ways to raise awareness on women’s health and sexual and reproductive education. Despite making up half of the world’s population, women and girls are frequently disregarded and have their rights violated according to the UN. As a result, women and girls may be less empowered to make choices about their own health, sexuality, and reproductive health matters, making them more vulnerable to abuse, unhealthy behaviours, and avoidable maternal deaths[1]. The keynote speaker,…

During the recent Huawei Eco-Connect Sub-Saharan Africa 2023, Steven Zhao, Vice President of Huawei’s Data Communication Product Line, delivered a keynote speech outlining the security threats facing networks today. The speech, which was titled “Huawei Intelligent Cloud-Network: Innovations Never Stop”, also saw Zhao outline how Huawei products are helping address those threats. According to Zhao, the biggest security threats facing networks today include remote work, the cloudification of enterprise services, and ransomware. “Remote work has become mainstream in enterprise campuses, bringing a surge in IoT endpoint connections,” he said. “Additionally, the cloudification of enterprise services has accelerated, leading to a…

Salesforce, the global leader in CRM, will be hosting the Trailblazer Virtual Career Fair on Thursday, 3 August as part of its ongoing initiative to grow new digital skills for the South African market. Skills development is an issue of high priority for Salesforce globally, and particularly in South Africa and on the continent. At Salesforce World Tour Essentials that took place in Johannesburg last month, Salesforce reaffirmed their commitment to addressing the digital skills gap in South Africa through their ecosystem of partners. In October 2022 Salesforce announced that the ecosystem is expected to create 31,800 new jobs and…

The workforce is changing. The average age of workers is rising, and the number of young people entering the workforce is declining. This is a concern in a country where youth unemployment is so high. Young people in South Africa are underemployed at far higher rates than older people on the job market. According to Stats SA, by the end of the first quarter of 2023, the underemployment rate was 6.3% for 15 – 24 years of age, and 5.2% for those aged 24 – 34. This is significantly higher than the national rate (4.9%). Here is why it is…

South African ICT entrepreneur Doreen Mbhalati-Mashele recently saw her inspiring story go global when she was featured on Huawei’s international thought leadership platform Transform. Read by millions of people around the world, Transform is published several times a year and looks at how tech is shaping the present, while also providing a glimpse of the future. Mbhalati-Mashele’s feature comes at an apt time, with South Africa set to celebrate Women’s Day in less than three weeks. It’s a story that deserves to be told too. Having obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Mathematics, Mbhalati-Mashele struggled to find work after…

In a South African first, Checkers has launched a competition that will see 120 winners each walk away with a comprehensive home solar solution worth over R100 000 to help its consumers offset rising energy prices and negate load shedding challenges.  Each winner will receive a solar system that includes a Conti Solar Inverter (5.5KW), a Conti Battery (Lithium-ion/LifePo4 48V 100AH), six Conti Solar Panels (420W), a Conti Wi-Fi module, and standard home installation.   “With this competition, Checkers aims to provide 120 loyal customers with some relief from the ongoing challenges experienced with loadshedding, as well as an opportunity to experience firsthand the benefits of renewable energy,” explains Mike Middleton, Chief Marketing Officer at Checkers.…

Kasha, an East Africa’s digital platform for last mile access to health. today announced its Series B financing of over $21 million or R377 million. The funding is led by Knife Capital, a pan African VC based out of South Africa, with participation from FinnFund, DFC, Altree Capital, Tim Koogle and Pam Scott, Beyond Capital Ventures, Bamboo Capital’s BLOC Smart Africa Fund, Five35 Ventures and other new and existing investors. With Series B funding, Kasha is scaling operations into South and West Africa to be Africa’s leading digital health access platform. Kasha is a digital retail and last mile distribution…

BuildRSA chat platform is a South African technology initiative, which gives people the chance to share their thoughts and feelings on developmental issues facing the country and find sustainable solutions to resolving them. It serves as a platform for constructive dialogue, providing everyone interested in building a prosperous South Africa with the opportunity to share opinions and practical, considered ways to address the socio-economic and political challenges plaguing our country. The BuildRSA National Conference, South Africa’s first-ever text-based conference, will happen on the BuildRSA platform at Buildrsa.co.za on 24 July 2023.  Running from 10:00am to 1:00pm, conference participants will focus…

Vodacom today pays tribute to Professor Kole Omotoso, widely recognised as the face of Vodacom’s long-running ‘YeboGogo’ advertising campaign, who passed away on Wednesday 19 July 2023. Most South Africans know Prof Omotoso as “the Yebo Gogo man” from Vodacom’s iconic adverts which the telco used to promote brand Vodacom in the early 1990s and early 2000s in South Africa. Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub says: “We are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Prof Omotoso, who is one of the country’s respected academic and playwrights. At Vodacom, we remember him as an iconic figure who helped…

Huawei and the East African Communication Organisation (EACO) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at driving up levels of digital participation in the region. The MoU, which was signed by Dr Ally Simba, Executive Secretary, EACO and Yang Hongjie, Director of ICT Strategy and Policy Department of Huawei Southern Africa Region during the 25th EACO Congress and 28th Annual Assembly in Bujumbura, recognises the importance of ICT as a digital enabler. It further contains an agreement that both Huawei and EACO have determined to partner in the areas of ICT Capacity Building for EACO Secretariat staff and EACO…

To reinforce this proactive approach and ensure effective risk management, MTN SA has appointed Bradley Swanepoel as Chief Risk Officer, effective 1 October 2023. Swanepoel, who presently holds the position of General Manager: Finance Business Partner, has organisation-wide experience having served MTN’s Enterprise, Consumer, Fintech, and Technology businesses. He possesses a comprehensive understanding of MTN’s operations that aligns perfectly with the requirements of a Chief Risk Officer. “Bradley is a seasoned CA (SA) and finance executive with more than 20 years of experience in senior leadership roles. With many of those years spent in the telecoms including his current tenure…

Enhancing learner online safety this new school term is about adopting a progressively protective approach. That’s according to South Africa’s Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) which says online threats to the country’s school children are real, but can be mitigated by parents taking progressive action in the face of potential danger. ISPA chair, Sasha Booth-Beharilal says: “With access to information, comes the risk of learners being exposed to harmful content and equally harmful predators and cyberbullies.” When it comes to cyberbullying, it’s important for parents to advise their children not to respond and not to retaliate, either online or in…

TikTok is where culture, entertainment and music collide, making TikTok the ultimate platform for music discovery and promotion. Every day on TikTok, millions of passionate music fans discover their new favorite musician, rediscover old hits, and support up-and-coming artists to break through and reach the top of the charts. “We’re committed to supporting rising talent to help them break through the noise to reach their dreams,” said TikTok in a statement. “That’s why we are so excited to officially announce our next program aimed at raising the volume of the voices of emerging artists.” TikTok Elevate: TikTok’s first-ever programme to identify,…

The Forex market, also known as the foreign exchange market, is a vibrant and fast-paced financial market where both regular retail investors and major financial institutions trade currencies. It is a market that never sleeps, operating 24 hours a day, five days a week, across different time zones. What makes the Forex market truly intriguing is its dynamic nature, characterised by constant fluctuations in the prices of financial instruments and a multitude of factors driving these changes. Those qualities attract investors around the world seeking to maximise their profit potential in a short time. What dynamic factors shape the Forex…