Author: Staff Writer

YuLife, the tech-driven financial services provider on a mission to inspire life, today announced its launch in South Africa. Founded in London in 2016, YuLife achieved rapid traction in the UK insurance market through its flagship product, group life insurance. The company’s expansion into South Africa marks a significant milestone as it seeks to redefine how people around the world derive value from financial products. YuLife’s Group Risk Protection (Life, Income Protection, Lump Sum Disability, and Funeral Cover) includes everything in a traditional group insurance policy – but also adds a globally award-winning wellbeing app and trusted support services. YuLife…

Video games can be about more than just entertainment. Competitive gaming blends the advantages of speed, tactics, forethought and teamwork into a unique package that can help learners develop confidence and skills. Similar to traditional athletes, top esports competitors exhibit unwavering focus and dedication, continuously honing their skills through persistence and training. The world of esports represents that journey, and a new league called Acer Nitro ASL brings those opportunities to schools around South Africa. Acer and the African Cyber Gaming League (ACGL) have partnered to establish Acer Nitro ASL (ACGL Schools League). This new league will bring esports events…

Kia broke ground last week on its dedicated plant for the production of batter-electric purpose-built vehicles (PBV). The ceremony was held at Kia’s Hwaseong plant, located in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, and was attended by over 200 people, including government officials, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, Kia’s Global President and CEO Ho Sung Song, and other employees from the Group and the automotive parts industry. Kia CEO, Ho Sung Song, on behalf of Hyundai Motor Group, highlighted in a greeting that Hyundai Motor, Kia, and Hyundai MOBIS together plan to invest KRW 24 trillion in the domestic electric…

Africa’s largest crypto investment app Luno, has today launched the Luno Large Cap Bundle, allowing Luno customers to access crypto investment bundles for the first time. Luno has partnered with CoinDesk Indices, the leading provider of digital asset indices, to provide customers with access to investment bundles that aim to follow CoinDesk’s broad market indices, helping customers to easily manage and maintain different investment strategies. Approximately 70% of global crypto product assets under management track indices provided by CoinDesk Indices. The Luno Large Cap Bundle is the first in a suite of products that follow these indices. “Investing in crypto…

+OneX, the new-age solutions and systems integrator in the Reunert Group, has concluded an agreement to acquire privately-owned cybersecurity and managed services company MMC for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition of MMC boosts +OneX’s ability to offer its clients cybersecurity and Compliance as a Service (CaaS) solutions as part of its comprehensive cloud and digital transformation portfolio.  Founded in 1991, MMC is a Microsoft Solutions Partner that offers business-critical IT managed services, with deep specialisation in cybersecurity and information security. MMC has built up a strong team of Microsoft specialists that help companies of all sizes to defend and protect…

SASSA grant beneficiaries with gold cards expiring in the next few months can avoid long queues and payment mishaps by switching their payments, free of charge, to a Shoprite Money Market Account – South Africa’s lowest cost, fully fledged, transactional bank account.    In four easy steps grant holders can open an account and switch their SASSA payments:  Register: Dial *120*3534# OR WhatsApp 087 240 5709 OR visit the in-store Money Market counter OR download the Shoprite app.  Sign in & download your Bank Confirmation Letter.  Download the SASSA form here or collect one at the Money Market counter in any Shoprite or Checkers supermarket.  Take your printed Bank Confirmation Letter, completed SASSA switch form and original ID to…

High-achieving Grade 12 learners with a passion for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) are invited to apply for an all-inclusive undergraduate bursary from Sasol, South Africa’s employer of choice in the Chemical and Energy sector. Applications close on 23 May 2023. During 2022, Sasol awarded 255 bursaries to undergraduate, postgraduate and university of technology students for the 2023 academic year, studying in South Africa. Around 560 students are currently studying on Sasol bursaries. The bursaries are open to learners who are planning to study towards a B. Eng. or B. Sc. Eng. in various engineering disciplines or for a…

On 25 April 2023, Volkswagen will start the sale of its most powerful hatch, the Golf 8 R, in the local market. The recommended Retail Price (VAT and emissions tax included) for Golf R 2.0 TSI 235kW DSG will be R912 800. “Production constraints and parts shortages severely derailed our launch plans, but we are excited to finally extend the performance range in South Africa with the introduction of the new Golf 8 R. The Golf 8 R joins the Golf GTI and the Tiguan R as Volkswagen’s performance derivatives in the South African market,” said Steffen Knapp, Head of…

From looking at innovation differently to creating an enabling environment for it to thrive, Paul Carter-Brown, CTO and director at leading Banking as a Service and embedded finance enablement partner, Ukheshe, says the company’s Eclipse platform is paving the way towards a cashless future. Innovation hinges on a clearly defined, overarching strategy that outlines the broad challenges a company aims to address and the specific role it aims to play in addressing them. The difficulty lies in actualising this vision and seeing it through from conception to a tangible product that has a positive impact. Innovation involves not only high-level…

Prema is a blockchain platform which specialises in making it simple for users to interact with digital assets on multiple Web3 blockchains. The Prema platform consists of the Prema X NFT marketplace, Prema’s wallet and the NFT traceability system. This is a unique system of IRL (In Real Life) and URL (UnReal Life) categorisation, which allows NFTs in the virtual world to be tied to events and physical items in the actual world through the innovative use of NFC and AQR technologies. Prema is based in Singapore and is catered towards regional markets, with its most notable NFT collections being…

After the grand success of the previous edition, the Connected Africa is back, back much bigger stronger and larger than before, themed “Transforming to Telco’s of the Future”. The 3rd Edition of Connected Africa, Africa’s premier Telecom Summit delivering holistic insight into digital infrastructure developments and trends. Organised by The International Center for Strategic Alliances is scheduled for the 25th of July 2023, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Connected Africa is set to unite top executives from telecom carriers, technology vendors, infrastructure providers, and regulatory and government officials for a discussion on the future of the industry. They will be exploring…

Naspers, and its subsidiary businesses, Takealot and Media24, have joined the South African Plastics Pact, an industry collaboration of packaging producers, brand owners, retailers, recyclers, governments and NGOs to tackle plastic packaging waste by creating a circular economy for plastics. The SA Plastics Pact was launched in 2020 as part of The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative. It is managed by green economy non-profit, GreenCape and currently has 44 members representing key organisations across the plastics value chain, including Unilever, Woolworths, Clicks, Food Lovers Market, Spar and Pick n Pay, among others. The SA Plastics Pact aims to…

A group of three African students and graduates recently got the experience of a lifetime when they were invited to attend Mobile World Congress (MWC) as part of Huawei’s Digital Talent Summit. The group, who were part of Huawei’s Seeds for the Future initiative, also got to see how the programme is set to evolve in the near future. The Seeds for the Future alumni joined 37 other students from around the globe to participate in the world’s largest mobile trade show. There they were given the opportunity to discover the latest technologies from Huawei and its industry peers and…

Yolisa Kedama has been appointed as the acting chairperson of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) . Kedama’s appointment is effective from 04 April 2023 to 30 September 2023, or until a chairperson is appointed. “The appointment of the acting chairperson is in terms of section 5(2) of the ICASA Act, which provides that “in the absence of the chairperson, the remaining councillors must, from their number, elect an acting Chairperson, who, while he or she acts, may perform all the functions of the chairperson,” said ICASA. ICASA said Kedama is a specialist in the field of radio…

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is pleased to announce its preliminary revenue collection results for the 2022/2023 financial year, which reflects a significant growth trajectory over the past few years. The revenue collected annually provides 90% of government funding, which indicates SARS’ vital role in providing the resources that government can use for the reconstruction and recovery of the South African economy, as well as contributing to the long-term prosperity of our nation. As at midnight on 31 March 2023, SARS collected a record gross amount of R2067.8 bn. The net collection after payment of R381.1bn in refunds is…

Air France has unveiled its new long-haul Business cabin, elegantly reasserting the French-style art of travel. Constantly striving to offer the highest level of comfort, the airline’s completely redesigned iconic seat features even more enveloping curves and extra comfort. Air France is introducing a new standard dedicated to this travel cabin. Progressively rolled out on 12 Boeing 777-300s, the new cabin will serve South African travellers flying Air France between Paris and Johannesburg. With attentive service, gourmet cuisine designed by French Michelin- starred chefs, a carefully selected wine and champagne list and a wide selection of in-flight entertainment, the journey can begin. A PRESERVED SPACE The 48 spacious seats in the cabin are based on the 3 “F”s: Full Flat, meaning that…

Business communication and managed services provider ICTGlobe is committed to a flexible approach in its interaction with its 900-plus network of channel partners and enterprise clients. “The current business climate means the one-size fits all voice, data and other ICT services model is finished,” says Rad Jankovic, co-CEO ICTGlobe. The Centurion-headquartered firm is one of the country’s leading independent voice providers and believes that industry channel partners are looking to upstream providers to be more flexible in terms of pricing, terms, conditions and more. “The economy means one cannot keep hammering square pegs into round holes and hope to survive…

iStore has opened Africa’s first Apple Premium Partner (APP) store at Eastgate Mall, Johannesburg. Inspired by Apple’s iconic store concept, this store will offer the Apple experience and deliver a completely new level of customer service. This Apple Premium Partner concept store will also offer customers an interactive experience, a full assortment of Apple’s innovative products and ecosystem on display, training workshops with professionally trained Apple experts and a world-class Apple experience for Small and Medium Business (SMB) customers. “First of its kind on the African continent, at iStore Eastgate, customer experience and customer care is our number one priority.…

Huawei on Friday announced the appointment of Meng Wanzhou (Sabrina Meng) as rotating chairman of its board of directors after the Chinese tech giant reported stable business in 2022 with revenue of CNY642.3 billion and net profit of CNY35.6 billion. “According to the rotating chairman system of the company, Ms Meng Wanzhou will be the on-duty rotating chairwoman from April 1,2023 to September 30,2023,” the company said in a statement. Thereafter, Hu Houkun will serve as the rotating chairperson until 31 March 2024, and from 1 April 2024, Xu Zhijun will hold the position until 30 September 2024. Huawei continues…

With persistent loadshedding and a rise in vandalism and theft aggravating SA’s fragile economic recovery and impacting service delivery, MTN SA is accelerating its network resilience drive with an investment of R1.5 billion into the programme. CEO at MTN South Africa, Charles Molapisi says the nationwide programme is aimed at warding off the negative impact and frustration caused by power cuts, theft and vandalism and will help enhance network availability and stability over the long-term. “At MTN we are doing all we can to contribute meaningfully to helping alleviate the adverse impact of this crisis on the nation, its people…

Huawei launched its MEGA ICT infrastructure package solution for the African banking market, at Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit for Africa 2023 in Cape Town. The solution aims to ensure that banks and other financial service companies across the continent are positioned to embrace a digital-first approach that will be critical to their ability to remain competitive. Standing for “Multi-domain collaboration, End-to-end experience, Green, and Autonomous”, the MEGA package is designed to help banks meet their ICT requirements in order to achieve full digitalisation. As such, the solutions bundled in with MEGA include ones that help reshape the computing power, storage,…

Clinix Health Group, a black-owned medical provider of quality healthcare services in Soweto, has performed the first orthopaedic knee surgery using the state-of-the-art CORI robotic surgical system at one of its facilities. Dr Shilly Peter Maelane, a renowned orthopaedic surgeon, performed the surgery at the Dr SK Matseke Memorial Hospital in January 2023, using the all-new and advanced CORI robotic surgical system by Smith+Nephew. The use of robotic surgical equipment highlights the future-facing vision that young and inspired doctors have for innovative solutions. Thanks to the technology, a substantial number of patients will enjoy reduced adverse effects compared to traditional…

BozaRide, a local e-hailing platform, has launched in Gauteng, South Africa today and offers the ride-hailing industry safe, convenient and affordable services for both drivers and riders. South Africans who use e-hailing for part-time or full time income, leisure or business travel can look forward to these dynamic and compelling services in the market. BozaRide announced their official entry into the South African market during the launch, which was held in Greenpark, Sandton. The launch was attended by e-hailing drivers, riders, the media and key stakeholders. “We are thrilled to officially introduce ourselves as well as our cutting-edge services for…

JSE-listed 4Sight reported 35.4% rise in full year headline earnings per share (HEPS)  to 2, 379cents a share for the year to end-December 2022. HEPS is SA’s main profit gauge. 4Sight informed investors today that revenue rose  20.7%, gross profit increased 10.1%, and  operating profit grew by 93.9% due to the increased revenue, coupled with improved productivity, governance and control processes. Eric van der Merwe, Group CFO at 4Sight Holdings, said despite a R16-million share buy-back, the company grew  cash balance by 20.1% in 2022 from the strong growth in revenue. The company’s channel continued to experience strong revenue growth,…

If banks want to remain competitive in the face of neo-bank and fintech upstarts, they’ll have to fundamentally change the way they do business to be digital first. And if they’re going to achieve that goal, then working with technology partners to ensure that they have the right infrastructure in place will be crucial. That was the overriding message from the speakers at a media roundtable event hosted during the Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit, in Cape Town, South Africa. Through the course of the session, it also became apparent that if traditional banks are to survive in the changing financial…