Author: Staff Writer

Peach Payments has partnered with Capitec to launch Capitec Pay, a new open banking payment method that allows online shoppers to make secure and safe payments directly from their Capitec Bank account. Open banking is a banking practice that provides third-party financial service providers open, permission-based access to consumer banking, transaction, and other financial data from banks and non-bank financial institutions. It is widely considered a key way to democratise financial services, as it gives consumers more choices in how they manage their money. The number of open banking users worldwide is expected to grow at an average annual rate…

After launching the TECH4ALL initiative at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona four years ago, Huawei and its partners shared the latest insights and practices on how technology is enabling digital inclusion and sustainability at a media roundtable on Day 1 of MWC Barcelona 2023. “All of our efforts with the TECH4ALL initiative wouldn’t have been possible without taking technology and partnerships as key enablers,” said Jeffrey Zhou, President of ICT Marketing for Huawei, in his opening speech. “Since the launch of TECH4ALL, more than 600 schools worldwide, over 220,000 K12 teachers and students in remote areas, unemployed youth, women, and…

South African start-up ExploreAI Academy has partnered with international technology training provider ALX to roll out training programmes in data science and data analytics across the continent. The partnership involves training an initial 25,000 African students over the next 18 months. ALX is a division of African Leadership International (ALI). The partnership with ExploreAI Academy is part of its plan to expand its international community of highly skilled professionals with qualifications that evolve with the digital economy’s demands. As developed economies face increasing skills shortages in the digital and tech sectors, players like ALX are increasingly looking to Africa as…

MTN Group’s leadership today met with Ugandan President His Excellency Mr. Yoweri Museveni on the sidelines of his two-day state visit to South Africa, during which they discussed efforts to support the development of the Ugandan economy. The MTN delegation included MTN Uganda Chairman Charles Mbire; MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita; MTN Uganda CEO Sylvia Mulinge; MTN Southern and East Africa Vice President Yolanda Cuba; and MTN Group Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer Nompilo Morafo. Re-iterating MTN’s commitment to Uganda, Mupita proposed facilitating a two-day investment summit in Kampala in May 2023 in collaboration with the relevant…

JSE listed Balwin today officially launched Munyaka, the goup’s R10-billion award winning* lifestyle estate development in Waterfall Smart City, Gauteng. Munyaka, which means ‘crystal’ in Venda, will play host to one of the biggest crystal-clear lagoons in the southern hemisphere at a size of approximately 3 HA (or 30 000m2), bringing Hollywood style beach living to Johannesburg.. In addition to the crystal-clear lagoon, Munyaka will offer residents amenities such as gym facilities, on-site concierge, restaurants, meeting rooms, a swimming pool, laundromats, cinema, wellness spa and water activities such as paddle boarding and canoeing. To ensure a community-based lifestyle and world-class security,…

ChatGPT is certainly cornering lots of space in the media, and bringing the public’s attention to a tool that could revolutionise most areas of life and of the world of work. Someone who understands its potential far better than most of us is South African-born, Heloise Greeff, a mechatronics engineer who went on to  pursue an MBA and PhD in machine learning at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Today, among other pursuits, she uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to guide her as the only Female Elite Pro Popular Investor on Etoro, the world’s leading social…

Today at MWC Barcelona 2023, Botswana’s Debswana and Huawei jointly announced the world’s first 5G-oriented smart diamond mine project. The Huawei-enabled smart mine solution has been deployed at Debswana’s Jwaneng open-pit diamond mine, and the project started operation in December 2021. As Debswana’s Head of Information Management, Molemisi Nelson Sechaba pointed out, Huawei’s 4G eLTE private network solution provides stable connectivity for the Jwaneng mine, connecting more than 260 pieces of equipment, including drilling rigs, excavators, heavy trucks, and pickup trucks. This enables interconnection between the mine’s production, safety, and security systems. Before this solution was adopted, the previous solution…

Sungeetha Sewpersad has been appointed as Chief People Office (CPO) at RMB as of 1 March 2023. The CPO will be responsible for ensuring that RMB adopts leading-edge people practices that seamlessly enable the business strategy and unlock exceptional client outcomes. Said RMB CEO Emrie Brown: “As a business that is distinguished by our people, I am very excited to welcome Sungeetha as the new CPO for RMB.  To ensure we have the best people that are deeply invested in our business and see it as a place where they can be the best versions of themselves, we need to…

Prudential Financial, a financial services firm, and Vitality Global, a health and well-being company offering smart InsurTech with the goal to build a healthier world, have entered a 10-year, expanded partnership. Under this agreement, Prudential will leverage Vitality’s model to promote healthier lifestyles to complement its Total Wellness offering throughout Latin America. Vitality Global is a health and well-being company offering smart InsurTech with the goal to build a healthier world. Vitality Global is responsible for JSE-listed Discovery’s expansion of Shared-Value Insurance beyond South Africa and the United Kingdom. Through partnerships with forward-thinking insurers and employers, Vitality Global unlocks shared-value insurance…

Google today announced applications for the third cohort of Black Founders Fund for Startup opened in Africa and Euroupe in line with its commitment to digital transformation and support to black-founded startups. This year, Google has committed $4 million to support  eligible black-founded startups. Startups operating and headquartered in Africa or having a legal presence on the continent are eligible to apply for the Black Founders Fund. Other eligibility criteria for startups that wish to apply are that the business should be benefiting the black community or that early-stage startups have black founders or diverse founding teams. The startups should…

Huge Group announced in October 2022 its intention to combine Huge Telecom and Huge Networks into a single and significantly enlarged telecommunications, networks and services business. The combining of these two businesses will commence on 1 March 2023, and will serve new and existing customers under the brand name ‘Huge TNS – with the TNS acronym denoting Telecoms, Networks, and Services. The strategy was to combine the commercial and go-to-market strengths and distribution capabilities of Huge Telecom with the products, services, and technical capabilities of Huge Networks to create a more relevant, stronger, larger and more capable entity. “The convergence…

MTN Group and Huawei today signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen strategic cooperation in environmental, social and governance matters. The MoU, signed at MWC Barcelona, is aligned with MTN’s Ambition 2025 strategy and Huawei’s Corporate Sustainability Development strategy, including its TECH4ALL initiative. “Leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress can only be achieved through the power of partnerships,” said MTN Group Chief Sustainability & Corporate Affairs Officer Nompilo Morafo. “Working with companies like Huawei, we can pool our technologies and expertise to drive greater access to connectivity, digital skills and greener and more sustainable solutions to the benefit of all.”…

Huawei has unveiled the HUAWEI XMAGE Trend Report 2023 during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This is the first trend report since the launch of HUAWEI XMAGE in 2022, a new mobile imagery brand which clearly defined the structure of Huawei’s Mobile Imagery Strategy: technology innovation, consumer experience and culture exploration. Images have become the common language of today, and mobile phones plays an increasingly important role in this new trend, said Li Changzhu, Vice President of Strategy Marketing, Huawei Consumer BG, as well as judge of HUAWEI NEXT IMAGE Awards. Li announced the launch of the report at the…

Huawei’s Carrier BG President Li Peng spoke today at Huawei’s MWC Barcelona 2023 Day 0 Forum on how 5G was opening the door to an intelligent world, and how the leap to 5.5G would be a key milestone along this journey. Li emphasized that the industry had to work together to move faster towards an ultra-broadband, green, and intelligent world, and that Huawei’s GUIDE business blueprint could help lay the foundation for this important achievement. The physical and digital worlds seem to be growing ever closer as the effects of digital and intelligent transformation become increasingly apparent in our workplaces,…

The Huawei Green ICT Summit was held in Barcelona today. Peng Song, President of ICT Strategy & Marketing of Huawei, delivered a keynote speech entitled “Green & Development, Choosing Not to Choose”. Peng pointed out that An AI Big Bang is underway. AI brings new benefits and opportunities to operators. However, it also requires better ICT infrastructure, due to higher bandwidth and increased computing power leading to a rapid increase in network energy consumption. ” The ICT industry seems to be faced with the tough choice to either go green or develop. However, we believe the industry can choose not…

Huawei announced it has joined the UNESCO Global Alliance for Literacy (GAL) today as part of the company’s lead up to the Mobile World Congress 2023. The announcement was made at a Digital Talent Summit co-hosted by Huawei and the Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) which serves as the Secretariat of the GAL. At the Summit, Huawei and the UIL agreed to jointly promote the use of technology to raise literacy. The two parties also signed a cooperation agreement under which Huawei will fund an expansion of the UIL’s current initiatives to enhance educators’ use of technology in developing countries.…

After four years of development work, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen vehicle and development project is entering its critical next phase. The fleet of under 100 vehicles will then be employed internationally for demonstration and trial purposes for various target groups. This active driving experience will therefore be the first chance for people not involved in the development process to gain a direct impression of what the BMW iX5 Hydrogen has to offer. “Hydrogen is a versatile energy source that has a key role to play in the energy transition process and therefore in climate protection. After all, it is one…

Innovative equity crowdfunding platform GoGetta has listed its first two businesses outside of South Africa.  Scorefam is a sports gaming business which makes it easy for betting fans to deposit and withdraw earnings via its crypto-enabled app. Quiver is a crypto-based savings and loans provider which caters for Africans in the informal sector. Both businesses are based in Nigeria. Sthembiso Zwane, co-founder of GoGetta says, “After successfully raising over R6m for two businesses in just six weeks, we’re delighted to offer these innovative African businesses to global investors. This signifies an important step in our growing reputation as a trusted…

Black female owned private equity investor Moshe Capital has acquired a 20% stake in Pragma, which is an engineering services business that specialises in delivering enterprise asset management services and solutions using proprietary technology. The R50 million deal was funded by FNB and takes black ownership of Pragma to 56.8%. “Moshe Capital partners with African businesses that can compete internationally, so Pragma is an excellent fit for our investment portfolio of mining and related businesses that transform the sector and have potential for growth. It is a homegrown business with a global footprint including an office in Europe, representation in…

Eskom announced that Stage 4 loadshedding will continue to be implemented until 16:00 on Monday afternoon, whereafter Stage 5 loadshedding will be implemented at 16:00 – 05:00 on Tuesday morning. The power utility added that loadshedding will then be reduced to Stage 3 at 05:00 – 16:00 on both Tuesday and Wednesday, while Stage 4 will be implemented during 16:00 – 05:00 on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Eskom will publish another update as soon as any significant changes occur. Over the past 24 hours, a generating unit each at the Arnot, Grootvlei, Kendal, Medupi and Tutuka power stations were returned…

Senzo Mbhele, currently Head of Innovation and Employee Experience at Tarsus Technology Group, has been appointed Managing Director of Tarsus On Demand (TOD) effective 1 March 2023. This follows the resignation of Anton Herbst, former CEO of TOD and Tarsus Technology Group (TTG), who departs both roles at the end of February 2023. Having previously held various roles at technology and consulting firms, Senzo joined TTG in 2016, leading proactive approaches to employee well-being in the organisation. Mbhele’s role as Head of Innovation and Employee Experience ensured that the group’s strategy filtered through to divisions and teams, and has seen…

Global technology brand HONOR today announced the launch of the HONOR X7a in South Africa is right around the corner. Featuring a long-lasting 6,000mAh battery[1], a 50MP Ultra-clear Quad Camera system, 128GB[2] storage, and a stunning 6.74-inch[3] HONOR FullView Display, the new HONOR X7a smartphone comes with extraordinary battery life that lasts for 3 days of typical use on a single charge, and powerful hardware to offer a well-rounded use experience throughout the day, and more – all at an affordable price. Slim Body, Large Battery Embedded in HONOR X7a’s slim and chic body, the 6,000mAh battery delivers extraordinary battery…

AKA’s new album, Mass Country, due to be released on global streaming platform Spotify tomorrow, is both a parting gift to his fans and a love letter to South Africa. Mass Country was produced and completed before South African rapper Kiernan Forbes’ untimely death. With a mix of local sounds, and features from a host of South Africa’s hottest Hip Hop talent including Khuli Chana, Blxckie, Nadia Nakai, Emtee, Yanga Chief, Sjava and more, there is no mistaking that this one was for his South African fans. In a video taken while he was in the studio, AKA is heard…

Umbiie (pronounced Um-bee) has launched a first-of-its-kind skills and experience matching platform for legal professionals globally. By uberising the workforce, Umbiie eliminates costly inefficiencies and deficits in the recruitment process to perfectly align legal professionals with jobs, consultants with projects, and practice lawyers with new clients. Marking a 180-degree pivot for the recruitment industry, Umbiie is powered by a shared revenue model that rewards all stakeholders in the resourcing and recruitment process, from the candidate to the client. The gig economy Umbiie comes in response to the fast-changing recruitment landscape which puts more power into the hands of job seekers.…

This note sets out the basic characteristics and requirements for the solar panel incentive announced by the Minister of Finance on 22 February 2023. This is meant to help individuals in their immediate decision making, rather than postponing any solar installation until the legislative process can be finalised. WHAT IS THE OBJECTIVE OF THE INCENTIVE? Government proposes this programme to encourage households to invest in clean electricity generation capacity which can supplement electricity supply. The incentive will only be available for 1 year to encourage investment as soon as possible. WHO CAN CLAIM THE INCENTIVE? Individuals who pay personal income…