Author: Staff Writer
More than 25 million South African consumers saved a combined R7 billion on their grocery bills during the past six months (July to December 2022) through the Xtra Savings programme at Shoprite and Checkers supermarkets. It has contributed to fending off soaring living costs with Xtra Savings members swiping their rewards cards over 238 million times to benefit from instant cash savings at till points to help make ends meet. Consumers countrywide continue to switch to Shoprite and Checkers with an additional 1 million members joining the Xtra Savings programme, which was named South Africa’s best retail rewards programme by the 2022 South African Loyalty Awards, during this period. With an unwavering focus on affordability and accessibility, Shoprite and Checkers will continue to keep prices on everyday essentials and groceries as low as possible. The following tips will…
Telkom today announced plans to enable mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) partnerships on its network. Telkom has leveraged its extensive network footprint across South Africa to offer MVNOs the opportunity to provide quality services over its network – thereby enhancing the much-needed competition in the telecoms space. Telkom believes partnering with MVNOs will enable them to deliver their propositions to selected target markets effectively. ” With a best-in-class network, we believe that such partnerships will help create jobs, create a path into the industry for smaller players, and ultimately contribute to the growth of our digital economy, “says Lunga Siyo,…
South Africa’s payment gateway provider Payfast has undergone a major rebrand. Having joined forces with PayGate and SiD under Network International, the company has created a new home for its consolidated offering. With a renewed focus on enabling growth – for the brand, its merchants, and the broader ecommerce industry – this milestone represents a new era in the payments industry. In 2021, DPO Group, of which Payfast is a subsidiary, was acquired by Network International, a globally renowned enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa. “By combining the capabilities of three of South Africa’s biggest ecommerce…
inDrive, the international IT platform for transport and consumer services, in its mission to fight injustice and aid in the development of urban areas with the help of new technologies, will cover the cost for all mobile data that users consume when using the application. inDrive became the first ride-sharing app in South Africa that made the use of mobile data free for its users, an unprecedented case in the country. Currently, the company operates in 9 cities of South Africa – Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Gqeberha, East London, Pietermaritzburg, Rustenburg, Polokwane. Vincent Lilane, Business Development Representative inDrive said:…
AppsFlyer and Google have launched a new report looking at how mobile apps are transforming finance in Africa. Data reveals a significant increase in finance app installs across the African continent, as people turn to apps and technology as a way of managing finances, navigating economic uncertainty, and moving towards financial freedom. The report analyzed more than 140 million installs, across 3,000 finance apps, and found that installs across the continent grew 25%. Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya & South Africa were the main contributors to this rise in finance app installs, with the former largely bolstering this by a massive 200%;…
Women in Blockchain Talks has announced its biggest event yet on the 13th-15th March in Limassol, Cyprus, to coincide with International Women’s Day. The summit will bring together blockchain enthusiasts, industry experts and special guests to reflect on Women in Blockchain Talk’s monumental rise and look at the past, present and future of blockchain, how we can leverage it and in doing so create a space for all. There will be an array of international speakers and workshops, including Web3 and Metaverse Advisor Dr. Martha Boeckenfeldm, Professor Soulla Louca – the Director of the Institute For The Future at the…
Entersekt, a global leader in customer and payment authentication solutions for financial fraud prevention has announced the appointment of Jon Roskill, former Acumatica CEO and Microsoft executive, to its board of directors as part of its continued expansion within North America. In late 2021, Entersekt received significant funding from Accel-KKR, a technology-focused private equity firm, to hire key leadership, launch new branding, and accelerate the expansion within this region. Jon Roskill joins Entersekt board of directors A former Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, and CEO of Acumatica, Mr. Roskill brings decades of executive and advisory experience to the Entersekt board…
The latter half of 2022 was characterised by significant instabilities in the tech industry. E-retailer and cloud giant Amazon announced that it would cut tens of thousands of jobs, social media behemoths Twitter and Meta laid off significant percentages of their workforce, and even Microsoft saw its slowest revenue growth in five years. “There’s chaos in the industry internationally,” says Andrew Cruise, Managing Director of Routed, a local cloud platform provider and VMware specialist. “The war in Ukraine has kicked off a period of great uncertainty that’s affected global inflation, exchange rates, and general risk appetite. This follows the boom…
SA’s e-commerce platform Shopstar has launched live shopping app in Africa. Flick Live is a dynamic social commerce platform, in which brands and retailers can sell their products, interact with viewers and gain potential customers in real-time live streams. This live shopping platform works by seamlessly integrating with any existing e-commerce store, such as those already run on Shopstar, or by other third parties, such as Shopify, WooCommerce and others. All inventory is automatically synced, and any new orders are created on the source platform. Sellers then host a live show on Flick Live, selling their products via highly personal…
UK department store Marks & Spencer (M&S) and technology company Zyler partnered to deliver an in-store virtual try-on experience. M&S brought the technology to their Oxford Circus and Harrogate branches, where the feature was trialed with clothing brand Jaeger . The introduction of this technology provides a personalized shopping journey where customers become the model. Shoppers add a head and shoulders photo and basic measurements to see themselves digitally in the Jaeger collection. Sales assistants guide customers through the process and give style advice. CEO of Zyler, Alexander Berend, describes the partnership as “a wonderful opportunity to get customers excited…
MTN’s Mobile Money (MoMo) financial services platform is moving fast to meet the rising demand for online payment services. With 6,2 million people already subscribed to the service, the new personal loan offering and partnerships with SA-born fintech start-up Zapper, along with services aggregator QuickBus, are set to further extend MoMo’s impact for those looking to lead increasingly digital lifestyles. MoMo Personal Loans, in partnership with Lndr (PTY) LTD which is a registered credit provider, offers a seamless application and loan approval process. A portion of the funds can then be safely, quickly and easily disbursed into the MoMo wallet…
Africa Data Centres, a business of Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, has announced it is now offering remote peering through its partnership with INX-ZA, further advancing the data centre giant’s development in sub-Saharan Africa. In essence, remote peering is peering at an Internet Exchange without the requirement of being physically present. Customers can use any Network Service Provider’s infrastructure to reach the IXPs, so they do not need to invest in any extra equipment. INX-ZA is a division of the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) of South Africa and operates a fully neutral, community-run Internet exchange point in South…
Pick n Pay has launched a new pick-up point for Takealot customers in a store in Cape Town. This is part of a pilot giving customers the huge convenience of picking up their non-food online orders while shopping for groceries. This new in-store service pilot at Pick n Pay Table Bay Mall store launched a week before Christmas and reached collection capacity within two days, strongly suggesting the potential of this concept. Pick n Pay aims to increase the number of in-store collections per day due to the impressive customer participation and will add more stores to the pilot in…
The return to the office, be it after a holiday or a shift from full-time remote working to a hybrid model, brings with it some worrying security habits and risks. While the holiday is not yet a distant memory, it is very likely that great security hygiene is, therefore companies need to prioritise cybersecurity awareness and training as they move into the new year. Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy & Evangelist at KnowBe4 AFRICA, points out that the attack surfaces have increased when people return to their offices in a hybrid model, which means that there are even more vulnerabilities…
The overriding retail trend for 2023 will be convergence of technologies and this trend will have widespread significance. This is according to Ajay Lalu, Director and co-Founder of Q-HOP – exhibitor at NRF 2023 – who adds that retailers must wake up to the implications—and opportunities—of profoundly disruptive technology trends. “5G will continue to lead digital physical convergence. This is the beginning of the metaverse – which is (or will be) an interactive environment built on blockchain and internet technology like Web 3.0. From the retailer’s point of view, the ability to create a much more realistic virtual world means…
The BMW Group is sharing its vision of the future digital experience, both inside and outside the vehicle, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 in Las Vegas. BMW i Vision Dee is the futuristic mid-size sedan with a new and pared-down design language. The name “Dee” stands for Digital Emotional Experience – and that is precisely its aim: to create an even stronger bond between people and their cars going forward. Future digital functions will go far beyond the level of voice control and driver assistance systems we are familiar with today. The BMW Head-Up-Display extends across the full width of the windscreen, providing…
The Western Cape Department of Human Settlements strongly urges residents to be aware of online housing scams that request you to pay for government housing assistance. The Department recently learnt of a WhatsApp message that is being circulated, claiming to assist residents to receive a house within 2 weeks. Residents are then requested to pay R2,300 for the approval letter and title deed in order to receive a housing opportunity. Specific areas targeted include Khayelitsha, Stellenbosch, Montana Paarl and Mitchells Plain. Residents should be aware that no payment is required to be placed on the housing demand database (ie. waiting…
A new year brings plenty of opportunities to start afresh, but also a long list of back-to-school and student must-haves from a tech perspective, including laptops, tablets and cellphones. For most this process is a bit like walking a tech gauntlet. This is where TechMarkit really shines with their wide range of pre-owned and reconditioned laptops, tablets, cellphones and Kindles from both its store in Rosebank Mall and their user-friendly website. Preparing for the new school and varsity year is daunting, but TechMarkit has a wide range of high-quality tech items at more affordable prices that can make the process…
Online retail in South Africa passed the R50-billion milestone in 2022, driven by an ongoing boom in demand for home deliveries, according to new research findings released today. “Online Retail in South Africa 2022”, a study conducted by World Wide Worx with Mastercard, reveals that the total growth for online retail in South Africa in 2022 came to 35%, bringing the total of online retail in South Africa to R55-billion. This comes after 40% growth the previous year took the total to R42,3-billion in 2021. “One can call this the pandemic dividend,” says World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck, principal…
South Africa is ranked as the most food secure country in Africa, but with global agricultural supply being highly sensitive to shocks brought about by climate change, technology has an important role to play in ensuring the country’s food security. Huawei earlier this month demonstrated how the convergence of several technologies, including drones, 5G, and the internet of things (IOT) could contribute to a more sustainable future for the agricultural sector. At present, the sector is responsible for between 19 and 29% of greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, a growing global population and changing dietary demands are driving…
Customs officers of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) have seized possible counterfeit shoes (sneakers and sandals) with an estimated value of R3-milliion this past weekend. The Customs Detector Dog Unit (DDU) at the Lebombo border post with Mozambique searched a truck with two trailers entering South Africa. The DDU found 5237 pairs of various branded (possibly counterfeit) shoes and sandals. The items were found loaded in the back of the trailers of the truck. The shoes were handed over to the South African Customs State Warehouse for further processing and engagement with the relevant brand holders for confirmation of…
South African mid-tier gold producer, Pan Africa Resources says its 10 megawatt Elikhulu solar renewable energy plant for its Evander gold operations has become the first embedded project over 1 MW to receive full grid code compliance from Eskom. The plant has been developed by JUWI Renewable Energies (JUWI). This follows the South African government’s decision in 2021 to raise the licensing threshold for embedded generation projects from 1 MW to 100 MW, aimed at alleviating the energy crisis by unlocking private generation capacity. In order to attain grid compliance, projects need to demonstrate full compliance with the Renewable Power…
The Africa Blockchain Centre, the premier center of excellence for blockchain development in Africa, has today announced the graduation of its first cohort of 105 blockchain developers under its Blockchain Programming training course. The programme, which took 6 months, and was run by a network of global experts, is a practical based course that teaches the learners the core fundamentals of blockchain technology and decentralized systems and takes them through the various blockchain programming protocols with a focus on Cardano, Algorand and Ethereum. The Africa Blockchain Centre, a Kenyan Web 3.0 company launched in September 2021 with a mission to…
Xiaomi Corporation, a global consumer electronics, and smart manufacturing company, officially opened its first authorised store in Cape Town today, which became the second Xiaomi store to be opened in South Africa in less than two months. Located at Shop 82 on the lower level of Canal Walk Shopping Centre, the third-largest shopping centre in Africa, the store will be Capetonian’s gateway to affordable, quality smartphones and smart home products. Xiaomi fans can also bring their devices needing repairs to the store to start the process. The opening of the second store in South Africa is a testament to Xiaomi’s…
South Africa’s protracted and more frequent power cuts are having a significantly negative impact on the country’s mobile network operators. Although the industry has proactively spent billions of rand in backup power solutions for network stability and continuity, customers are increasingly becoming frustrated when they experience a drop in network performance during higher levels of loadshedding. This is largely unavoidable when power generation capacity is reduced to Stage 4 and beyond. Speaking in his capacity as Chairperson of the recently launched Association of Communications & Technology (ACT), Shameel Joosub says: “South Africa’s power crisis continues to add pressure to an…