Author: Staff Writer

Africa Data Centres, a business of Cassava Technologies a pan-African technology group,  announced today it has secured a piece of land adjacent to its existing data centre in Nairobi, Kenya, and plans to expand the facility up to an extra 15MW of IT load. The build will be completed in the first half of 2024 and will bring five times more than the current capacity. According to Hardy Pemhiwa, Group President & CEO of Cassava Technologies, “Colocation has become the foundation of African digital transformation and will be for the foreseeable future. Our investment into expanding our data centre operations…

Synatic, SA’s data integration and automation business, has secured an additional $2.5 million or R42 million in a seed extension funding round led by Allan Gray E-Squared Ventures and UW Ventures. Synatic will use the additional funds to expand its market reach in the United States in preparation for Series A funding in 2023. Synatic has built off a strong South African customer base, providing large scale enterprise data integration and aggregation to the likes of Easy Equities. Through growing its market globally it currently provides data solutions to multiple multinationals such as HCC Tokio Marine, a US-headquartered insurance group.…

With the goal of serving South Africans with hearing loss, MTN is piloting a national relay service (NRS) which harnesses the power of technology to enable users to make and receive phone calls. Depending on the type of call, an operator will speak, type, or use sign language when facilitating calls for or between deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind South Africans. Together with Convo South Africa, a deaf-owned company, the pilot project expands communication access for those who otherwise would not be able to communicate via voice call, audio or video. Users of MTN’s NRS service will be able…

Spotify today announced the arrival of South Africa’s Wrapped 2022, the platform’s deep dive into the music that defined the year for users locally. The way we listen to music says a lot about us. As part of Wrapped 2022, Spotify users get a detailed snapshot of their most loved artists, creators and songs. And as part of this year’s fun, Audio Day shows how Spotify users’ musical choices evolve throughout the day while the new Your Listening Personality feature tells users about the music they listen to and what that says about their music taste. One of 16 different…

The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation has launched the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy, a $2 million or R33.8 million prize competition to reward entrepreneurs and innovators working to address one of the most pressing and immediate challenges of our time—access to green, renewable energy. The winning individual or team will be awarded $1 million, with an additional $1 million disbursed throughout the competition as finalists progress and field test ideas. Registration for the prize is open now. There is no cost to apply, and anyone, anywhere in the world is eligible to submit their idea for consideration.…

African countries have been urged to invest in building resilient internet infrastructure to tap digital opportunities and accelerate social and economic transformation on the continent. Global leaders attending the 17th Internet Governance Forum being held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, underscored the importance of digital technologies as tools for enhancing development across Africa. “The internet’s contribution to social development is immense, the democratization of knowledge and communication, access to entrepreneurship skills and new employment opportunities health care access and education are a few noteworthy ones,” Mr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, said in opening remarks…

Mercedes-Benz and Bosch have reached an important milestone on the way to automated driving: Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) has approved their highly automated parking system for use in the P6 parking garage run by APCOA at Stuttgart Airport. This makes it the world’s first highly automated driverless parking function (SAE Level 4)[1] to be officially approved for commercial use. “The world’s first approval for customer use of our highly automated and driverless parking function, developed together with our technology partner Bosch, shows that innovation leadership and ‘Made in Germany’ go hand in hand,” says Markus Schäfer, Member of the…

ICT skills development is critical for South Africa to participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and reap the benefits of a digital economy. This was the consensus of various speakers at Huawei South Africa’s ICT Talent Development annual awards ceremony at its Woodmead campus yesterday. The event celebrated the higher education partner institutions and facilitators of the Huawei ICT Academy Programme, which was established to identify, cultivate, and develop the best talent through collaboration between industry, educational institutions, and the public sector. “The ICT sector is growing fast and we must respond to its needs, especially when it comes…

RMB acted as Mandated Lead Arranger & Bookrunner for IHS Holdings (IHS Towers) $600 million or R10.2 billion syndicated term loan facility. IHS Towers is one of the largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count, and is the largest independent multinational towerco solely focused on the emerging markets. IHS Towers has nearly 40,000 towers across its 11 markets and a strong track record of delivering growth. “RMB is proud to facilitate strategic investments that have a powerful economic impact,” Conny Konopi, Debt & Trade Solutions Transactor says,. “IHS Towers focuses exclusively…

South African early-stage venture capital firm, 4Di Capital, has today announced the second closing of its new $25 million or R425 million seed fund – created in partnership with DotExe Ventures in Mauritius – with an undisclosed raise from Mauritian-based conglomerate, IBL Group, via its investment vehicle, IBL Link Investments Ltd. The announcement establishes a close working relationship between the three organisations, while creating a new presence in Mauritius for the venture capital firm. This follows an initial close of $8 million or R135 million from the SA SME Fund, with capital targeting seed and post-seed stage startups in South…

Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) announces that Klaus Eser, currently Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Executive Director Finance and Controlling, will retire and be succeeded by Taryn Woodbridge, effective 1 December 2022. “I’m very pleased to welcome Taryn Woodbridge to the leadership team at Mercedes-Benz South Africa as the company’s first female Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director Finance and Controlling,” said Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes-Benz South Africa and Executive Director Manufacturing, Andreas Brand. “Taryn brings on board vast industry experience and will certainly make an even greater impact within the business to ensure we continue to meet our strategic…

The Shoprite Group is the first South African retailer to pilot a heavy-duty electric truck as part of its fleet, and 28-year-old Robin Jooste from Colorado Park, Mitchells Plain has been selected to drive it. The vehicle, a Scania Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), is 100% electric, therefore has no reliance on fossil fuels and emits no carbon dioxide. The refrigerated truck can hold approximately 16 pallets, has nine batteries, solar panels fitted to its roof and a fully electric cooling system which is also powered by the battery packs of the vehicle. With a range in the region of 350km,…

Global tech company Zoho announced today that it will be opening a new office in Johannesburg to accommodate its growing employee base in the country and cater to its customers. The company has seen the net new customer growth of 75% in South Africa in 2021, and doubled its employee base since opening its first office in Cape Town. In addition, Zoho and the Institute of African Royalty (IAR), a startup and SME incubator, have entered into a strategic partnership to remove access barriers to enterprise technology for small and medium businesses, and help them in their digital transformation journey.…

Africa Data Centres, a business of Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, announced today that it is building its first data centre in Kigali, Rwanda. The data centre will have 2MW of IT load and will be purpose-built to meet growing demand in the region. “It is an exciting time for Africa Data Centres,” says Tesh Durvasula, the company’s CEO. “Our decision to build a data centre in Kigali was an easy one, given Rwanda’s robust economic recovery post the COVID-19 pandemic and the Government of Rwanda’s focus on digital transformation”. “This latest announcement adds to and complements our existing…

Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a business of Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, officially announces the launch of its operations in Nigeria. As a one-stop shop technology company offering high-speed connectivity, cloud and cyber security services with unmatched resilience and scalability, Liquid Intelligent Technologies entry into Nigeria will give new impetus to the country and region’s digital transformation journey. “We were the first African company to lay over 100,000 km of fibre network across the African continent, and we plan to extend our reach into Nigeria. Expanding our operations here reiterates our interest in working with the government to achieve the…

The first batch of over 100 South African solar industry practitioners received training from Huawei this week in Johannesburg, South Africa, marking the official kick-off of Huawei’s “Thousand Digital Power Talents Programme“. The programme aims to upskill more than 1 000 solar practitioners across Sub-Saharan Africa. With the theme “Together, for a Better and Greener Africa”, the programme was a significant milestone in Huawei’s effort to drive growth and expand the ecosystem for Africa’s solar sector. Sector stakeholders including John van Zuylen, CEO of Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA), and Dr. Rethabile Melamu, CEO of South African Photovoltaic Industry Association…

Large numbers of South African school-goers face significant digital and literacy gaps. Through its DigiSchool programme, Huawei supports NGO Click Learning’s efforts in addressing the problem. Merely 49% of South African schools have some form of connectivity, of which only 20% use it for teaching and learning, while the remaining for administration. Supporting initiatives like DigiSchool also underscores Huawei’s commitment to connecting more unconnected people and organisations to foster positive social change. “Many people around the world remain unconnected. So connecting them is the first step. This will give them greater access to knowledge, digital skills training, and opportunities,” said…

MTN Zambia today launched our 5G network, becoming the first mobile operator in Zambia to offer 5G services commercially after successfully undertaking trials of the transformative technology over the past 11 months. “The launch of this ultra-fast communication capacity serves as a clear indication of MTN’s commitment to being a major player in Zambia’s digital economy,” said Mcebisi Jonas, MTN Group chairman. “We look forward to continuing to work together to meaningfully impact the growth and development of Zambia.” MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita said MTN Zambia was the Group’s third operation in Africa (after Nigeria and South Africa) where…

Petshop Science, the one-stop-shop for all pet essentials, will launch Black Friday deals for the first time, with savings of up to 50% on products in-store and online between Thursday 24 and Sunday 27 November.  Pet parents can look forward to great deals on a broad selection of products, including food, treats, toys, and more from premium brands at supermarket prices.  Some of the deals available both in-store and online include:  Buy any Hill’s Science Diet Dry Dog or Cat Food and save 30%   20kgs of Montego Classic Adult Dog Food for R299 – save R140    Any Bravecto Chewable Tick & Flea Tablets for Dogs – save 40%  2 x 2kg bags of…

Huawei South Africa launched a new commercial venture aimed at growing its partner ecosystem and attracting small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers within the education, retail, manufacturing, mining, and finance sectors. At the launch event held at the Sandton Convention Centre on 22 November 2022, Huawei outlined the aims and objectives of the new commercial business. Huawei is very committed to developing together with our local partners. Our goal is to promote digital transformation for customers in various industries,” said Gene Zhang, Managing Director of Huawei South Africa’s Enterprise Division. “We believe that by working together with our partners we…

Digital technologies deliver real benefits to companies in French-speaking Africa. They improve communication with value chain partners, lower operating costs and boost marketing and sales. But poor-quality, expensive internet connections mean many firms struggle to digitalize. That’s the main message of a new International Trade Centre (ITC) report exploring ways to make small businesses in francophone Africa more competitive. The fifth annual edition of SME Competitiveness in Francophone Africa: Fostering digital transformation finds that improving digital skills through training, hiring and educational practices and policies is essential. The report is based on data from 4973 businesses interviewed by ITC and the Permanent Conference…

Huawei has signed a global commitment to join the International Telecommunication Union‘s Partner2Connect digital alliance, which will bring connectivity to about 120 million people in remote areas in more than 80 countries by 2025. Liang Hua, Chairman of Huawei, announced the decision at the company’s 2022 Sustainability Forum, Connectivity+: Innovate for Impact. The forum explored how ICT innovation could unleash the business and social value of connectivity and drive sustainability in the digital economy era. Speakers at the event included senior leaders from the ITU and United Nations, telecom ministers and regulators in Cambodia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and business…

Financial group Hantec officially announced yesterday its ongoing global expansion into Rwanda. Hantec offers its prestigious financial services and opens the doorway to new global trading opportunities. “Expanding the footprint into Rwanda and the rest of Africa enables us to offer more international trading opportunities for our valued clients,” said Freddy, CEO of Hantec Group. Hantec Financial also draws up a highly localized approach by cultivating local teams, and integrating local culture into its operations, to serve investors and clients from all over the globe. Hantec Financial as a trusted financial service provider believes in the power of technology to…

It is estimated that in 2020 alone, each stage of load shedding cost South Africa’s economy R500 million per day. In 2021, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) cautioned that load shedding would cost the country approximately R15 billion if left unresolved. In July 2022, experts estimated that Stage 6 load shedding had wiped over a whopping R4 billion from South Africa’s GDP — daily, that is. It is a widely known fact that load shedding continues to wreak havoc in the daily operations of most businesses. SMMEs, in particular, bear the brunt of this disrupted supply in…

Shoprite and Checkers looks forward to offering customers a wide range of Black Friday deals between Thursday 24 and Sunday 27 November 2022.  This year several of the new specialist Checkers stores – including Checkers Little Me and Checkers Outdoor – will all take part in Black Friday for the first time.   It is guaranteed to be the supermarket retailer’s biggest Black Friday ever, with plenty of stock, extended shopping hours and additional employees on hand to ensure a rewarding shopping experience for customers.  Checkers & Checkers Hyper  Philips Essential XL Airfryer 1.2kg/6.2L for R1 999 each – save R1 000  Baby Soft 2ply toilet paper (18 rolls) for R89 -…