Author: Staff Writer

Banking group Nedbank names Daniel Mminele as chairman designate to replace Mpho Makwana. “The boards of the Companies are pleased to announce the appointment of Daniel Mminele as an independent non-executive director and chairperson-designate of the companies,” Nedbank informed investors on Wednesday. “The required regulatory approval for the appointment has been received.” Mminele’s appointment as an independent non-executive director of the companies will be effective from 1 May 2023 and the boards of the companies have resolved to elect him as Chairperson of the Companies immediately following the conclusion of the Nedbank Group AGM scheduled to be held on 2…

On-demand breakdown management and analytics platform Right Now Response (RNR) has raised R10 million  in a HAVAÍC -led round. Cape Town-headquartered HAVAÍC’s, the venture capital (VC) firm, R9.2 million investment makes up the lion’s share of the round in partnership with Capacitech. RNR is an on-demand breakdown management and analytics platform. Using technology to match supply with demand, the company provides truck fleet managers and truck OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) with breakdown support via its nationwide network of vetted mechanics, electricians, and repair centres. By mobilising its closest subcontractor, RNR not only vastly improves response times but also completes 70%…

South Africa’s failing infrastructure and local service delivery has been well-documented in recent years. Failing infrastructure has an outsize impact on township and rural communities with the growing digital divide in townships fuelling inequality.  Townships were never designed to become major economic drivers, with the result that today they are characterised by high rates of unemployment and challenges with housing, education, healthcare, transport, crime, and inadequate digital access. South Africa’s digital divide is exacerbated by uneven broadband distribution. In 2021 the Department of Small Business Development – through its implementation agency, the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) – put out…

South Africa’s first private equity fund which allows green energy investors to qualify for SARS-approved tax deductions was launched today. Section 12B of the Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962 allows for a tax deduction for certain qualifying assets used for electricity generation from renewable sources. A similar tax incentive, Section 12J, was launched in 2014 and it became  the fastest growing alternative asset class in South Africa, with over R12 billion of capital raised across 200+ funds. The Section 12J tax incentive reached its sunset clause in June 2021. “Green energy has become a necessity due to SA’s…

Huawei has launched smart photovoltaic (PV) solutions for all scenarios of the African residential market at the Solar Power Africa Conference 2023 held in Cape Town, South Africa. At the press conference announcing the launch, Xia Hesheng, President of Huawei Digital Power Sub-Saharan Africa Region, said that Huawei was releasing three residential solutions: Power-M, LUNA, and the high-end luxury solution. Xia said, “The three residential solutions will help users cope with daily challenges such as load-shedding, which are prevalent across the region. Meanwhile, the residential market faces some challenges such as user experiences, mixing manufacturers, quality, service, efficiency and aesthetics.”…

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), with the concurrence of the Prudential Authority and the South African Reserve Bank, has cancelled ZAR X’s exchange licence with immediate effect. In a statement, FSCA said the cancellation of ZAR X’s licence follows its prolonged non-compliance with section 8(1)(a) of the Financial Markets Act, 2012 (Act No. 19 of 2012) (FMA), read with Regulation 8 and 43(2) of the FMA Regulations, 2018, which relate to the liquidity and capital adequacy requirements of an exchange. The licence was suspended effective 20 August 2021. In line with section 60(4) of the FMA, ZAR X is…

Today, neobank Be Mobile Africa has announced the launch of its cryptocurrency exchange platform South Africa. This will enable individuals to buy and trade cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL) as well as USD stablecoins such as USDC. The service is live and available immediately to all South African users. Users are able to convert ZAR to crypto, and visa versa. Despite the challenges faced by the tech industry and the crypto market in 2022, Be Mobile Africa, which launched in South Africa last year, has experienced significant growth in both user registration. Historically, the platform has…

Savii, the financial platform designed for teens and young adults, today announced their official product launch in the UAE. The Savii banking app and Visa prepaid card allows teenagers and young adults to make payments independently and relieve parents of the anxiety of giving them premature access to their own credit card. “If you are a parent, giving your teens some financial responsibility early on is a smart move. They’ll get to flex their money management skills, like budgeting and saving, learn the value of a dirham and begin to appreciate the consequences of overspending.,” Jane Harvey, Co-founder and CEO…

Attacq, the JSE-listed REIT developing Waterfall City, announced that it has entered into a non-binding term sheet with the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), represented by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC). The GEPF will acquire a 30% interest in the ordinary shares and shareholder loans held in Attacq Waterfall Investment Company (AWIC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Attacq and the owner of Waterfall City. “We are pleased by this transformative transaction for Attacq, to introduce the GEPF as a long-term strategic investment partner to AWIC.,” Attacq Chief Executive Officer, Jackie van Niekerk said. “Working closely alongside our new partners, we…

Empowerment, confidence, and technical ability are powerful forces. When combined and put to use in environments where circumstances have denied people access to learning, they can change lives. This can be seen through Estelle Olifant, an ICT entrepreneur who has combined her passion for tech with concern for women who suffer from social ills, which often lead back to gender-based violence. Showing how learning can transform lives and build a profitable business led to her winning R100 000 as one of the ten finalists in the MTN Foundation’s Women in Digital Business Challenge. At a superficial glance, Olifant’s business, Swiftstar…

Valentine’s Day is a time of romance and connection, but for businesses in the dating website and dating app industries, this time of year can bring extra worry due to the risk of chargebacks, a term for forced refunds initiated by a card holder with their issuing bank. Chargebacks can be detrimental to a business’s bottom line, and as such, operators of romance sites and apps must be aware of the potential risks and how to combat them. The increased usage of dating apps and websites around Valentine’s Day is not surprising, as people tend to look for companionship around…

AWS has collaborated with Leading tech NPO, GirlCode to balance the scales. GirlCodes’ mission is to bridge the gender skills gap in tech by providing a digital learning and growth hub for young girls who want to get into tech. Completely online and completely free, what started as a hackathon for women in 2014, GirlCode now boasts 3 online courses to bolster various tech skills – one of which is the AWS Cloud Practitioner course. An eight week bespoke cloud boot camp was developed to prepare the participants to take the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam and provide them with…

Volvo Car South Africa has announced that local order books for the new fully electric C40 Recharge have officially opened.   Available online through the My Volvo website and offered exclusively in flagship Ultimate specification, the Swedish firm’s latest electric vehicle bears a starting price of R1 285 000. South Africa’s initial allocation is 50 units, with the first customer cars scheduled for delivery in June 2023.   The purchase price furthermore includes the Volvo Care package, which comprises a five-year maintenance plan and warranty (with the battery pack covered for eight years or 160 000 km), a home charging…

The digital economy offers Eswatini a range of opportunities to improve economic development and enhance public and private services, highlights a World Bank Digital Economy Diagnostic for Eswatini that launched today. The report provides an assessment of the five pillars of Eswatini’s digital economy comprising digital infrastructure, digital platforms, digital financial services, digital skills, and digital entrepreneurship. The Digital Economy for Africa (DE4A) is part of the World Bank’s support for the Africa Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa, which aspires to see every African person, business, and government digitally enabled by 2030. Eswatini could benefit from a digital revolution,…

Teraco: A Digital Realty Company, a leading carrier-neutral data centre and interconnection services provider in South Africa, today announced the acquisition of the iconic Great Westerford building in Cape Town from Ingenuity Property Investments. Great Westerford, a landmark building with over 30 000sqm of premium grade office space, is situated in the prime location of Rondebosch, Cape Town. The conclusion of the acquisition means that Teraco has ownership of the building that houses its CT1 data centre investment and results in the full ownership of all facilities and the underlying land that support Teraco’s leading, carrier neutral colocation portfolio. CT1…

Huawei today demonstrated its commitment to Africa’s energy transition, while also showcasing the full range of its latest solar PV and green home and business solutions, at the Solar Power Africa Conference, currently underway in Cape Town, South Africa. In his keynote address to the conference attendees, Xia Hesheng, President Of Huawei Digital Power Sub-Saharan Africa Region, pointed out that “Carbon Neutrality” has become a global consensus. Low carbonisation, digitalisation and intelligence will definitely be a deterministic trend in the next 30 or 40 years. However, digitalisation and intelligence are all supported by computing power that consumes a huge amount…

Over the last 28 days, OpenAI has become the 44th globally-ranked website according to SimilarWeb data OpenAI’s traffic has risen from 18.3 million to 672 million since December, a 3,572% increase in just two months due to ChatGPT OpenAI is now the number one technology website based on traffic rank in the Computers Electronics and Technology category, overtaking Zoom, AOL and AT&T Traffic to ChatGPT owner OpenAI has exploded by 3,572%, from 18.3 million to 672 million visits after ChatGPT’s release at the end of November. Analysis of SimilarWeb data reveals 672 million users visited the viral AI chatbot in…

The Shoprite Group invites high-achieving students to apply for its comprehensive bursaries for the 2023 and 2024 academic years.  Students enrolled for degree studies in Criminology, Accounting, Information Technology, E-Commerce, Retail Business Management and more can now apply for funding, which covers tuition fees and on-campus accommodation.  In the last financial year, the retailer spent over R16 million on its bursary programme, which funded 206 students.  As the largest private sector employer in South Africa, the Group is one of the top graduate employers in the country. In 2022, for the second consecutive year, the retailer was awarded the Gradstar Students’ Choice Award for Retail Employer of Choice, an award voted for by students.  “All…

Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) is now operating from a New York based representative office, to facilitate greater US business flows into the African continent. RMB’s parent, FirstRand Bank, has received all necessary approvals from the United States Federal Reserve Board and New York State Department of Financial Services. RMB CEO Emrie Brown said that foreign investors are increasingly turning to Africa, with its vast natural resources, extensive markets, young population, and excellent technological prospects. The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement will also ease access into Africa, stimulate intra-regional trade and boost growth. Said Brown: “The new office will link…

At the lavish annual ‘World’s Best’ International Property Awards ceremony held at the iconic Savoy Hotel in London on 2 February, Waterfall Management Company was awarded Best International Mixed-use Development 2022-2023 for Waterfall City. This is the fifth time in six years that Waterfall City has beaten formidable competitors to claim the top spot. This year’s nominees included mixed-use developments in Cyprus, Brazil, Qatar and Hong Kong. Entries were judged based on criteria ranging from design layout and quality, architecture, services and security, to innovation, originality, marketing and commitment to sustainability. Over and above scooping this prestigious international accolade, Waterfall…

Vantage Capital, Africa’s largest mezzanine fund manager, announced today the successful final close on its fourth mezzanine fund. A total of $377 million or R6.6 billion of commitments has been secured from a mix of European and US-based commercial investors, as well as a host of development finance institutions (DFIs) that include IFC, BII, SIFEM, DEG, Norfund, Swedfund, Finnfund and EIB. As with its predecessor funds, Vantage will continue to provide mid-sized African businesses with flexible capital to drive business expansion and support job creation. In particular, mezzanine debt is well-suited to robust sectors with strong growth dynamics, including telecoms,…

South Africa’s fast-growing wills and estates administrator Capital Legacy and Sanlam announced today that they are joining forces by creating a compelling wills, estates and trusts business together. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. The deal will see Sanlam Life Insurance (Sanlam Life) sell its trust business, Sanlam Trust, to Capital Legacy and Sanlam Life acquiring a 26% interest in the enlarged Capital Legacy Group that includes the Sanlam Trust business following completion of the transaction. Capital Legacy intends acquiring full ownership and control of Sanlam Trust for an amount of R390 million. Sanlam Trust will continue to operate…

Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a business of Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, today announced that it has partnered with Nokia. Through this partnership, Liquid deployed Nokia’s innovative transport network technology in the new terrestrial fibre route connecting Mombasa (Kenya) to Johannesburg (South Africa). This announcement comes in light of the imminent launch of the new terrestrial data superhighway built by Liquid, connecting Kenya and South Africa. The technology used has allowed Liquid to build its first terrestrial route that will provide 12 terabits of capacity for carriers and service providers in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the…

Life for the modern woman comes with a routine for every facet of her beauty. A routine for skincare, hair, nail and grooming, and another one for makeup and lip care. All these are necessary regimens in the pursuit of healthy skin and beauty but, there is another important drill that beauty enthusiasts should follow: skin repair while we sleep. “Sleep is an absolute essential for the wellness of skin,” says Edwin Kodinye, Head: Beauty Categories at Avon Justine. “During rest, the skin rejuvenates itself with several important changes: skin cells are actively growing; while both Cortisol, the hormone that…

Mediclinic Southern Africa is taking a bet on precision medicine with the acquisition of an 80% shareholding in Artisan Biomed, a subsidiary of the Centre for Proteomic & Genomic Research (CPGR) which owns the remaining 20%. “This acquisition of Artisan Biomed launches Mediclinic Precise, a bundle of DNA-based diagnostic and clinical interpretation services offering a new approach to healthcare, based on an individual’s genetic profile to customise their wellness, disease prevention and health management plan,” said Greg van Wyk, Chief Executive Officer of Mediclinic Southern Africa. Artisan Biomed was launched through the CPGR’s accelerator programme to stimulate the creation of…