Author: Staff Writer

This Black November, Vodacom promises customers up to a whopping 75% off, through a series of weekly deals, as part of the brand’s commitment to keep customers connected to the digital economy. Starting from the 4th of November, and for four consecutive Fridays during the month of November, customers will be spoilt with Black Friday deals ranging from heavily discounted mobile and fibre contracts, tech wearables, contracts bundled deals with laptops, routers, gaming consoles, accessories and so much more. As part of the Black November launch offers, Postpaid customers will get 75% off the 30GB recurring anytime data bundle at…

Coded History: My Life of New Beginnings launched yesterday, 2 November 2022. This self-penned memoir by Wits University’s Emeritus Professor, Barry Dwolatzky, chronicles a modest man’s journey from middle-class white suburbia to a clandestine role in the fight against Apartheid, while also establishing himself as one of the country’s most revered software and electrical engineers. Coded History: My life of New Beginnings is not an autobiography that recounts Dwolatzky’s entire life story, but rather a memoir encompassing a collection of some pivotal and important memories.  These highlight key moments and major achievements in his life and how he saw each…

In the year to the end of September, bolstered by growing demand, BMW delivered over 128,000 electric vehicles to customers – more than twice the number for the same period of 2021. The German carmaker said the third quarter saw rising sales and new orders for the BMW iX3, iX and i4 and the MINI Cooper SE, which resulted in a strong order book. The new BMW i3, the long-wheelbase version of the fully-electric BMW 3 Series Sedan that recently became available in China, is also being well received by customers. The new BMW X1 earned very positive feedback at its recent world premiere – as did the…

The low and unreliable internet penetration in Africa is about to see an about turn as a resilient internet connectivity product arrives on the continent. Africa currently has the world’s third largest population of internet users by geographical location, but only a 43.2% penetration rate. Multi-Wan Service Provider, comBOX,  has recently added the SD-WAN Pro to its growing suite of products for customers looking for resilient connectivity solutions a solution that the African continent now has access to. SD-WAN pro’s product offering allows users to bond multiple types of internet connectivity through a simple solution. The multiple legs of connectivity…

Amid an explosion in data and rising archive storage solution costs, venture capital firm Newtown Partners will host the inaugural Filecoin Africa Launch Party, the largest gathering of the Filecoin community in Africa to date, to profile an alternative solution. The event takes place on 15 November 2022 at Cabo in Cape Town, South Africa. Filecoin is a decentralised storage network designed to store humanity’s most important information. The Filecoin network leverages IPFS, a peer-to-peer network for storing and sharing data to create an incentive structure for more efficient, resilient, and secure storage – free from centralised control. The Filecoin…

Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company, today announced the opening of its first office in Lagos, Nigeria. The new Lagos office is part of AWS’s support for the growing number of customers and partners in Nigeria. The office will support organizations of all sizes, including startups, enterprises, and public sector agencies as they make the transition to AWS Cloud. By opening a Lagos office, AWS can better address the increase in customer and partner adoption of AWS services in Nigeria. With a local presence, AWS will support new and existing customers looking to use AWS products and…

Nkwe Platinum and South Africa Zijin Platinum announced today the appointment of Tito Mboweni, as non-executive director and Deputy Chairman of South Africa Zijin Platinum. His appointment is effective from the 14th of October 2022. South Africa Zijin Platinum is a wholly-owned subsidiaries of multinational mining company, the Zijin Mining Group) Mboweni was the Minister of Finance of the Republic of South Africa from 2018 to 2021, after holding positions of Minister of Labour and Governor of the South African Reserve Bank respectively. Mboweni served as the ANC’s Deputy Head of the Department of Economic Policy prior to being appointed…

If you live in Gauteng and you listen to traffic reports, you’ll know all about the Buccleuch interchange. At the intersection of the N3, N1 and M1, it’s one of the busiest interchanges in Africa. Now there’s something else for motorists to look at while they sit in afternoon rush hour – a billboard that’s as much a love letter to Jozi traffic as it is an ad for a brand. VALR.com is the biggest crypto exchange headquartered in Africa, and the brand has been advertising at the Buccleuch interchange since mid May. The message on that board was previously…

Pick n Pay has partnered with Electrum and CryptoConvert on its latest pilot. Electrum’s payment platform connects Cryptoconvert and Pick n Pay, letting customers pay with the Bitcoin Lightning technology at the till point. Dave Glass, CEO of Electrum, says that “as a key technology provider, Electrum has a long history of partnering with Pick n Pay to bring innovative payment solutions to South Africans. We are on a mission to open alternative payments for customers and are thrilled to be helping Pick n Pay operate in this exciting world of cryptocurrency payments.” Carel van Wyk, Founder at CryptoConvert– which…

Pick n Pay is leading the way in local retail by making transactions via cryptocurrency more accessible to millions. This follows the successful completion of the first phase of a new pilot that allows customers to pay using cryptocurrency on their smartphones using a trusted app. It is now testing it in more stores. While for many years crypto was something for specialists on their computers, or used by early adopters trying it out, things are changing. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s (FSCA) recent announcement paves the way for cryptocurrency as a mainstream method of payment. Increasingly cryptocurrency is being used…

For many South African learners, maths is a major stumbling block. A young Western Cape-based entrepreneur- Thobeka Nkabinde – is changing this, one equation at a time, with the WhatsApp-based eRank Play app. Her vision? To make maths fun to learn for all South African children. The eRank Play app is built around everyday actions like working out what change is due from a taxi driver when collecting fares or how to use maths to slot a car into a small parking spot, and can be played anywhere, anytime. The app, which already has 1,000 regular players and is growing…

Sanlam and MTN Group are pleased to announce that our strategic alliance to market and distribute insurance and investment products across Africa has reached a significant milestone with the fulfilment of the regulatory, competition and other requirements. The effective date of the transaction is 31 October 2022. The strategic alliance will be implemented through MTN Group’s InsurTech platform aYo Holdings (aYo) and each partner will hold 50% of aYo. Through aYo, the alliance will continue to build and develop digital insurance and investment offerings that provide people across Africa with easier access to Sanlam’s products, particularly those people who have…

In testing, just 11% of 3,907 employees proved a high level of cybersecurity awareness using Kaspersky Gamified Assessment Tool. Fewer skilled users made most of their mistakes in the realm of web browsing. With 90% of people overestimating their cybersecurity abilities, Kaspersky Gamified Assessment Tool is designed to not only change employee behaviour and awareness, but also to assist chief information officers (CIOs) and HR departments measuring workers’ cyber skills, and provide their teams with a relevant education environment. During the game, employees receive points on the decisions they make during commonly encountered situations occurring while working remotely – at…

Anton Herbst, currently chief executive officer of Tarsus On Demand (TOD) and Tarsus Technology Group (TTG) has resigned his positions at the Group with effect from 31 January 2023. In a related move, Gary Pickford, currently chief commercial officer of Tarsus Distribution has been appointed managing director of Tarsus Distribution effective 1 November 2022. The process of selecting a new CEO for TOD is underway and an announcement will be made as soon as the details are finalised. Herbst was appointed CEO of Tarsus Technology Group in 2021 and at the time Lawrence Barnett, chairman of the TTG board said:…

It’s not every day a CEO of a major company asks his customers to log in and ask him tough questions face-to- face and on the spot. In an extremely well-attended and vibrant one hour LinkedIn Live session on Friday afternoon, MTN SA CEO Charles Molapisi did just that, fielding many curve balls and unleashing a 24/7 customer service “war room” to ensure rapid responses and urgent follow-ups to the most pressing customer issues. With rolling blackouts, vandalism at power stations and battery theft resulting in increasing downtime on networks across SA, Molapisi said he did not have time for…

South Africa’s telco Telkom today officially launch its 5G network in partnership with Chinese telcoms giant Huawei. The 5G network is an ultra-speed, superior Internet connection that supersedes the previous LTE and 4G connections.  This next-generation network  will open up new opportunities for smart cities, businesses, healthcare, manufacturing and autonomous vehicles. Manufacturing makes up close to 12% of South Africa’s GDP, there’s a solid case to make regarding the value of 5G in transforming business models. 5G offers manufacturers the chance to build smart operations and truly take advantage of technologies such as automation, artificial intelligence, augmented reality for troubleshooting,…

Heineken South Africa has taken a bold step in moving closer to reducing carbon emissions in all its operations, by launching a solar power plant at its Sedibeng, Midvaal brewery. The solar plant began producing power in May this year and is the largest freestanding solar plant powering a brewery in South Africa, and the largest within the Heineken group. The solar plant boasts 14,000 panels with an energy capacity of over 6.5MW providing 30% of the brewery’s electricity demand. The 19ha project will generate 17,000 MWh per annum. “This project supports Heineken’s Brewing a Better World goal reach to…

The Shoprite Group made its second minority investment in a South African tech startup this year. In the most recent transaction, the retailer is among a group of companies, led by Buffet Investments and KLT, in an undisclosed expansion round in Omnisient, Africa’s first privacy-preserving data collaboration platform provider. “We are excited by local start-ups that are creating value for our customers and partner businesses, whilst having privacy at the core of their offering,” says Neil Schreuder, Chief of Strategy & Innovation at ShopriteX, the Group’s data and customer technology unit that has been working with Omnisient for the past…

JSE-listed technology company Altron has announced its intention to sell the ATM Hardware and Support Business portion of its Altron Managed Solutions Division to NCR. The NCR Retail Hardware and Support business remains under Altron Managed Solutions. The sale sees ownership of the business going full circle, as Altron initially acquired the business from NCR Corporation. Altron Managed Solutions Managing Director, Warren Mande, said: “NCR and Altron have a long relationship, dating back more than 40 years. In this dynamic and highly demanding market, the future for our banking business under a global leader such as NCR, brings direct access…

The electronic commerce (e-commerce) market in South Africa has exploded and is expected to continue growing exponentially in the next few years. However, online retailers will not only have to refine their digital strategies, but they will also have to up their security measures, says Gur Geva, Co-Founder and CEO tech innovator, iiDENTIFii. South Africa is only the 41st largest market for e-commerce with a revenue of $5 billion (R75 billion at average rate of $15) in 2021. It is expected to grow 8% annually between 2021 and 2025, surpassing the global average of 6%, according to ecommerceDB. Major global…

New research from Vodafone Group, Vodacom Group, Safaricom, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) indicates that the successful deployment and adoption of mobile financial services is associated with a positive impact on GDP growth in developing markets as it helps businesses to reduce cost, access credit to invest, and to connect with consumers that were previously excluded from financial services. The econometric modelling research – which examined 49 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America – found that countries with successful mobile money services had an annual GDP per capita growth rate up to 1 percentage point higher than…

The Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) is excited to announce the appointment of Tshepiso Kobile as Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 November 2022. Kobile succeeds Tanya van Lill, who served SAVCA for over five years. Kobile hails from a financial services background, having served as an investment professional with the Development Bank of Southern Africa and as a property finance manager with Standard Bank. Through her involvement in both the public and private sectors, she has gained unique skills in senior management roles. Her recent position was as the Senior Programme Manager for Catalytic Projects at the…

Proctor & Gamble has rescued the school year for thousands of learners in KwaZulu-Natal. They have been without proper facilities since July last year, when about 130 schools in the province were vandalised, looted and even torched during the unrest. At the time, the Basic Education Department said it did not have the budget to fix the schools, or to provide mobile classrooms. Siphosethu Primary School Principal, Themba Sokhabase, who was visibly shaken by what had happened said at the time, “It is really sad that we find ourselves where we are today, given how hard we worked to ensure…

MTN Group has announced that the network will host an Africa-first virtual concert in Ubuntuland, Africa’s metaverse. In February this year, MTN Group became the first African company to purchase land in Ubuntuland with a vision to create dedicated environments for creating unique immersive experiences for its customers. “The MTN Group’s presence in the African metaverse will be known as altMTN. altMTN allows us to further support our ambition to lead digital platforms and support African innovation, and will, over time featurelivevents, shopping, gaming and learning,” says Bernice Samuels, Executive: Group Marketing at MTN Group. “To welcome everyone to altMTN…

According to billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, it is unrealistic to expect to solve climate change by asking people to live greener lifestyles. Telling people to stop eating meat, drive less, and buy smaller houses is unlikely to be effective, at least not yet. Changing human desires is simply too difficult, and we should look instead to other viable solutions that seek to reduce emissions without demanding people rethink their consumption habits entirely. Offsetting change Gates, who has invested hundreds of millions in climate initiatives through his foundations, noted last year that so-called Green Premiums could be an effective…