Author: Staff Writer

MTN Group today announced the appointment of Willington Ngwepe to the new post of Chief of Staff in the office of the Group Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 October 2022. Willington joins from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), where he has spent the last five years as CEO. Before that, he was ICASA’s chief operating officer. “Willington brings with him extensive leadership, technology and regulatory experience that will be invaluable as we execute on our strategic intent of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress,” said MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita. “We welcome him to the MTN…

Uber has appointed Kagiso Khaole as the new General Manager for Uber in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), taking over Frans Hiemstra’s role who has been appointed as the Regional General Manager for the Middle East and Africa at Uber. Kagiso joined Uber in 2021, where he led mobility operations across SSA and has previously worked in several industries, including eCommerce, Software and Services, Consumer Electronics, Management Consulting, Insurance and Banking. This makes Kagiso well positioned to further grow the business in the region, which is operational in over 50 cities across South Africa, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and…

African technology infrastructure and services provider Liquid Intelligent Technologies (Liquid), a business of Cassava Technologies (Cassava), today announced the finalisation of its 100% acquisition and delisting of Telrad, an Israeli-based technology company (TASE: ILA). Telrad has a significant presence in 13 countries across the Middle East, South America, United Sates, Eastern Europe, Asia and provides high-quality technology products and services for global businesses and governments. The company offers innovative technology solutions, including networking, cloud infrastructure, information technology, geoinformatics and cybersecurity. “Earlier this year, Liquid had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Telrad, and I am pleased that we have…

Binance, the world’s leading crypto and blockchain infrastructure provider, has announced the appointment of Hannes Wessels as the Country Head of South Africa to drive its business operations in the region. Hannes brings with him over 10 years of experience in the finance sector and is the previous Head of Global Banking for South Africa at HSBC. Binance recently celebrated its fifth year anniversary and in this time, the company has become the foremost blockchain infrastructure provider and exchange on the market by connecting users across the globe in its mission to increase the freedom of money.  In the furtherance…

The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos, held an engagement this week with the Greater Tygerberg Partnership (GTP) where he announced the City government’s continued cooperation with the development facilitation agency for socio-economic development in the greater Tygerberg area. This partnership brings renewed assurance for Capetonians in the catchment area that the regenerative initiatives run by the GTP will continue to grow into 2023. Under the partnership, the City’s Bellville Future City Masterplan, which aims to transform the greater Tygerberg area into a second central business district, will push ahead. Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member…

Audi South Africa, in partnership with GridCars, has finalised the installation of 33 electric vehicles (EV) charging stations across the country. These represent a total of 70 charge point connectors and expand on the existing network in the country. The chargers range in their charging capacity from 22kW (AC) to 80kW (DC) and 150kW (DC) ultra-fast charging and are immediately available to all South African electric vehicle drivers, regardless of model or brand ownership. “Audi is committed to ensuring that customers of any electric vehicle can comfortably travel the country, with the reassurance that the EV charging infrastructure is in…

Verdant Capital has raised $10 million or R161 million of debt funding for Zeepay.  The medium-term debt raise, which forms part of its A.5 series, comes to support Zeepay in a bid to augment its fast-growing remittance to wallet business. The debt funding is intended to support the rapid growth of the business.  In 2021, the company processed USD 1.8 billion of transactions volumes, cross-border and domestically.  It is the vision of the Founder and Managing Director, of Zeepay, Andrew Takyi-Appiah I, to reach the milestone of USD 200 billion of annual transaction volumes in the long-term. Zeepay is the…

Willington Ngwepe, the CEO of the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) is planning to leave his top post by 15 October 2022 to pursue other opportunities. ICASA announced today that the the term of office of its long-standing CEO comes to an end on the 15th of October 2022. The regulator said Ngwepe has, however, advised that he is not available to be considered for re-appointment to serve a further term as CEO, having decided to pursue other career opportunities. Ngwepe has served ICASA with both dedication and distinction for eight eventful years, formerly as Chief Operating Officer from…

DataProphet, a world-leading AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS) for manufacturing innovator, today announced the completion of its $10 million or R165 million Series A funding round. Knife Capital led the round, joined by South Africa’s IDC and Norican – the world’s largest metal surface preparation and finishing equipment provider. The funding provides DataProphet with the capital to invest further in its award-winning industrial AI product set while facilitating targeted growth in selected geographies and manufacturing verticals. Knife Capital had initially invested in DataProphet in early 2018 via its KNF Ventures Section 12J funding vehicle. This latest round is the first investment made by…

Transnet and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) have welcomed a Special Tribunal provisional order freezing millions of rands worth of assets belonging to two former Transnet executives. In a judgment handed down on Monday, the Special Tribunal prohibited Thabo Lebelo, his wife Alletta Mokgoro Mabitsi, Phathutshedzo Brighton Mashamba and his wife Matlhodi Phillicia Mashamba from selling, leasing, donating or transferring their luxury properties in Rosebank and Dainfern. The SIU investigation has revealed that the acquisition of the properties was allegedly funded by money received from service providers contracted by Transnet. The order is provisional for now, though, and must be made final. A joint statement…

Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp now allows you to delete messages for up to two days after they are sent. Previously, this limit was 1 hour, 8 minutes, and 16 seconds. “Rethinking your message? Now you will have a little over two days to delete your messages from your chats after you hit send,” the platform wrote on Twitter. 💭 Rethinking your message? Now you’ll have a little over 2 days to delete your messages from your chats after you hit send. — WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) August 8, 2022 Also read: Facebook is Shutting Down Its Live Shopping Feature To Focus…

Neobanking is set to boom in South Africa, with nearly a quarter (24%) of South African internet users expected to have a digital-only bank account by 2023, according to Finder’s Neobanking Adoption Report. Finder’s survey of 2,179 South African internet users reveals around 15% of adults currently have a neobank account and an additional 9% plan to open one by 2023. With a further 6% planning to open a neobank account by 2027, just under a third (31%) could have a neobank within five years. Finder’s global fintech editor, Elizabeth Barry, says neobanks are increasingly popular with consumers. “Neobanks allow…

Cape Town-headquartered venture capital (VC) firm HAVAÍC this week announced a $500,000 or R8.4 million investment in FinAccess, an East African headquartered software solutions provider that digitises community banks or SACCOs (Savings & Credit Cooperative Organisations) and farming co-operatives (“co-ops”) in the region. FinAccess is driving financial inclusion and unlocking financial services for many unbanked East Africans through its technology platform and widespread distribution. Allocated from the VC firm’s $20 million HAVAÍC Universum Core African Fund, which closed in May, the investment is part of a pre-series A funding round to expand the company’s two core products, banking software solution…

The Algorand Foundation announced the 10 winners of its Algorand Centres of Excellence (ACE) Programme, with awards totalling US$50 million over five years. The University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Financial Innovation Hub is the only lead recipient in Africa. The ACE Programme received 77 proposals from over 550 participants representing 46 countries. Winners were selected by an international panel of 27 experts from a diverse set of disciplines. UCT has been awarded the grant alongside a small selection of top international institutions, including Yale University, Cornell University and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne. “The selection process was incredibly difficult,…

Whether single by choice, or single by circumstance, it is clear that women are not waiting around to start climbing the property ladder. While the prospect of embarking on a home ownership journey with a single income may seem daunting – particularly in light of the recent interest rate spike – it is not an unattainable goal, says Andrea Tucker, Director of MortgageMe. It is important to remember that home ownership is a marathon, not a sprint. By making wise financial choices and following the right advice, you can take the plunge with full confidence. Join the wave Recent statistics…

South African-based Adapt IT Holdings is buying Agileum Hospitality in Mauritius as part of its strategy to enter the Indian Ocean hospitality industry. The transaction has been concluded through the Mauritian entity Adapt IT International. The deal includes the Oracle Hospitality rights to service the Indian Ocean hospitality market. Adapt IT is a South African global software and services group and a member of Volaris Group Inc. Adapt IT provides specialised software and digitally-led business solutions, assisting over 10 000 businesses in over 55 countries worldwide across targeted industries to Achieve more by improving customer experience, core business operations, business…

Huawei South Africa recently held the first of its Huawei ICT Academy Job Fairs for 2022, a project which has seen several graduates placed in internships and permanent positions. Hosted at the Huawei Office Park in Johannesburg, the job fair is designed to promote local Huawei-certified ICT Talent to Huawei partners and offer them the opportunity to advance their careers and further enrich Huawei’s talent ecosystem by cultivating and harnessing the value of ICT talent. “The significance of the Huawei ICT Academy programme cannot be overstated,” said Tang Shenbo, the Director of the Service and Delivery department of Huawei Enterprise…

With food and transport costs on the rise in South Africa, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) must move swiftly to finalise pro-consumer amendments to its End-User and Subscriber Service Charter (EUSSC) Regulations. If adopted, the amendments will provide welcome basic cost relief for consumers because they require telecommunications operators to rollover data bundles for a minimum of six months. The EUSSC regulations were last amended in early 2019 to include a requirement for operators to provide for the roll-over of data, but only after strong opposition from some industry sectors. Voice and data are two sides of the…

On the back of two major interest rate hikes in the first half of 2022 alone and rapidly rising costs, business owners across the country are keeping a close eye on budgets and cash flow where every cent counts. As champions of financial inclusion and SME growth in South Africa, local fintech Hello Pay is offering merchants, and micro and small enterprises access to competitive, commercially attractive, business loans of up to R250,000 to grow their businesses. The Hello Pay Business Loan is part of Hello Pay’s newly launched Business Solution – an all-in-one suite of services created to enable…

When women support one another, we’re all lifted up. A study on successful female leaders in the Harvard Business Review shows that women with an inner circle of successful female friends are more likely to land executive positions and receive higher pay. The influencing role of women in our lives can take many forms. Mentorship and general representation of women in our workplace, for example, is shown to have positive effects on the overall performance of companies and teams of staff across genders. Even more so when women mentor, support, and uplift one another. How can we ensure that women…

CoinDesk announced that Solana’s ecosystem is the latest to fall victim to a hack. More than 8,000 users’ hot wallets were affected thus far, with several Solana addresses linked to the breach. The breach has mostly hit mobile users, as the hackers were able to approve transactions on behalf of users. Some say that this indicates it may have been a third-party vendor which was breached in a supply-chain hack. “I’ve been saying it for years, so it probably doesn’t make a difference to say it yet again, but it just isn’t wise for investors to leave their assets in a hot…

A clearing agent and his co-accused appeared at the Durban Commercial Crime Court on 28 July 2022 for a customs and excise-related fraud matter, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) said in a statement. The two were charged with defrauding SARS and their clients of more than R2 million. The matter has been postponed to 20 October 2022. Jayson Perumal (43) of Dynamic Freight and Reshlan Pillay (38) were charged with fraud and various contraventions of the Customs and Excise Act. Both accused are out on bail. It is alleged that Pillay, director of Potenza Capital, and a clearing agent,…

MTN has emerged as the Most Valuable Brand in SA for 2022 in the Kantar BrandZ ranking, after increasing its brand value by 85% to $3.7bn year-on-year. The significant increase in brand value has seen MTN SA jump four places to rank number one for the first time. The 2022 Kantar BrandZ Top 30 Most Valuable South African Brands ranking, report and extensive analysis are available here.  MTN was also recognised as Most Valuable Brand in SA by Brand Finance in April 2022. “We are very proud of our performance, which highlights the hard work undertaken over the past year. Not…

South Africa’s digital bank TymeBank is buying Retail Capital, a FinTech company that provides funding to small and medium-sized businesses in South Africa. The acquisition is part of the bank’s plan to bolster its business banking offering. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals, would see Retail Capital become a division of TymeBank and the foundation of the bank’s expanded business banking offering. Access to Finance The deal would see Retail Capital’s funding expertise and TymeBank’s deposit base and operations combined to serve a broader customer base. TymeBank believes being able to channel funding efficiently to business owners in…

Netflix today announced the release of its upcoming supernatural  drama The Brave Ones, launching this Spring, on 16 September 2022.  Created by renowned film director, writer and actor Akin Omotoso, the captivating six-episode series unfolds in the parallel worlds of modern-day South Africa and the supernatural world of African gods and divine beings.  Set in modern-day South Africa, this captivating supernatural series is inspired by the rich mythology of African gods and divine beings. It tells the story of ordinary township girl Ntsiki, who discovers she is a mystical being who must harness her powers to protect the community and…