Author: Staff Writer

An increasing number of South Africans are embracing PayShap, South Africa’s first interbank, interoperable, real-time payments service, which experienced strong growth in its first year, in line with the service’s fast-expanding community of participating banks and new users. Promoting instant, convenient, easy and safe payments within the transaction limit of R3 000, BankservAfrica’s PayShap data shows there were over 14 million transactions, with a settlement value in excess of R9 billion, in the period between 13 March 2023 to 29 February 2024. Over 2.5 million users have opted into using a ShapID identifier, such a mobile phone number, in order…

In support of homegrown South African innovation, Telkom is a proud partner of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC+Africa) taking place from 13-14 March 2024 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).  GEC+Africa, an initiative of Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), is a gathering of entrepreneurs and leaders from more than 50 African nations who are committed to advancing entrepreneurial activity throughout their countries. The South African startup ecosystem is a thriving hub of innovative and talented entrepreneurs with a desire to scale. The congress is expected to connect entrepreneurs to the best global resources and investor network, create platforms that…

DFA and its parent company, Maziv, have followed up their ambitious network expansion project with two additional infrastructure upgrades to improve network stability in dense areas, accelerate delivery of new services and to future proof the network to provide for scale and sustainable growth. In August 2023, DFA announced a R400-million fibre network expansion project to deploy 800 Dry Underground Distribution Cabinets (DUDC) all over South Africa in areas with high network density. Today, DFA announced the launch of two more initiatives aimed at enhancing the DUDC project’s efficacy. Andreas Uys, Chief Technology Officer at Maziv, says, “The two new…

Capitec announced today that it has taken control of a global online consumer group Avafin. The Prudential Authority of the SA Reserve Bank has approved a transaction for Capitec to increase its shareholding in Avafin Holding Limited (Avafin), an international online consumer lending group, from 40.66% to 97.69% at a purchase price of €26.3 million. In March 2017, Capitec acquired an initial 40% interest in Cream Finance Holding Limited (renamed Avafin), domiciled in Cyprus. The acquisition of a minority interest in Avafin in 2017 provided Capitec with the opportunity to gain experience in the international online consumer credit market, management…

The Southern African Institute of Government Auditors’ (SAIGA) inaugural Audit and Finance Indaba is an important event for auditors and finance professionals in South Africa. Themed ‘The Era of Big Data and Cybercrime’, this year’s Indaba reflects the growing importance of these two factors in the field of auditing and finance. As the industry professionals count down the days to the Indaba, which is scheduled to take place at the Investec Pretoria Office on Friday, 15 March 2024, the SAIGA Chief Executive Officer, Russel Morena, writes about the risks, changes as well as the opportunities presented by big data and cybercrime in the field…

Simera Sense, a world leader providing end-to-end optical solutions for the small satellite Earth observation industry, has raised €13.5 million in its first growth investment round. The company, which offers a diverse array of ‘off-the-shelf’ high-resolution cameras ready for use by clients across the global small satellite industry, has grown rapidly since its founding in 2018. Simera supplies solutions to global customers in the Earth observation data and service market, which is estimated to be worth $12.55 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach $20.73 billion by 2029. Simera Sense will use the investment from NewSpace Capital and Knife…

The Rand Show is happy to announce that ABSA will be the official bank partner for this year’s event at the Johannesburg Expo Centre at NASREC from March 28th to April 1st. ABSA’s largest role for the Show will be to help empower SMMEs to trade better through several offers and as the sole provider of Point-of-Sale (POS) devices. ABSA will have their stand in Hall 6 and will be a significant part of the second iteration of the SMME Summit, following the immense success of the inaugural summit in 2023. ABSA will have two key speakers at the Summit, Khanya Matshikwe, SME Head: Client…

The Information Regulator on Monday morning confirmed that it has received two notifications regarding a security compromise from the Electoral Commission (IEC). The security compromise saw the unlawful release of candidate lists for the African National Congress (ANC) and the Umkhonto we Sizwe Party (MK) for the 2024 elections. RELATED: ANC Dismayed By Leaking Of Candidate List Sent To IEC – The Bulrushes The Regulator said it will attend to the notifications from the IEC under the requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act No. 4 of 2013 (POPIA). However, the Regulator said it advised the IEC that the notifications…

The introduction of AI-powered virtual agents is not expected to impact the number of jobs in South Africa’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. In fact, industry players believe that AI will only bolster the strengths that have earned the country its reputation as a global market leader. South Africa’s BPO sector is fast growing, employing over 200 000 people. According to statistics shared by Minister Ebrahim Patel in November 2023, 90% of employees in the sector are young people, while 60% are women. “Call centres make up a huge proportion of South Africa’s BPO sector and the jobs it creates.…

In 2023, Toyota took top position as South Africa’s most sold used car brand with 60,296 units sold, while the Ford Ranger reigned supreme as the country’s most sold model with 20,156 units sold last year. That’s according to the 2023 AutoTrader Car Industry Report, which has just been published. The inclusion of sales data in this year’s annual report presents the industry with a tool to assess market dynamics and gain an in-depth understanding of shopper behaviour.    According to AutoTrader CEO George Mienie, the report comes at a time when the automotive industry – here in South Africa and globally too…