Africa By Region
MTN Adds 12 Million New Subscribers in Q3
MTN Group has reported a strong set of financial results for the third quarter, supported mainly by its larger operations in South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana as well as the addition of 12 million new subscribers across the continent. “As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to impact lives and livelihoods across our markets, the group has demonstrated strong operational execution and resilience,” says MTN Group president and CEO, Ralph Mupita. To meet the increase in data and digital usage, he added that MTN had focused its investment on network capacity and resilience and modernising its IT systems, spending R16 billion in the year to the end of the third quarter. Service revenue grew by 11,4% to more than R43 billion. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (...
Sony Unveils ‘PlayStation Ready’ Bravia TV Lineup
Sony has unveiled a lineup of its current Bravia TVs that are officially ‘Ready for PlayStation 5’. The new ‘Ready for PlayStation 5’ tagline has been created in partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) to make it easier for consumers to select the “optimum TV in preparation for the highly anticipated launch of PlayStation 5, the next-generation game console releasing this holiday season”. The first ‘Ready for PlayStation 5’ TVs from Sony includes the standout X90H 4K HDR Full Array LED. The X90H displays gameplay images of up to 4K resolution at 120 fps with a very low input lag of 7.2ms. ‘Ready for PlayStation 5’ TV models also boast Bravia Game Mode, which allows users to automatically play games on the PS5 console with low latency. Thanks to Bravia Game Mode, users can wak...
INTERVIEW: Unlocking True Leadership Potential in Tech
The COVID-19 pandemic has showcased the true leadership potential of women across the world. A case in point is the strategic appointment of Gudani Mukatuni as the WesBank Motor Chief Information Officer (CIO). Her appointment in February 2020 acknowledges and is testament to her vast knowledge in the industry in defining and executing IT transformation and digital strategies. IT News Africa’s Jenna Delport chatted to Mukatuni about her appointment and her role as a leading woman in tech. Here’s what transpired: Has your recent appointment as the WesBank Motor CIO allowed you to drive digital transformation throughout the organisation? If so, How? /* custom css */ .tdi_3_c80.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_c80.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Yes – the organisation is a...
MTN Appoints Group Chief Risk Officer
Ferdi Moolman, MTN Group Chief Risk Officer MTN Group announced the appointment of Ferdi Moolman to Group Chief Risk Officer, a new Executive Committee (exco) position – effective from 1 March 2021. Moolman joined MTN in 2002 and has held several senior positions within the group in Nigeria and in Iran. He has spent the past five years as the CEO of MTN Nigeria and, as its CFO prior to that. During that time, the company says that significant progress has been made in stabilising the business and setting it on a sustainable growth path. That’s why the management of enterprise-wide risk is integral to MTN’s growth strategy. Moolman will bring extensive operational and financial experience to the role given his deep knowledge of the MTN Group, its markets and the telecoms sector. He will rem...
MTN Nigeria Appoints New CEO
MTN Group has appointed Karl Toriola, current VP for MTN Group’s West and Central Africa (WECA) region, as the new CEO of MTN Nigeria – effective 1 March 2021. Toriola will take over as MTN Nigeria CEO from Ferdi Moolman, who has served MTN Nigeria with distinction in this role for the past five years. Moolman will return to South Africa, where he will assume the new role of Group Chief Risk Officer. Toriola has a BSc Hons in Electronic and Electrical Engineering and an MSc in Communication Systems. In his five years as VP of MTN’s WECA region, he has overseen the steady progress of the operating companies in the region, notably the turnaround of MTN Ivory Coast and MTN Cameroon over the past two years. In addition, the WECA markets have made significant commercial and strategic strides, i...
How Post-Lockdown Shopping Figures Represent Changing Retail Landscape
The impact of COVID-19 on both consumers and retailers is becoming evident. Retailers are under pressure to reimagine and transform their businesses, build-out eCommerce solutions and expand their online offerings. Consumers, having already navigated a difficult year, and still uncertain about what the future holds, are likely to spend more conservatively over the next quarter. New data from Mobicred’s Consumer Spend index reveals some interesting trends as South Africans settle into post-lockdown shopping. While the previous quarter’s figures showed a higher level of eCommerce adoption, this spike was to be expected amid Coronavirus infection fears and consequent limitations on physical shopping during lockdown. Despite adoption rates levelling off, the data shows an increase of 9% i...
Airtel Africa Reports Double Digit Growth
Sourced from Comms MEA Airtel Africa has reported double-digit growth and stronger performance in Q2, with revenue up by 19.6% – in spite of interruptions from COVID-19 and the associated restrictions on activities of both consumers and businesses. The telco saw growth across every region; Nigeria revenue increased 20.2% and EBITDA growth of 21.5%, East Africa revenue up 21.9% and EBITDA growth of 35.1%, Francophone Africa revenue up 4.4% and EBITDA growth of 4.1%. Voice and Data led to a mobile revenue increase of 15.3% while Mobile Money revenue grew by 30.4%. Airtel Money now serves over 20million customers. The telco says that it is in a strong financial position to capture the growth opportunities in a fast-growing region that is vastly underpenetrated in terms of mobile and...
Top 3 IT Security Threats in Africa
Sourced from IDG Connect There’s been an overall decrease in certain malware cases across sub-Saharan Africa, according to Kaspersky research. However, the human cyber threat remains rife and Africa is not immune to the evolving techniques of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), as well as the possibilities of being a future target of hacking-for-hire threat actor groups. Kaspersky research has found that globally, APT groups are evolving their techniques and are upgrading their toolset to continue stealing sensitive information. Furthermore, there has been a rise of hackers-for-hire or cyber mercenaries during the first two quarters of 2020. In fact, three cyber mercenary groups have been exposed across the world this year alone. As this activity has taken place outside of Africa, it’s sus...
Vodacom Partners with AFI to Drive Financial Inclusion in Africa
Vodacom has joined forces with AFI to drive financial inclusion across Africa through knowledge sharing with financial policymakers and regulators. According to the companies, the partnership, which runs until October 2021, should enhance select AFI member services and platforms with private sector insights. “AFI members in Africa are among the world’s pioneers in mobile money services, having fostered decades of ground-breaking innovations that have shaped the financial inclusion landscape across the continent and beyond,” says Dr Alfred Hannig, AFI Executive Director. Regulators in the region have turned the current pandemic into opportunities to accelerate financial inclusion and ensure that no one is left behind. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_891.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_891.t...
Basalt Technology Appoints New MD
Basalt Technologies has appointed Kyle Hauptfleisch at its new MD. Together with Wayne Zwiers, Basalt’s founder and CEO, Hauptfleisch is expected to lead the software development agency as it expands operations from Africa throughout the UK and Europe. Hauptfleisch has more than 15 years of senior management, business development, and general strategy experience, seven of which were at an executive level in both corporates and start-ups. His leadership experience spans various sectors, including publishing, media, and fintech. Notably, Hauptfleisch was the GM at a technology news company, Sales Director of the online division at one of the biggest media companies in Africa, and a founding partner at a boutique marketing agency that was acquired in 2016. More recently, he was CO...
The Future of Bitcoin in Africa
Bitcoin is a popular cryptocurrency across the world today and even African countries are already picking up the pace. So far, Africa looks promising for cryptocurrency, and the Arcane Research Report on the State of Crypto in Africa further buttresses this point. This is due to several common factors in these countries, such as failing currencies, costly payments, lack of banking infrastructure, and more. These factors are enough reasons to make anyone move towards any other option that provides something better. For Africans, that might be Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a decentralized currency with no third-party institution like a bank, which makes transactions seamless across countries anytime and anywhere. Political Instability Although political instability can be seen in many countries,...
Fake News Impacts 84% of Ghana’s Youth, According to Survey
Nearly nine in ten (84%) of Ghanaian youth polled suggest that the rise of ‘fake news’ breaking out across their country and around the continent has impacted their ability to stay informed, according to the African Youth Survey (AYS). Commissioned by the South African-based Ichikowitz Family Foundation, the survey also indicates that leading social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp were deemed untrustworthy by over one-third of Ghana’s youth population (37% and 35%, respectively). The AYS is said to be one of the most comprehensive research on Africa’s youth to date. Conducted by PSB Research (part of WPP Group), the study involved face-to-face interviews with young Africans (aged 18-24) men and women, held across the major urban centres of Congo Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, K...
