African tech news
Can Debt Consolidation Help Your Credit Score?
Image sourced from Focus Federal Credit Union. /* custom css */ .tdi_4_37e.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_37e.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } So, you have heaps of debt and finally decided to get help. You’ve settled on debt consolidation, but you’re worried about how the financial strategy might affect your credit. But can debt consolidation actually help your credit score? You may be pleasantly surprised. Why Consolidate Debt? /* custom css */ .tdi_3_d63.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_d63.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Let’s start there. In short, consolidating your accounts can save you cash. For instance, if you have cards with an aggregate rate of, say, 24%, you can try to consolidate your balances into a new credit card or loan with a lower interest...
Cybersecurity Is More than A Tech Problem – It’s a Business Problem Too
Image sourced from Finance Times. A concerning number of South African companies are not prepared for the inevitability of a cyberattack despite the significant financial and reputational risks, according to Ryan Mer, MD, eftsure Africa, a Know Your Payee (KYP) platform provider. “Too few senior managers view cybersecurity as a business problem and not just a technology problem,” he says. “The reality is cybersecurity is very much a business consideration. CEOs and CFOs will eventually face critical questions such as: How much money do we spend on cybersecurity? Do we change key processes? How do we create awareness and change company culture? Do we put security ahead of operational functionality? What is the role of internal processes and staff on data security and integrity?.” Mer adds t...
6 Urgent Steps Companies Need to Take to Ensure POPIA Compliance
Sourced from Europa EU. The eleventh hour is upon businesses who are not POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act) compliant. The effective date of 1 July is upon us. Your business should have already started its compliance journey, as it will at least help lessen the risk of cybersecurity breaches. Securing your data will help your business be in good standing with local and international partners. This will also enhance the reputation of your business and exempt you from fines and non-compliance. Here are six steps your business can take before 01 July to be POPIA compliant: 1. Encrypt Everything One of the major requirements under POPIA is to ensure that you apply Generally Accepted Information Security Protocols. While these requirements are not the same for all organisations, som...
Location Intelligence is Key to Understanding New Customer Behaviours Post-Pandemic
Image sourced from Geospatial World. /* custom css */ .tdi_4_271.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_271.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } The COVID-19 pandemic was a major disruptor for the retail sector. Practically overnight, customer buying patterns and behaviours changed, and have continued to shift ever since. This had made it challenging to meet customer expectations effectively. Retailers need to harness the power of location intelligence to help them better understand how their customers’ needs have changed and continue to change. What is Location Intelligence? Forrester, a research and advisory company, defines location intelligence as “the practice of collecting and managing customer location data, enriching it with other data sources, and analysing for contextual...
MultiChoice Sees Surge in Earnings Amidst Subscriber Boom
Image sourced from The Vanguard Nigeria /* custom css */ .tdi_4_dc2.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_dc2.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } South African broadcasting conglomerate MultiChoice Group reports that it has added 1.4-million 90-day active subscribers to its services between the beginning of 2021 to 31 March. MultiChoice also reports that earnings were exceedingly robust despite the ongoing pandemic. This is partly due to the 7% growth year-on-year of its subscribers. The Johannesburg-based corporation ended 2020 with 20.9-million subscribers – 43% from South Africa, while a further 57% of subscribers from the rest of the continent. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_d36.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_d36.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Growth in the Face of COV...
Vivo to Launch Flagship V21 Smartphone in Kenya
Image sourced from GSM Arena. /* custom css */ .tdi_4_0c5.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_0c5.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Chinese tech company Vivo, often stylised as vivo, is gearing to launch the vivo V21 smartphone in Kenya this month. A flagship model with a focus on taking industry-leading selfies is set for the new generation and will be an addition to the V-series smartphones available locally. V21 Specs The V21 will be the first device globally to come with a 44MP selfie camera equipped with both Optical Imaging Stabilization (OIS) and Electronic Imaging Stabilization (EIS) technologies to accurately detect movements and shaking and calibrate the camera accordingly to eliminate motion blurs and produce high-definition selfies as a result. /* custom css */ .tdi_3...
Cybersecurity and Data Protection Laws Urgently Needed Across Africa
The pandemic has driven home the high value of personal data to the global economy, while also highlighting its vulnerability to abuse and attack. In response, governments around the world have been reviewing their data privacy and protection laws and regulations, including in South Africa and Ghana. Global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky recently noted that cyberattacks are set to rise in African countries, especially in the key financial centres of South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. The cybersecurity firm noted that rapidly evolving digital techniques had led to an increased risk of Advanced Persistent Threats and hacking-for-hire events in Africa. South Africa In South Africa, the Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Act was signed into law by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in early June 2...
Eazzy Banking App Grows 222% as Digital Banking Explodes in Kenya
Image sourced from Kenya Online News. /* custom css */ .tdi_4_00d.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_00d.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK)’s Bank Supervision Annual Report 2020 noted that there was a notably high adoption of digital financial services by consumers during the beginning months of the pandemic in the country. This is believed in part due to consumers seeking channels for financial transactions with minimal physical contact, a necessity in remaining safe and socially distant as COVID-19 waves fluctuate. Now according to Techweez, the digital banking services provided by Equity Bank Kenya are now ahead of its traditional banking in terms of sheer volumes transacted. This comes via an announcement made when the lender revealed its Q1 20...
WHO Urges African Countries to Expand Critical Care as COVID Surges
Sourced from BBC. /* custom css */ .tdi_4_02b.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_02b.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Bloomberg reports that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is urging African countries to expand critical care capacities as soon as possible while COVID-19 cases are on the rise across the continent and vaccine rollout in African countries are basically at standstill. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, says that efforts to augment critical care will aid health care facilities from becoming too overwhelmed. “Many African hospitals and clinics are still far from ready for a surge in critically ill COVID-19 patients,” Moeti told Bloomberg. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_b1b.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_b1b.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0;...
Digital Transactions Fraud Rise 187% in South Africa
As more consumers go online for banking and other financial transactions, new research from TransUnion, an American consumer credit reporting agency, has found that fraudsters are ramping up their efforts in the financial services industry. When comparing the last four months of 2020 (September 1 – December 31) and the first four months of 2021 (January 1 – May 1), the company found the percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts coming from South Africa in financial services increased by 187%. Globally, the rate of financial services fraud attempts increased by 149%. Across industries, the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts globally rose 24% when comparing the first four months of 2021 with the last four months of 2020. In South Africa, the overall percentage of fraud attempts in...
God of War 2 Delayed to 2022 by Sony
Image sourced from Games Radar. /* custom css */ .tdi_4_fbc.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_fbc.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Sony Interactive Entertainment’s next huge AAA first-party release God of War 2 – otherwise known as God of War: Ragnarök has been delayed, according to the game’s developer. pic.twitter.com/LLXnEof2Lg — Santa Monica Studio Is Hiring (@SonySantaMonica) June 2, 2021 PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst and God of War developer Santa Monica Studios confirmed the sequel to the 2018 mega-hit will now be slated for release in 2022. Hulst cites the delay is to give more time to Santa Monica Studios for development in order for the studio to “…deliver the amazing God of War game that we all want to play.” /* custom css */ .tdi_3_06b.td-a-rec-img{ text-al...
South African Government Now Seeks to Regulate Netflix Content
Sourced from Getty Images. /* custom css */ .tdi_4_360.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_360.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } A new white paper proposal from the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies is set to enforce locally produced content on digital streaming services, with Netflix zeroed in. The paper also seeks to apply other regulations to these services, according to Business Tech. The white paper proposal, contained in the department’s Audio and Audio-Visual Content Services policy framework, suggests that the department will regulate up to 30% of the video catalogue that Netflix has available in South Africa. Netflix’s director of public policy for sub-Saharan Africa, Shola Sanni, says that the streaming goliath is already investing heavily in produci...
