Company News
Liquid Telecom Unveils New Identity and Pan-African Strategy
Image sourced from MyBroadband Liquid Telecom has unveiled its new identity as Liquid Intelligent Technologies. The pan-African technology group also revealed its plan to go from being a telecommunications and digital services provider to a full one-stop-shop technology group through a group-wide rebrand. Over the last two decades, Liquid has firmly established itself as the leading pan-African digital infrastructure provider with an extensive network spanning over 73,000 KM. This rebrand to Liquid Intelligent Technologies highlights the organisation’s expansion of its Cloud business, Cyber Security services, and other technologies added to its existing telecoms and connectivity capability. This furthers the Group’s aim of accelerating growth by providing tailor-made digital solutions to b...
Ukheshe and Infobip Launch the First WhatsApp Payment Gateway in South Africa
Ukheshe has partnered with Infobip to launch South Africa’s first WhatsApp payment gateway which allows Telkom customers to send money to anyone with a mobile number quickly and securely with no need for another app or any additional software. The project and collaboration with Infobip forms part of Ukheshe’s objective of expanding its international reach as a solution-driven B2B provider of digital-first payment solutions that enable banks, telcos and fintechs to provide banking and payment services to their customers through a solution called ‘Chat Banking’. “We are thrilled that through various working associations we are able to assist organisations to address financial literacy and inclusion. The chat banking solution empowers end customers by giving them access to the Internet, ...
Security and Medical Response Platform, Aura Expands to Kenya
Security and medical response platform, Aura has announced its plan to expand into Kenya by offering its emergency and medical response services in Nairobi and Mombasa. The rollout will be led by the newly appointed General Manager, Hilary Itela. Warren Myers, CEO of AURA, says that the intention is to address the fragmented and idle response capacity in Kenya while also “democratising access to critical services by making them more widely available and more affordable than ever before”. With over 15 years of experience in various management roles in East and Central Africa, Itela brings with him a wealth of specialist expertise within various verticals including security, eCommerce, logistics, pharmaceuticals, FMCG and renewable energy. In addition to working closely with Kenyan partners ...
IoT.nxt CEO Resigns Immediately
Image sourced from ITWeb IOT.nxt has revealed that co-founder and CEO, Nico Steyn, is stepping down from his role with immediate effect. He will, however, remain a shareholder and board member of the Vodacom company. “I will focus my time and effort on areas of the business that I most enjoy and where I can continue to add meaningful value. As a founder, making this decision is not easy,” says Steyn. “However, I know the exceptional executive team that we have assembled over the past 18 months is well-positioned to embrace the next phase of commercialisation and corporatisation that is required for IoT.nxt’s journey of globalisation.” “IoT.nxt has been my passion and my life for the past six years. My partners and the IoT.nxt board-backed my vision of creating a world-class product and com...
Bolt Launches Eco-Friendly Ride Service in Kenya
Bolt has launched Bolt Green – a new eco-friendly ride offering – in Kenya. The service part of the company’s effort towards reducing its carbon footprint. “We continue to scale up our operations for the benefit of our customers and the communities in which we operate. Having electric and hybrid vehicles on our platform is a step towards ensuring environmentally conscious ways for people to move around in the city and reduce our ecological footprint,” says Ola Akinnusi, Country Manager for Bolt Kenya. “The new category also aims at expanding Bolts ride options thereby creating more economic opportunities for drivers and providing passengers with more options to choose from.” The service is currently only available in Nairobi, but Bolt plans to expand it across the country soon. /* custom c...
Dimension Data Appoints New CEO After Grant Bodley Steps Down
Image sourced from ITWeb Dimension Data MEA has appointed Werner Kapp as the new CEO for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) – this follows the departure of Grant Bodley who has been with the company for more than 20 years. Kapp will take up his new role from 1 April 2021. “I’m thrilled to be taking on the new role of CEO and look forward to progressing our leadership position in IT services across the region,” says Kapp. “I am especially excited about our One Dimension Data operating model, as I believe it is a critical part of our differentiation in the market and a key to ensuring the work we do with our clients across the organisation drives solutions-focused thinking and delivery.” Kapp, who has also been with Dimension Data for the last 2 decades, is currently the company’s Chief O...
WhatsApp Reportedly Testing End-to-End Encrypted Chat Backup Feature
WhatsApp is working on a new password protection feature that would encrypt chat backups, reports The Verge. At the moment, chats are only end-to-end encrypted on WhatsApp – this doesn’t include the online backups stored on Google Drive and iCloud.So with the introduction of this feature, chats would only be accessible to the sender and recipient. WABetaInfo shared screenshots of what this could look like: • The chat database is already encrypted now (excluding media), but the algorithm is reversible and it’s not end-to-end encrypted. • Local Android backups will be compatible with this feature. The chat DB and media will be encrypted using a password that only you know. https://t.co/WAliLUnF18 — WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) March 8, 2021 /* custom css */ .tdi_3_4a4.td-a-rec-img{ text-al...
MTN Group Appoints New Strategy and Transformation Executive
Image sourced from TechFinancials MTN Group has appointed Chika Ekeji as its new Strategy and Transformation Executive – effective from 15 March. The telco says this appointment is part of its plans to further bolster management capacity to accelerate the Group’s strategic ambitions. “In December 2020, MTN Group announced the completion of a comprehensive strategy review with a focus on accelerating growth, deleveraging the holding company debt and unlocking value,” says MTN. “To support the execution of the repositioned strategy, we announced the appointment of a new Group Chief Financial Officer as well as changes to the Group’s regional structure and the Group Executive Committee.” According to MyBroadband, Ekeji has a Masters of Engineering in Computer Science from Cornell University a...
Airbnb and SnapScan Join Forces to Encourage Local Spending in South Africa
Image sourced from The Tyee Airbnb has partnered with SnapScan to launch ‘Support Jozi, Shop Local’, an initiative that aims to aid the recovery of SMEs by driving traffic to smaller businesses, and delivering a much-needed economic boost to local communities. Using the SnapScan app, locals and visitors alike can now buy goods and services in 20+ Jozi businesses, chosen and recommended by local Hosts on Airbnb. People using SnapScan in these locations will also earn cashback vouchers called ‘Jozibucks’, which can then be ‘spent’ in the shops throughout March, driving additional revenue for the local businesses. The vouchers are funded by Airbnb. The “Support Jozi, Shop Local” initiative aims to encourage an inclusive recovery of the sector, by providing a platform to showcase small local b...
Microsoft Blames Cyber Attack on China-based Hacker Group
Microsoft believes the recent attacks on its business email software was by the Chinese government-backed hacking group, HAFNIUM. “Microsoft Threat Intelligence Centre (MSTIC) attributes this campaign with high confidence to HAFNIUM, a group assessed to be state-sponsored and operating out of China, based on observed victimology, tactics and procedures,” reads a statement from the company. “In the attacks observed, the threat actor used these vulnerabilities to access on-premises Exchange servers which enabled access to email accounts, and allowed the installation of additional malware to facilitate long-term access to victim environments.” The versions affected are: Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 “These vulnerabilitie...
UserTesting Appoints Two New Members To Its Board Of Directors
UserTesting has appointed Shannon Nash and Cindy Russo to its board of directors. These two women bring a wealth of financial and operational experience as UserTesting continues to expand and diversify the board. Nash brings more than two decades of experience, and is currently the Chief Accounting Officer at Reputation. Previously, she held executive finance roles at Insidesource, Cumulus Media, Aspire Public Schools, and Sunseeker Media. She is also a board member of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and on the CalCPA Diversity Equity & Inclusion Commission. “UserTesting and Reputation both understand the important role customer feedback plays in building strong brands, products, and services,” says Nash. “I immediately recognized this as a great opportunity as I see compa...
Hellopay to Roll Out Mastercard’s ‘Tap on Phone’ Tech in South Africa
Hellopay and Mastercard have partnered to roll out SoftPOS – a contactless acceptance solution that turns any NFC-enabled Android device into a physical point of sale. This move is expected to boost digital payment acceptance at small informal enterprises in South Africa, while supporting consumers’ preference for touch-free payments amidst social distancing. SoftPOS leverages Mastercard Tap on Phone technology developed for micro and small businesses like spaza shops, independent retailers, market stall traders, mobile servicemen and tradesmen who tend to operate in a cash economy due to the costs and complexity of obtaining traditional point of sale devices. “The SMME market represents 98% of businesses in South Africa and has been deeply impacted by the pandemic. We recognise the o...
