Southern Africa
Mastercard and FASTA Launch South Africa’s First Virtual Credit Card
Mastercard has teamed up with FASTA – a digital lending fintech – to launch the FASTACard, South Africa’s first virtual credit card. The FASTACard – backed by Standard Bank and Tutuka – is said to give locals access to instant credit which is loaded onto a secure digital card that can be used online and in-store. This virtual card will help to meet the demand of today’s cash-strapped consumers who are increasingly seeking ‘no contact’ digital payment solutions in the wake of the pandemic. South Africans who choose to apply can select their own credit limit – up to R8,000 – and repayment plan – with up to three instalments paid over four months. Within minutes, the loan application is approved and customers are sent a virtual card which is valid for three years. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_070....
MTN Ranked as South Africa’s Best Network during Lockdown
Image sourced from Pinterest. MTN has been named as the best mobile network in South Africa during lockdown – a title awarded by MyBroadband in their lastest insights report. The report is based on 278,890 speed tests which were performed by thousands of Speed Test App users across the country between 1 April and 30 June 2020. The research shows that South Africa had an average mobile download speed of 27.13Mbps and an average upload speed of 10.53Mbps. Telecoms and Lockdown During the lockdown, there was pressure on mobile networks to maintain good service levels amidst the increased demand for data. The higher data traffic, which increased by up to 50%, would typically result in a decrease in network speeds. However, this was not the case thanks to the temporary spectrum issued by ICASA ...
LG’s First 5G Smartphone Launches in South Africa
LG has officially unveiled its first 5G smartphone – the LG Velevt – to the South African market during a live virtual launch event. The LG Velvet comes standard with a 6.8-inch P-OLED Cinematic FullVision display and Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, making it the first mobile device from the company to integrate an application processor and 5G connectivity. “Powered by the Snapdragon 765G, the LG Velvet is equipped to deliver exceptional performance to meet even the most demanding 5G use cases, while also enabling intelligent multi-camera capture, high-speed gaming and all-day battery life,” says Alex Katouzian, SVP of the Mobile Business Unit at Qualcomm. “We’re excited to continue working with LG to help deliver 5G to more consumers with this truly global device.” /* custom css */ .tdi_3_444.t...
Pick n Pay is Using Machine Learning to Change How People Shop
Image sourced from Guzzle Pick n Pay has announced that it will use machine learning to automatically personalise discounts for Smart Shoppers – a move that is expected to help more customers save more on their grocery shop. Using this advanced technology, Pick n Pay hopes to give each shopper eight personalised discounts every two weeks. These are unique to each customer and offer cash-off savings, discounts or boosted points for products they buy most often. “This algorithm predicts what a customer is likely to buy and helps us work in conjunction with our partners to give customers personalised savings on the items they want or plan to buy,” says John Bradshaw, retail executive of marketing at Pick n Pay. Technology improvements mean that customers no longer have to activate their perso...
INTERVIEW: Driving Digital Transformation for South African Businesses with Logicalis
International IT solutions and managed services provider, Logicalis has announced the availability of its globally renowned Cisco integration expertise in South Africa. This move speaks to how the group has added another string to its bow as the company evolves towards a new brand positioning, as Architects of Change. ITNA’s Jenna Delport chatted to Morne Laubscher, CTO of Logicalis, about how Logicalis and the tech industry as a whole is shifting to achieve digital transformation – here’s what transpired: Logicalis is said to be positioning the company as an architect of change – what exactly does becoming an architect of change mean, especially in such a fast-paced industry? With this fourth industrial revolution, we find ourselves in the exponential growth of innovation and digital serv...
Leading a Remote Workforce: a Success Story
At a time when the whole world has been forced to make drastic changes to the way in which it operates, one has to wonder whether being at the helm of any organisation is an enviable position. As the cumulative effects of South Africa’s recent economic downturn and current world events make themselves felt, the ability to adapt to new models of working has been the fundamental driver of maintaining operations. Canon South Africa MD, David Preston, has been working from his home country in England when lockdown took effect, and when asked what challenges he’s had to overcome in the wake of the lockdown restrictions, being abroad is first on the list. However, he is quick to add that this has proved more of a mental challenge than anything else because, practically, it’s been a matter of usi...
Is the Global Pandemic an Opportunity to Reimagine Urban Development in Africa?
Sourced from SA Commercial Prop News. The need for social distancing and better sanitation could leapfrog development of African cities into a more sustainable future. This is according to Duncan Bonnett, Director of Market Access & Research at Africa House, and research partner of exhibition organiser Messe Muenchen South Africa. He says that, while Africa’s architects and planners have long been pushing for greener, smarter better designed urban spaces, the COVID-19 pandemic may help fast-track moves to better living spaces. New opportunities arise from disruptions Speaking ahead of the bauma CONEXPO Africa trade show, Bonnett says “The pandemic has certainly caused delays and disruptions across construction and infrastructure development, but there are some silver linings for the se...
Air Quality Has Sharply Improved Around the World During COVID-19
Sourced from The South African. While no person would choose to go through the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, researchers worldwide are keen to investigate the effects of this crisis global experiment. Sustainability experts, Lerato Moja, deputy director for South Africa’s department of environmental affairs and Lungile Manzini, assistant director for the department, write about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of air, nature and environment. Around half of the world’s population is on lockdown in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19, a public health emergency that has claimed thousands of lives and sparked fears of the worst global recession since the Great Depression. This has brought about a profound change in the quality of air, water as well as the environment...
eCommerce Surges by 139% Amidst Pandemic, Research Shows
Sourced from Innovation Village. South Africa’s eCommerce industry is booming retailers were forced to take their operations online due to lockdown and safety restrictions. Now, with lockdown restrictions easing, the temptation is to throttle back on online efforts and go back to the ways of old. That would be a big mistake, believes Warrick Kernes, founder of the Insaka eCommerce Academy. “Businesses really need to embrace this and make it part of their strategy.” At this time, more South Africans are delving into online buying for everything from groceries and toiletries to hardware and digital devices. But it’s when you drill down into the statistics that the true uptake becomes apparent. Just recently payment gateway PayFast released information regarding transactions during the Januar...
HPE South Africa Appoints Two New Roles
Sourced from Silicon Angle Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) South Africa has recently appointed Sandile Dube and Tumi Kgonare as its new Sales and Channel Manager and Distribution Team Lead respectively. These appointments are said to bolster HPE’s support in the local market whilst providing support to channel partners. Dube and Kgonare bring with them a wealth of industry knowledge, with more than 30 years’ combined experience in various ICT roles including sales, channel and distribution, product management and marketing. Before joining HPE South Africa, Dube was the sales head for Britehouse, a division of Dimension Data Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Kgonare the Partner Business Manager for HP Inc. Commenting on her new role, Kgonare says she is excited to be at the forefront of ent...
Security Flaw in Health Startup Exposed User Accounts and Medical Information
Sourced from LogBox. LogBox, a South African medical data startup that claims it is an “absolutely secure” way to replace paper forms and documentation in sharing patient data with doctors, has exposed user accounts and sensitive patient data following a lapse in security. Anurag Sen, a security researcher, found an exposed database belonging to the company. The database contained account access tokens for thousands of LogBox users, which if used would grant full access to the accounts and the information therein of users without even needing to input a password. Sen had reported to LogBox that their database has been exposed, but did not hear back. TechCrunch writes that the database has been pulled offline as soon as it reached out. LogBox’ database leak comes just as the country’s new d...
KaiOS and Econet Launch Zimbabwe’s 1st 3G Feature Phone
KaiOS Technologies and Econet Wireless Zimbabwe have launched the Atom 3G phone – said to be the country’s first 3G smart feature phone. Announcing the launch, Econet said the new handset will be bundled with a 3-month data package, offering customers 6GB of FREE data upon every purchase. The phone will be available at half the average price of a basic Android smartphone sold in Zimbabwe, making the Atom 3G one of the most affordable 3G devices in the country. “The COVID-19 pandemic has made life difficult for people in Zimbabwe. We want to help them get online, communicate with their loved ones locally and abroad via WhatsApp, Sasai or regular cellular voice calls. We also want our customers to access valuable content at this time, such as medical tips and advice,” says Econet COO, Navdee...
