Author: Gugu Lourie

Is Cell C manipulating its latest financial figures? I recently found out that the troubled mobile phone company somehow managed to pay its workers’ outstanding bonuses and 13th cheques that were promised in March 2020. It is commendable that Cell-C, with much-reported money troubles, paid out much-needed cash to hard-pressed workers who had been struggling under COVID-19 lockdown. Last year on 26 September 2019, Cell C said its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased by 19% to R3.39-billion. These financial results were for the year ended March 2019 (2018: R4.18-billion) due to the expanded network roaming agreement…

ICT industry veteran Andile Ngcaba’s inq., a Pan-African digital service provider, has teamed up with Nasdaq and Stockholm-listed Enea. The Pan-African cloud-based digital service provider has selected Enea NFV Access as the virtualization and management software for the inq. universal CPE platform. inq. will initially provide enterprises with managed services for security, software-defined wide-area networks (SD-WAN), and application delivery controllers (ADC’s), while expanding the portfolio with additional managed services. The inq. universal CPE platform will ensure that all these services are well-positioned in terms of cost and performance. The uCPE architecture with Enea NFV Access gives inq. the flexibility to…

Digital transformation is forcing banks to change their business models and adapt to the new market reality. The evolution of technology has led to customers demanding a faster and more efficient experience from banks. To position itself for the future, Nedbank is focusing on digital technologies and internal optimisation, to transform and improve its juristic client experiences. The banking group informed investors on Wednesday that the shift to digital continues to gain momentum. The bank reported that digitally active clients rose by 16% to 1,85 million for the six months to end-June 2020, with 961 000 clients using the Money…

Nedbank’s shopping app Avo has raked in 45 000 less than three months after going live. The  Avo app gives the bank’s customers access to online shopping, essential services and financial products on a single platform. The Avo beta phase was released to Nedbank clients via the Money app on 15 May 2020 and released to the broader public, including non-Nedbank clients, via Apple and Google Play stores on the 19 June 2020. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic creating challenges for many clients to access essential services such as healthcare and home repair services, Nedbank launched its market-leading digital…

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has lambasted Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, for defying parliament regarding the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) appointments. The newly-appointed ICASA Council members will take their oath of office today and commence their four (4) year term to serve and execute their mandate in the public interest. The Chairperson will serve a five-year term. Councillors join the employ of ICASA immediately following their appointment by Ndabeni-Abrahams, as published in the Government Gazette on 21 August 2020. The new appointees are: 1. Dr. Keabetswe Modimoeng – appointed Chairperson of ICASA 2.…

Due to the global outbreak of COVID-19, most railway companies have been forced to stop services. In light of this, railway operators seek the help of new technologies to navigate these difficulties. Hao Guoqiang, President of Global Transportation Development Dept in Huawei Enterprise Business Group shared some ideas from China experience. How to fight against with COVID-19 and how to use this opportunity to accelerate digital transformation in rail industry. He shared some of the lessons Huawei learned from clients. Lesson 1: The pandemic will accelerate the digital transformation of the rail industry. Lesson 2: After the pandemic, the rail…

TechFinancials interviewed Mickey Mashale, the new boss of Nexio, in a wide-ranging discussion that touched on women’s equality, empowerment, digital transformation and the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). South Africa’s digital system aggregator and solution provider, Nexio, announced last month that it has appointed Mashale as CEO. For more read: SA’s Tech Firm Nexio Taps Mickey Mashale as New CEO In an interview with TechFinancials, Mashale unpacks her views on transformation in the ICT sector and how is Nexio embracing 4IR and helping companies on their digital journey. She also talks about how Nexio is adding value to its parent company, Vodacom. What…

Zandile Gumede, the corruption-accused former eThekwini mayor, is blaming “sexist” media for tarnishing her good name. In an interview with eNCA this Thursday, Gumede said her ‘name has been dented’ because of sexism and discrimination from the media. Gumede has been parachuted into frontline politics by the ruling party. She has been appointed as a provincial COGTA leader. She says this is to reward her for her hard work in the community. “It’s not a reward. It’s a continuation of work for the people because they know how hard I can work. There is no reward. It is just to open another…

Standard Bank’s customers are slowly embracing digital banking as they ditch brick and mortar banking. Africa’s largest bank by assets informed investors on Thursday that lockdowns encouraged customers to transition to its digital channels. The bank announced on Thursday that digital transaction volumes increased 78% in South Africa, and comprised 99% of total transactions, while in Africa Regions volumes increased 24% and comprised 94% of total transactions. “Physical transactions are expected to continue to decline as the transition to digital accelerates post-COVID-19,” said the bank. “Despite the pandemic-related disruptions, Personal and Business Banking (PBB) SA released several new digital capabilities…

Without a satellite dish and its associated cabling, you can now enjoy all the DStv content you love, as well as hit shows from other streaming services. All you need is a reliable home internet connection, a DStv Streama device and a television set. DStv Streama offers all of the best content customers have come to enjoy, including an array of sports, entertainment, news and kids’ content. With the Streama’s selection of applications such as Showmax and YouTube, it presents all your viewing options in one place, so that you can seamlessly switch between applications to view the content of…