Author: Staff Writer

Global supply-chain disruptions could remain high until H2 2022 amid renewed COVID-19 outbreaks around the world, China’s sustained zero-COVID policy and demand and logistic volatility during Chinese New Year, trade credit insurer Euler Hermes said in a new report on Thursday. Nevertheless, the trade credit insurer expects trade growth to remain strong through 2022 and 2023, with some clear winners across regions and sectors, according to Euler Hermes’ Global Trade Report. Global supply-chain disruptions will remain high until H2 2022 After exceptionally strong performance since H2 2020, global trade of goods contracted in Q3, especially in advanced and emerging economies.…

South Africa’s retail giant Shoprite announced today it has appointed Paul Norman and Dawn Marole as independent non-executive directors of the board. Their appointment is effective 4 March 2022. “The Shoprite Holdings board welcomes Dawn and Paul and looks forward to their valued contribution to the Group,” the retailer informed investors. Marole holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting), Diploma in Tertiary Education and an MBA. She is an experienced corporate executive and human resources director and currently Executive Chairman of Executive Magic. In addition, Marole is an experienced non-executive director (NED) having served on various boards over the past decade…

Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) today announced that Sandile Dube has been appointed as acting managing director for HPE in South Africa, effective 1st January, 2022. Sandile’s predecessor, President Ntuli, has been promoted to a pan-regional role as Director of HPE GreenLake Cloud Services across the UK, Ireland, Middle East and South Africa (UKIMESA) region. “It is a great privilege to be given an opportunity to lead Hewlett Packard Enterprise in South Africa, during an important time in our history,” said Dube. “The South African team has shown great resilience to overcome challenges during the past year and are excelling as…

MTN Group today announced the appointment of Hermann Tischendorf as our Chief Technology & Information Officer for Digital and Fintech. “We are delighted to have a seasoned executive of Hermann’s calibre joining our growing DigiFin team,” says MTN Group Chief Digital and Fintech Officer Serigne Dioum. “He brings the skills and experience that will accelerate innovative digital and fintech advancements in line with our strategic intent of leading digital solutions for Africa progress.” Hermann joins from 4Finance Group, where he was Chief Technology Officer. He has 30 years of experience in the financial services sector, where he has occupied numerous…

Seeing explosive growth, SHAREit has ranked 4th globally after Google, Facebook and TikTok in the recently released AppsFlyer non-gaming Retention and IAP Index report across all categories. In Africa, the app has placed 8th in the gaming category on Android across the continent and ranks #8 globally across the various gaming categories. The attractive proposition to share files and games without using costly data has ensured the app’s popularity in South Africa with around 20m monthly active users. SHAREit’s Game Centre has attracted a huge following offering one of the world’s largest catalogues of over 2000 mobile games. With games…

Standard Bank today brings its customers Apple Pay, a safer, more secure and private way to pay that helps customers avoid handing their payment card to someone else, touching physical buttons or exchanging cash — and uses the power of iPhone to protect every transaction. Customers simply hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near a payment terminal to make a contactless payment. Every Apple Pay purchase is secure because it is authenticated with Face ID, Touch ID, or device passcode, as well as a one-time unique dynamic security code. Apple Pay is accepted in grocery stores, pharmacies, taxis, restaurants, coffee…

Vodacom customers can now enjoy out-of-bundle rates from as little as R0.49c and up to R5.00 when travelling to over 156 countries across 656 partner networks. This is a price cut of up to 88%. As the vaccination rollout continues, with 24,4% fully vaccinated South Africans as at the end of November, Vodacom hopes that customers will once again get to enjoy leisure travel soon. “We are on a mission to give value to our customers at every touchpoint of our business. We have slashed our data roaming prices by up to 88%, another way we strive to fulfil our…

Platzi, a professional education platform in Latin America, has raised $60 million (R955 million) in Series B funding led by Prosus, one of the largest technology investors in the world. Existing investor Foundation Capital co-invested in this round along with YCombinator, 500 Startups, FJ Labs, FundersClub, Hans Tung from GGV and Darian Shirazi from Gradient. Platzi will use the fresh funds to expand its educational offering in Portuguese, English and Spanish, ramp up its offering for businesses and continue building strategic partnerships with tech giants and governments. Founded by Freddy Vega and Christian Van Der Henst, Platzi aims to close…

Vodacom has launched a new payment plan called Easy2Own, which comes with a 1GB data bundle if you settle monthly instalments on time. Through the newly launched initiative, customers on the Vodacom network can purchase a smartphone and, after a once-off deposit, pay it off in affordable monthly payments over the next 11 months. To provide further flexibility, customers can settle their monthly payments via a direct debit order or EFT. “At Vodacom, we believe that access to mobile devices and connectivity provides endless opportunities for South Africans. The Easy2Own proposition is yet another innovation by Vodacom to help bridge…

Seventy graduates of the Huawei ICT Academy programme met with representatives from nine top South African technology partner companies, looking to recruit top ICT talent, at a job fair held online. The Huawei ICT Academy programme is run in 67 universities and colleges across the country and its graduates are given the opportunity to connect with prospective employers. Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Blade Nzimande was in attendance and stressed the importance of these kinds of programmes, especially for the building of critical skills. “To us, partnerships with our universities and colleges are a critical component of our…