Africa Business, Author at AfricaBusiness.com

R500k up for grabs in the 2021 Joburg Smart City Innovation Challenge

16Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

R500k up for grabs in the 2021 Joburg Smart City Innovation Challenge

Are you a 4IR Start-up? Have you been in operation for 3-7 years? Are you a company developing Smart City technologies and/or innovative solutions? Do you have a pilot-ready solution for a challenge faced by our city? The City of Johannesburg’s Smart City Office, in collaboration with Tshimologong Innovation Precinct, invites you to submit proposals for smart city innovative solutions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and to share your innovative ideas on how we can go into the future together. The lockdown protocols have ignited new thinking about the future of our City and its residents. Therefore, the aim of the Smart City Innovation Challenge is to find and develop digital technology solutions that respond to urban and community challenges faced by the City in the new normal result...

AURA builds world’s first WhatsApp security chatbot in partnership with Tracker

16Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Tech

AURA builds world’s first WhatsApp security chatbot in partnership with Tracker

AURA, South Africa’s leading security and medical response platform has launched the world’s first WhatsApp security chatbot in partnership with Tracker, one of the country's most trusted names in stolen vehicle recovery. Powered by AURA, Tracker’s unique Tracker CareGuard service offers rapid mobile emergency response anywhere, anytime within South Africa. The new cutting-edge solution enables subscribers to request immediate mobile armed response assistance wherever they are by sharing a location pin in WhatsApp. Warren Myers, Founder and CEO of AURA says the new WhatsApp service illustrates the power of technology in preventing and combating crime and the role it plays in enabling South African businesses to offer innovative security products and services to customers. “The Tracker Car...

Winch Energy Closes Largest Limited Recourse Mini Grid Portfolio To Date In Uganda And Sierra Leone And Creation Of A New Platform Winch IPP Holdings For Future Investments

16Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Green Energy, Sierra Leone, Uganda News

Winch Energy Closes Largest Limited Recourse Mini Grid Portfolio To Date In Uganda And Sierra Leone And Creation Of A New Platform Winch IPP Holdings For Future Investments

Leading off-grid utilities provider, Winch Energy, has completed the funding for solar mini grid projects in 49 villages across Uganda and Sierra Leone through the creation of a new platform, Winch Energy IPP Holdings Limited (“WIPP”). The deal represents the largest mini grid financing portfolio to date, bringing together several major players in the off-grid space and was finalised on 29th January 2021. Winch Energy is owned by Total Eren, Itochu Corporation, Al Gihaz Holdings and Winch Partners. The investment comes from Winch Energy Limited in partnership with NEoT Offgrid Africa – a platform established by Meridiam, EDF and Mitsubishi Corporation. NEoT Offgrid Africa supports and accelerates Africa’s energy transition and already invested more than €30 million in the electrification o...

IG South Africa’s Continued Commitment to Investment and Growth in South Africa

12Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

IG South Africa’s Continued Commitment to Investment and Growth in South Africa

IG, a global leader in online trading, has had a long commitment to South Africa which is set to increase further. The company has operated in South Africa for ten years playing a key role in the growth of online trading in this sophisticated and growing market. IG is committed to robust local governance, and is pleased to announce that Mr. Ndabezinhle Mkhize has recently been appointed as Independent Chairperson to the Board of IG Markets South Africa Limited. Mr Mkhize brings over 20 years of local financial services experience to the Board, and is also joined by two Non-Executive Directors, providing diverse expertise and experience. Mr Mkhize joins IG as it embarks on a significant expansion in its operations in Johannesburg - more than 40 new, high-skilled, high-tech jobs are being c...

Janus Continental Group (JCG) Invests $13 Million in Highview Power as part of African renewable energy storage drive

11Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Green Energy

Janus Continental Group (JCG) Invests $13 Million in Highview Power as part of African renewable energy storage drive

JCG’s investment arm Janus Capital takes stake in Highview Enterprise Limited. The deal will bring Highview Power’s cutting edge CRYOBattery™ energy storage technology to JCG’s core markets in sub-Saharan Africa. The investment will unleash the potential of renewable energy storage across Africa, supporting JCG’s wider growth and business goals in this sector. Janus Continental Group (JCG), a conglomerate with businesses in the Energy, Hospitality and Real Estate sectors across three continents, has announced that it has invested USD $13 million in Highview Enterprises Limited, the developer of liquid air long-duration energy storage systems, called the CRYOBattery™. JCG’s subsidiary, Great Lakes Africa Energy Ltd (GLAE), will license Highview Power’s cryogenic energy storage technol...

11Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business

How installing a conveyor belt system could help your small business

Conveyor belt systems originated all the way back in the 1800s, and these days are an essential part of almost every industry in some form or another. This invention has transformed the way that we transport goods within a small area, as well as sort them, package them, and process them. We often think of conveyor systems as only being relevant for large-scale businesses. However, these days more and more small businesses are beginning to see the advantages of having such equipment installed. Read on to find out more about what a conveyor belt system is and how having one could help your company. What is a conveyor belt system? Simply put, a conveyor belt system is a piece of machinery that transports materials or objects from one point to another. However, this doesn’t quite do justice to...

Cisco Reveals Top Cybersecurity Threats of 2020

10Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Tech

Cisco Reveals Top Cybersecurity Threats of 2020

Defending Against Critical Threats Report identifies migration to remote working and evolution of ransomware as key contributors towards diverse criminal activity Cisco has revealed the findings of its Defending Against Critical Threats Report, noting changes in criminal activity during 2020 and new methods of exploitation, arising as a result of the pandemic. During a year in which transitioning to digital infrastructures became essential for all, Cisco explores the ongoing complexity and evolution of cyber threats, to inform organizations and empower stronger decision-making. Increased Vulnerabilities with Remote Working Cisco Umbrella – a cloud-driven Secure Internet Gateway – examined traffic running through its DNS servers, identifying mid-March 2020 as a peak period of increased remo...

The New Creative Sector Workspace – Adapt, Innovate and Thrive Creative Africa Nexus Virtual Event

9Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Events, Rwanda News, Tech

The New Creative Sector Workspace – Adapt, Innovate and Thrive Creative Africa Nexus Virtual Event

The Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX), a programme put in place by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to support Africa’s creative and cultural industries, announces a series of virtual forums in the lead-up to the Intra-African Trade Fair 2021 (IATF2021). On 25 February at 15:00 CAT, digital innovators and experts from across some of Africa’s key creative sectors including fashion, film, music and XR, will share their experiences and successes from the year of COVID-19, and for a post-COVID world that will be forever changed. This first event will kick-start the conversation in the build-up to the Creative Africa Nexus Programme that will take place at the Intra-African Trade Fair 2021 (IATF2021) from 6 - 12 September in Kigali, Rwanda. Designed specifically for African creatives lo...

Orange Business Services to design and build cloud-based ICT infrastructure for Egypt’s newest smart city

9Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Egypt News, Tech

Orange Business Services to design and build cloud-based ICT infrastructure for Egypt’s newest smart city

- Selected as master system integrator to deliver a new data center, offering critical cloud and smart services - Supports Orange Egypt – the prime contractor – in a multimillion Euro project to develop part of the New Administrative Capital Orange Business Services, a network-native digital services company, has announced that it will design and build a new data center to provide cloud services for Egypt’s ‘New Administrative Capital'. The project will be implemented in collaboration with Orange Egypt, who will supply the required infrastructure and services, following their appointment as the project’s prime contractor by Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) – owner and developer of the New Administrative Capital. The ACUD project has been designed as a smart sustainable...

Business Leaders Underscore Technology as a Key Driver for Delivering Organizational Sustainability Goals

9Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Events, Tech

Business Leaders Underscore Technology as a Key Driver for Delivering Organizational Sustainability Goals

AVEVA Hosts Influencer Panel Session to Outline Why Digitization is Driving the Growth of Sustainable Practices in the Industrial Sector AVEVA, a global leader in engineering and industrial software, convened leaders from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Schneider Electric, PETRONAS and Verdantix in a virtual press panel session recently, to discuss how digitization is driving the sustainability business agenda for industrial organizations. Participants highlighted how in the past year, the world had faced a challenge that is unique in history, in its scale and scope, and industries have been adversely affected in many ways. The key takeaway from the session was that 2021 is set to be a year of resiliency and renewed rebuilding, and Industry 4.0 will enable employees and co...