On the back of Cape Town being recognised as the tech capital of Africa, topping international rankings for foreign direct investment strategy, Ian Lessem, Managing Partner at HAVAÍC – investors in early-stage, high-growth technology businesses – says several other African cities are quickly emerging as leading startup and investment hubs to watch. “Startups in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa […]
Category Archives: South Africa News
South Africa News
During a working visit to Zimbabwe, African Energy Chamber Executive Chairman NJ Ayuk met with H.E. President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa to discuss extensive investment opportunities across the country’s renewable, natural gas and mining sectors. Committed to driving attendance at the upcoming African Energy Week (AEW) 2021 interactive conference and exhibition taking place in Cape […]
Consumers head online for niche products, better service, and quick delivery South African consumers are heading online in greater numbers as the e-commerce shopping experience increasingly offers more choice and convenience than can be found at traditional big-brand, brick-and-mortar retailers, says Mike Farquharson, Managing Director of online courier aggregator Rush. Statista market and consumer data […]
Fraudsters do not discriminate. As we continually move towards the adoption of a digital and more importantly ‘touchless’ era, the platform for fraud increases. Fraud is a fraudster’s business and they often use the same business tactics we use in legitimate business, the difference being that they don’t have customers, they have victims. Thanks to […]
South Africa’s first tourism and hospitality industry Covid-19 workplace vaccination site will open at Sun City Resort’s Convention Centre, where the resort aims to vaccinate 7 500 people in three phases. “We will start with Sun City staff, service providers and concessionaires, before offering the vaccine to their family members, and finally, to all those […]
After months of searching, screening, and careful selection, the final five qualifying businesses for the next round of the AYO Scaling Africa Series have been selected. In partnership with the SA Innovation Summit, the series looks to assist tech entrepreneurs in taking their Series A businesses to the next level. These five finalists have been chosen […]
Baker McKenzie’s latest analysis of Refinitiv data shows that the value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the first half 2021 (H1 2021) soared in South Africa, and that deal value also increased in Nigeria in the first six months of 2021, but Kenya experienced a slight decrease in both deal value and volume in […]
Business, South Africa News
Good customer retention tactics translate to brand loyalty and profitability for SMEs
There is a good reason why the saying goes “first impressions last” and this is particularly important for small businesses. Once they’ve connected with a new customer, businesses should focus on offering high-quality delivery over the long-term. It begins with a client’s first interaction with businesses or brands and continues throughout the lifetime of the […]
South Africa could face a dystopian technological future, unless moves are made to harness technology for societal good now. This is according to Johan Steyn, chair of the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) Special Interest Group on AI and Robotics (SIGAIR), who was speaking at the IITPSA Gauteng Chapter AGM this week. Steyn […]
In 2020, e-commerce in South Africa spiked by 66%, driven by COVID-19-induced lockdowns and a drop in brick-and-mortar retail sales[i]. This increase was accompanied by an upsurge in the use of instant Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payments. Towards the end of last year however, the SA Reserve Bank, Payment Association of South Africa (PASA), and […]
South Africa is in the middle of one of the most tyring times in the country’s history. Unemployment was on the rise which will only worsen in the aftermath of the current situation. In addition, tensions are boiling over turning into violent acts and destruction which are currently disrupting society. This includes bank ATM’s and […]
A new paper on Cerebral Palsy, published in the South African Medical Journal, challenges commonly held views on the subject and suggests that the causes of this tragic condition may be far more complex and multi-faceted. Commonly held assumptions that CP arises as a direct result of preventable adverse events during childbirth inform the current […]
Secure data collaboration platform achieves second round of funding Omnisient, a secure data collaboration platform, has achieved its second raise this year totalling USD1.4 million. ”We have brought in visionary international investors – Technova, Grand Bay Ventures, Tahseen Consulting, and Kepple Africa Ventures – who will be key to supporting our expansion globally. Investec, Nedbank, […]
Virtual pitching event to occur on 13 July, register to attend The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) kicked off its annual global Innovating Justice Challenge in search of the region’s best justice-related social entrepreneurs in March this year. With more than 200 applications from startups with high impact justice innovations, HiiL has selected […]
Five priority areas have been identified as critical to rebuilding air travel post-COVID Your Runway to Success, published by SITA, sets out five critical areas for the air transport industry’s rebuild in the next 18 months and highlights SITA’s remodeled solutions to tackle the major challenges facing air travel in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over […]
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni recently said that communities and businesses are becoming increasingly intolerant of municipalities that can neither deliver basic services nor conduct their administration effectively[i]. With lack of employee capacity being one of the root causes of poor service delivery[ii], Kyle Oosthuizen, Chief Operating Officer at Blue Robot, believes that chatbots could be a solution. […]
Medicine, South Africa News
South Africa. How Designated Service Providers Help In Making Medical Aid More Affordable
With healthcare inflation continually on the increase, medical schemes must find ways to keep contributions as affordable as possible for their members while still ensuring that they receive quality of care. One of these ways is through negotiation with groups of hospitals, doctors and pharmacies for better tariffs in return for directing members their way. […]
VerPay enables verbal commerce as businesses adapt to serve their customers in contactless ways As South Africa enters its third wave and lockdown restrictions tighten, certain businesses – such as those in hospitality – once again find themselves having to temporarily close their doors, while seeking alternative avenues to generate income, such as take-aways. “The […]
TinSky Connect (PTY) LTD today announced that it is now offering the Intelsat FlexMove managed service for ubiquitous, high-speed connectivity. With FlexMove, TinSky Connect’s customers can easily connect to the internet, private data networks and cloud services from virtually anywhere in the world, including while on-the-move, or on-the-pause at a temporary site. “With the Intelsat FlexMove service, […]
Over the weekend of the 19th and 20th of June 2021, Silicon Cape and the U.S. Mission to South Africa hosted a virtual hackathon aimed at discovering digital solutions to accelerate inclusive economic growth for local businesses in the township economy. This was the third of four hackathons which form part of an initiative called Hackathons for South Africa: Digital […]
Andy Brough The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a bright spotlight on our leaders. With companies switching over to remote working in unprecedented numbers, a new form of leadership is needed. Although the uncertainty of the time puts pressure on both employees and management, leaders must rise to the occasion and provide the required stability. The […]
Op-Ed by Duggan Flanakin, director of policy research for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow. It was quite a shock to Africa Energy Chamber Executive Director NJ Ayuk – and an even bigger shock to the Chamber – that the London-based Hyve group decided to move the annual Africa Oil Week from Cape Town, South Africa to Dubai. […]