South Africa News Archives - Page 26 of 72

Africa’s Untapped Export Potential Worth $31 Billion

15Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Africa’s Untapped Export Potential Worth $31 Billion

United National Conference on Trade and Development says Africa’s untapped export of $31 billion[1] can be achieved if Africa implements partial tariff liberalisation under the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) Agreement over the next five years. Currently, trade between African countries comprises 61% of processed and semi-processed goods. Infrastructure and the harmonisation of logistics will make the AfCFTA fly, including simplicity of moving goods, automation, services across countries and cross-border clearance processes, among other challenges hampering trade. According to Jürgen Maier, Owner of Mobility Advisors in Switzerland and Partner and Adviser at the Transport Evolution Africa Forum and Expo 2022, automation is one of the key areas to increasing Africa’s transport...

New carbon-neutral online shopping service launches in South Africa

15Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

New carbon-neutral online shopping service launches in South Africa

With a goal to curb carbon emissions, South African startup Curbon, will make carbon-neutral online shopping possible through the launch of the country’s very first plugin created to help fight climate change. Curbon’s unique offering gives shoppers the opportunity to take direct, meaningful climate action with every online purchase. Using data from the world’s leading climate science institutions, the startup’s flagship product estimates the emissions of customers’ carts at checkout and empowers shoppers to neutralise the carbon footprint of their purchases on e-commerce stores in real-time. Dedicated to minimising the environmental impact of the entire e-commerce value chain, Curbon’s API uses the process of carbon offsetting to reduce, and ultimately neutralise, the carbon equivalen...

Sentech Africa Tech Week 2022: Connecting Africa for a Digital Future

15Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

Sentech Africa Tech Week 2022: Connecting Africa for a Digital Future

Sentech Africa Tech Week 2022 made its fourth consecutive appearance this year, providing a platform where 5,000 attendees came together - in person and virtually - to learn, be inspired, and meet those in the industry who are making a remarkable impact on solving Africa's unique challenges. Held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on August 31st and September 1st, various panel discussions were held sharing insights across topics such as the Internet of Things, broadband connectivity, cloud services and blockchain technology - to name a few. The CEO of Topco Media, Ralf Fletcher, believes that Africa is facing unique challenges that can only be solved by Africans. He shared that Africa Tech Week saw an explosion of excitement about current products and services that are bei...

Using the power of technology to assist in breaking the silence in South Africa’s gender-based violence crisis

8Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

Using the power of technology to assist in breaking the silence in South Africa’s gender-based violence crisis

In the fourth quarter of 2021, South Africa’s rape figures were up by 13.7%. There were 1300 more rapes compared to the same period in the previous year. 10818 rapes were reported in the first three months of 2022, with 4635 rapes taking place at the victim’s home, or that of the rapist. Attacks on women and children have also recorded major increases, with a staggering 22.2% rise in murders compared to the same period last year. Acting against GBV is everyone’s business The safety of the most vulnerable in our communities is of utmost importance to us, says Warren Myers, CEO and co-founder of AURA, South Africa’s leading security and medical response platform. Common myths, such as that what happens at home should stay at home or that it is nobody’s business what happens behind closed d...

6Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Events, South Africa News, Tech

Africa’s Largest B2B AI Focused Trade Event Celebrates 5th Anniversary & Announces Johannesburg Programme

AI Expo Africa, the largest business-focused Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Intelligent Automation (IA) trade event in Africa and celebrates its 5th Anniversary Edition on 19-20 September in the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa. Uniting 100s of buyers, suppliers, investors, innovators, SMMEs and global tech brands in the region, AI Expo Africa focuses on real-world applications you can deploy today. The business audience is comprised of Enterprise decision-makers, Tier 1 / 2 deployment & service providers, start-ups, educators, government, NGOs and ecosystem builders. AI Expo Africa 2022 will feature the following elements 10,000 sq Foot Expo Hall 63 vendors & 2 showcase pavilions 4 Track speaking programme 4 Plenary Keynotes plus 3-panel ...

Hybrid work: How to create a digital transformation strategy that actually works

5Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Tech

Hybrid work: How to create a digital transformation strategy that actually works

The working world has changed drastically. Today, survey after survey shows workers want a hybrid work model. But what does the future workplace look like and how can organisations create a digital transformation journey that fits the new paradigm? Marilyn Moodley, Country Leader for South Africa and WECA (West, East, Central Africa) at digital transformation specialist SoftwareONE, says the working landscape has changed forever. “While the idea of a digital workplace has been taking shape for several years, the start of the pandemic accelerated the trend where we witnessed over three years’ worth of digital transformation in just three months. Organisations across the globe are trying to fine-tune their hybrid work environment. Doing so often requires a faster transition to a digital wor...

Crypto assets: Are you prepared for the taxman?

1Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

Crypto assets: Are you prepared for the taxman?

South African taxpayers must realize that the time to regularise their cryptocurrency assets with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has come, says Diane Seccombe, National Head of Taxation at Mazars. “While tax compliance in the crypto space has been a murky area until now, SARS and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) have followed other international jurisdictions in developing stringent regulatory frameworks for this burgeoning segment of the market, with much focus on transparency,” Seccombe says. Now, there is no longer any doubt that taxpayers are required to disclose their crypto assets – including purchases, current holdings, and disposals – as part of their statements of assets and liabilities. From a tax perspective, cryptocurrencies are not regarded as currencies, but...

Flow Brings Billboard Advertising into the Digital World for Estate Agents

24Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Real Estate, South Africa News

Flow Brings Billboard Advertising into the Digital World for Estate Agents

Nowhere in the world has an SMME been able to access major billboards in prominent locations before - but local proptech innovators Flow have handed estate agencies and individual agents the opportunity to mix with major global FMCG brands in the Digital Out of Home (DOOH) space, at a fraction of the cost. Having embarked on a mission to revolutionise the real estate industry by harnessing the power of social media to match agents, buyers and sellers, Flow’s next step allows agents to own space in hotspots across South Africa to promote their brands and individual properties to millions of commuters, every day. “Traditional billboards are booked months in advance, require creative teams to conceptualise and design them, an agency to produce the massive physical print and a media buying...

17Aug

By Nomvula NyandeniNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

Cross-sector collaboration is turning unbanked into banked and can unlock financial inclusion in South Africa

By Nomvula Nyandeni, Business Development Lead at Pay@ Financial inclusion is a key enabler in reducing extreme poverty in Africa. It provides a step forward for consumers in underserved and unbanked markets across the continent, who previously had little or no access to useful, relevant, and affordable financial products that adequately meet their needs – these include transactions, payment solutions, savings and credit facilities, and insurance. This remains a priority in South Africa, where an estimated 23.5%1 of the population remains excluded from the banking system, with large groups of society unable to utilise financial services due to issues surrounding accessibility2. As such, South Africans are still choosing to make use of cash for the majority of purchases. This is despite t...

17Aug

By Virusha SubbanNo Comments

African News, Medicine, South Africa News

World Trade Organization waives intellectual property rights to support vaccine production in Africa

By Virusha Subban, Partner and Head of Indirect Tax, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg The World Trade Organisation (WTO) announced in June an agreement to waive the intellectual property rights that usually apply in the manufacturing of vaccines, to assist the production of COVID-19 vaccines in developing countries. The measures were proposed to the WTO by the South African and Indian governments, with other developing countries supporting the move. The waiver agreement received unanimous support from WTO member countries. The agreement by multilateral parties indicates the level of global support and potential for partnerships to enable vaccine production in Africa. The agreement means that governments in developing countries will be able to authorize the production of much needed vaccines o...