Thursday, November 21African Digital Business Magazine

Tag: South Africa

Fintech’s transformative potential: Empower customers through self-education
Fintech, Malawi News, South Africa News

Fintech’s transformative potential: Empower customers through self-education

The most powerful thing a fintech can do is enable its customers to educate themselves, says Mukuru CEO, Andy Jury. He says formalised financial education obviously plays a crucial role in a fintech’s business, but customers that trust and repeatedly use a new product or service, such as a digital store of money, go through a natural learning process and are then more comfortable being exposed to more sophisticated products.  Mukuru, which is a next-generation financial services provider, started out as a remittance company and has evolved into a platform with a suite of different financial products and services. Jury says that by empowering its customers to teach themselves, Mukuru has enabled many thousands of unbanked and underserved people to access products and services from which th...
South Africa News

Pan-African Rhythms: Uniting the Continent Through Music

by Katherine McVicker, Founder of Arts Connect Africa and Director of Music Works International In a few short months, it will be 38 years since Paul Simon’s seventh studio album, "Graceland,” was released. The album won the album of the year Grammy in 1987 and became (and still remains) Simon’s bestselling album of all time. This success was not just because of its eclectic mix of genres such as pop, rock, acapella, Zydeco and South African music genres like isicathamiya and mbaqanga, but also because it was a political statement, particularly because it came at a period when western musical artists and organizations had decided to impose a boycott of South African art and music because of the country’s apartheid policy.  But more importantly, the album launched the international career...
Local couriers face unprecedented challenges as Amazon, Shein and Temu disrupt SA’s e-commerce market
South Africa News

Local couriers face unprecedented challenges as Amazon, Shein and Temu disrupt SA’s e-commerce market

Competition amongst local couriers has increased dramatically with the emergence of e-commerce giants, like Amazon, Temu and Shein into the South African market impacting both the micro and macro environments and leading to a greater demand and delivery volume. South Africa’s e-commerce market is expected to reach US$16.3 billion by 2030, with an annual growth rate of 15%, according to a RationalStat report.[1] Another factor contributing to this exponential growth of online shopping is the surge in Gen Z’s shopping habits: with a whopping 98%[2] of tech-savvy Gen Z owning smartphones, 32% of them shop online at least once daily (compared to 25% of millennials, 15% of Gen X and 7% of baby boomers)[3].  Gen Z, the digitally native generation born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, are ...
Uniworld Announces 2025 Uniworld University Course
Africa Travel, South Africa News

Uniworld Announces 2025 Uniworld University Course

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises has announced its new Uniworld University course for 2025, now available in its online travel agents education program. The course details what’s to come in 2025 for the luxury river cruise line, including five new itineraries, inspired land extensions, more ‘MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®’ Experiences and a brand-new ship setting sail next year, the S.S. Elisabeth. "We're committed to equipping our trusted travel agents with the most up-to-date and comprehensive information as we continue to enhance our portfolio," says Kelly Jackson, MD TTC EMEA. "Our agents are wonderful partners to us, and we’re excited to welcome their clients onboard for another year of one-of-a-kind, bucket list adventures.” Whether a new member or a registered user, agents who take the course...
Events, South Africa News

Big 5 Construct South Africa 2024: The gateway to the country’s construction sector

The South African construction market is valued at $25.5 billion and is expected to grow at an average annual rate of over 3% from 2024 to 2027 Registrations are open for the 11th edition of Big 5 Construct South Africa, the largest construction industry event in the country, which runs from 4-6 June 2024 at the Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg Over 200 exhibitors from 20+ countries showcase products & services South Africa's construction sector is projected to grow thanks to government’s National Development Plan 2023, with numerous mega projects happening in all nine provinces; projects such as Mtentu Bridge, which is set to be Africa’s tallest bridge, the High-Speed Rail (HSR) framework and many others.  The South African construction market is valued at $...
South Africa News

A Steep Climb Ahead as South Africa Races to Delist from FATF Greylisting

An article by: Dr.Rufaro Nyakatawa, Business Development Consultant at Jersey Finance and contributions from, Milton Osborn, Director Funds and Corporate at Osborn Wellsted Paulsen (OWP) and the Provenance compliance team. It has been a year since South Africa (“SA”) was grey listed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and under a year shy of having to demonstrate its improvements in bolstering anti-money laundering and financial crimes measures. And for a country widely considered to be the most advanced African economy, the changes made between now and then could spell an opportunity not only to improve its tainted public perception but crucially, enhance its already world-class financial systems. However, achieving that will be a steep climb. According to Co-Founder of a Globa...
South Africa News

South African consumers feel the big squeeze: 99% have changed their FMCG shopping habits to save money

44% of South African consumers say they are worse off financially now than a year ago 65% say they would purchase a product that has innovated to make it as affordable as possible  According to NIQ, 44% of South African consumers feel they are in a worse financial position this year compared to a year ago. Of those respondents, 82% say that increased costs of living are to blame for their recent financial struggles, up from 76% a year ago. Nearly two-thirds (62%) state they are worse off due to the economic slowdown, up from 57% a year ago. Half (50%) of respondents report concerns about job security, up from 43% a year. Some 27% blame ongoing Covid-19 disruptions and setbacks for their financial situation, down from 45% a year back. These findings appeared in “Consumer Outlook 2024...
That EV Hypercar with a Tailpipe… Sounds Alright!
South Africa News, Tech

That EV Hypercar with a Tailpipe… Sounds Alright!

The Ararkis Sandstorm, a rare edition electric Hypercar with South African roots, blew through an online cloud of controversy last week when the internet erupted over the ‘tailpipes' found on the car’s rear end. The Ararkis Automobili team was quick to point out that it is external speakers not exhaust pipes. “The design elements resembling exhaust pipes serve as sound exits for our Quantum Harmonix system,” said Emily Parker, head of PR. “This goes beyond basic sound replication, using acoustic technology to authentically reproduce the dynamic experience of a V12 engine within an electric powertrain.”  The company claims that the innovation of the Quantum Harmonix system was a potential game-changer for EV enthusiasts who miss the roar of a gas-powered engine. Ararkis Automobili, hel...
France number one destination for SA travellers wanting snow holidays
Africa Travel, South Africa News

France number one destination for SA travellers wanting snow holidays

From November to April each year, travellers from South African embrace the evolving trends in Alpine destinations, transforming the once-elusive snow holiday into an immersive experience for adventure seekers and winter enthusiasts. With this in mind, pioneers in all-inclusive holidays and leaders in worldwide snow holidays, Club Med Southern Africa have just released their South African Ski Report for the 2023/2024 season. The report was compiled following a comprehensive survey capturing insights to discern key trends in South Africa's snow holiday preferences, expectations, and booking profiles. The geographical distribution of respondents revealed that 45% were from Gauteng, 30.7% from the Western Cape, 14.3% from KwaZulu Natal, and 10% from other regions. The skier profile highlig...
South Africa News, Tech

Retail is in the midst of the biggest technology paradigm shift yet: Insights from NRF 2024 New York

By Peter Ludi, Business Development Executive at redPanda Software  While the environment for South African consumers will likely improve gradually over the course of the second half of 2024 off the back of better-than-expected inflation figures and an easing of global price pressures, consumer spend will likely remain constrained. This reality means retailers will need to stay ahead of competition to compete for valuable customer spend. As the recent National Retail Federation: Retail’s Big Trade Show held in New York recently proved, the world is entering the digital age in the true sense of the word at breakneck speed, and retailers around the world have no choice but to react, deploy and iterate. The conference, with more than 40,000 attendees, 1000 exhibitors and 450 speakers, is a...