Rowboats and Solar Panels: The Reality of Connecting Rural Africa
Satellite provider SES is scaling managed communications sites across sub‑Saharan Africa, using solar‑powered towers linked to LEO, MEO and GEO satellites. The company handles everything from design to long‑term operation, serving remote villages where roads are impassable and diesel generators are impractical. MTN’s $2.2 billion purchase of IHS Towers highlights a broader consolidation trend, yet African operators still prefer outsourcing infrastructure to specialists like SES. These remote deployments often require equipment to be ferried by rowboat and contend with vandalism and power challenges.
How AI Is Changing the Way We Work
AI is being embedded directly into enterprise tools like Jira and Confluence, turning them into proactive teammates that generate drafts, summarize threads, and suggest actions. By eliminating the blank‑slate friction of starting work, AI cuts the time needed to create...
Domains.co.za Introduces Complete Domain Protection Service
Domains.co.za has launched a Domain Protection add‑on priced at R69 per year, bundling two‑factor authentication, a transfer lock, WHOIS privacy and Anycast DNS in 62 global locations. The package promises a 1 000 % uptime guarantee and discounts on redemption fees for...
How MSB Micro Systems Helps Resellers Deliver Always-On Enterprise APN
Mobile connectivity has become a boardroom priority in Southern Africa, yet a 60% usage gap persists despite widespread coverage. Operators have poured billions into batteries and generators to keep 4G services alive during load‑shedding, underscoring the need for engineered resilience....
Ambassador Bozell Flags Scale of US Tech Investment in South Africa
U.S. Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III highlighted that more than 500 American companies operate in South Africa, collectively employing around 250,000 people. He emphasized the strong presence of tech giants such as Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Google and Visa, which...
Africa Leads the World in Stablecoin Adoption
According to BVNK and YouGov’s Stablecoin Utility Report, 79% of African crypto holders own or have recently held stablecoins—the highest rate globally and well above the 54% average. The survey of 4,658 respondents across 15 African countries shows 95% would...
South Africa’s Energy Future Hinges on Getting Wheeling Right
South Africa’s renewable sector is poised for rapid expansion as regulators prepare a competitive wholesale market, potentially launching in 2026. Central to this growth is energy wheeling, which uses existing transmission lines to move power from private generators to end‑users,...
Eskom Tariffs to Surge on 1 April as Nersa Blunder Hits Home
Nersa has approved an 8.76% electricity tariff increase for Eskom direct customers and a 9.01% rise for municipalities for the 2026/27 financial year, after correcting a major calculation error that originally set rates at 5.36% and 6.19%. The regulator admitted...
Weaver Fintech’s Retail Roots Fade as Fintech Engine Roars
Weaver Fintech, the former Homechoice International, posted a 23% revenue increase to R5.5 billion for FY 2025, propelling its shares above 9% higher. The fintech arm delivered R3.43 billion in revenue, a 36% jump, and accounted for 93% of the group’s trading profit,...
The 90% Renewal Story Behind Cisco Enterprise Agreements
Cisco’s Enterprise Agreement 3.0 is achieving a 90% renewal rate across Sub‑Saharan Africa, signalling strong customer confidence. The model consolidates multiple contracts into a single, predictable spend plan, simplifying licensing and budgeting. Partners like Westcon‑Comstor turn complex renewal data into...
Global Memory Crunch Threatens Laptop Value for Business Buyers
A tightening global DRAM and NAND supply is prompting PC makers to halve RAM in entry‑level business laptops and shrink SSD capacities, even as overall production continues. Manufacturers are opting for lower‑spec configurations rather than raising sticker prices, while many...
Rand Under Severe Pressure
The South African rand weakened to below R16.90 per US dollar, its lowest level since mid‑December, as oil prices surged more than 25% amid the expanding US‑Israeli conflict with Iran. Higher crude costs and heightened global risk aversion pressured the...
Payments Start-Up NjiaPay in R35-Million Seed Funding Round
Payments orchestration startup NjiaPay closed a US$2.1 million (R35 million) seed round led by Newion. The funding will fuel expansion of engineering and commercial teams and deepen integrations across Africa. NjiaPay’s single‑API layer routes transactions to the optimal PSP, reducing friction and...
South Africa Secures World Bank Backing for Grid Overhaul
South Africa has secured a US$350 million World Bank credit‑guarantee facility designed to unlock roughly US$10 billion of private capital for a decade‑long overhaul of its power‑transmission grid. The financing, sourced from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, will be structured...
World Hit by Worst Oil Shock Since the 1970s
Oil prices surged dramatically on Monday, with Brent crude jumping 27% to $117.58 per barrel and U.S. crude climbing 28% to $116.51, marking the steepest daily gain since at least 1988. The spike follows heightened tensions in the Middle East,...
Capitec’s New AI Tool Knows Your Problem Before You Explain It
Capitec has introduced Pulse, an AI‑powered contact‑centre tool that delivers real‑time context about a client’s issue before the call starts. By aggregating payment data, app diagnostics and risk signals, Pulse enables agents to resolve queries faster, cutting handling times by...
MTN mmWave Trials Show Promise for Extending 5G Broadband Reach
MTN South Africa and US‑based Pivotal Commware completed field trials of the Pivot 5G mmWave repeater at three sites in Gauteng and Limpopo. The repeaters redirected and amplified millimetre‑wave signals, delivering download speeds two to five times faster than without...
Policy at the Edge: PCF’s AAA+ Vouchers Deliver Predictable Data Spend
MSB Micro Systems’ Policy Control Function (PCF) introduces voucher‑based wallets that enforce authentication, authorization and accounting at the network edge, delivering near‑real‑time usage caps. The SaaS solution automatically suspends service when a voucher is exhausted and reinstates it upon new...
Eskom to Rationalise AI Pilots as Costs Rise
State-owned utility Eskom is trimming its portfolio of artificial‑intelligence experiments after identifying 220 active pilots across the company. Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Len de Villiers stressed that each AI initiative must be backed by a solid business case and...
Dennis Venter Resigns as iOCO Co-CEO
Dennis Venter has stepped down as co‑CEO and board member of JSE‑listed iOCO with immediate effect, citing other business interests. He and fellow co‑CEO Rhys Summerton, appointed in February 2025, led a turnaround that lifted EBITDA 68 % to R516 million and...
Mustek Warns Chip-Supply Crisis Far From Over
Mustek warned that memory and storage shortages driven by rapid AI infrastructure expansion will persist until 2027, tightening component availability and pricing. The South African distributor said its integrated distribution model helps stabilise supply but margins remain pressured. Mustek also...
South Africa’s Draft AI Policy Headed to Cabinet
South Africa’s draft artificial intelligence policy is set to be discussed by the economic cluster ministerial council next month before moving to a cabinet committee, with a gazette for public comment slated for March. The framework, built on 14 pillars...
Home Affairs to Move All Visa Processing Online
South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs will close all visa desks abroad, routing every application through its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) platform. The rollout, slated for completion by 2029, will extend from tourist visas to study, work and other categories,...
South Africa’s Dynamic Spectrum Breakthrough
Dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) was demonstrated in South Africa’s KwaZulu‑Natal region, delivering 5G speeds up to 200 Mbit/s over more than 4 km in both Ntuzuma and Ixopo. The trials, led by regulator Icasa, CSIR and local Wisps, proved that the 3.8‑4.2 GHz...
Service Is Everyone’s Problem Now – Why the Atlassian Service Collection Matters
South African tech leaders are grappling with rising service expectations while keeping teams lean, and the problem now spans IT, HR, facilities and customer service. Fragmented onboarding and ticket handoffs create visibility gaps that slow resolution. Atlassian’s Service Collection bundles...
How AI Is Rewriting the Rules of Consulting
AI is fundamentally reshaping consulting by replacing lengthy analysis and PowerPoint‑heavy engagements with faster, outcome‑focused projects. Firms are leveraging in‑house and public AI tools to accelerate insight generation, while clients increasingly use the same technology, shifting value from “what is”...
Customers Have New Expectations. Is Your CX Ready?
Customer experience is evolving as technology delivers practical benefits through better design, integration, and intent. Modern voice bots, unified CX platforms, and structured knowledge bases enable faster, more consistent service while reducing pressure on agents. Proactive, AI‑first approaches shift support...
South Africa’s Cybersecurity Challenge Is Not a Tool Problem
South African enterprises are pouring significant budgets into cybersecurity tools, yet breach rates keep rising. The core issue is execution: security teams are overwhelmed by data and lack the capacity to turn visibility into action. Unified platforms like Rapid7’s Command...
IOCO Goes Desert Storming with Saudi Arabia Cloud Expansion
Johannesburg‑listed iOCO is expanding its cloud practice in Saudi Arabia through a partnership with Amazon Web Services. The move targets Saudi government agencies and enterprises as the kingdom pushes its Vision 2030 digital modernization agenda. iOCO will invest in local delivery...
Andrew Baker Is New CIO of Capitec
Andrew Baker has been promoted from chief technology officer to chief information officer at Capitec, succeeding Wim de Bruyn who led the role since 2014. Baker joins the CIO post after four years driving Capitec’s migration to Amazon Web Services and...
BCX CEO Jonas Bogoshi to Retire After Seven Years at the Helm
BCX chief executive Jonas Bogoshi will retire after seven years, with long‑time Telkom veteran Hasnain Motlekar stepping in as acting CEO on 1 March 2026. The transition comes as BCX reports a 5.9% year‑to‑date revenue decline and a 9.3% drop in the...
