Browsing: South Africa

How artificial intelligence will impact the South African workforce. www.theexchange.africa

CyborgIntell Africa says it will work closely with financial institutions and other enterprises to help them rapidly develop, deploy and operationalize AI applications at scale.

A statement says the CyborgIntell platform addresses the key challenges companies face in the data science/machine learning lifecycle – from data selection and modelling, and operationalizing AI, to managing risk and governance.

“AI is a powerful and transformative technology, yet many companies across the world find it difficult to unlock its full potential. More than a third (36%) of organizations take more than 90 days to deploy data science machine learning (ML) projects, while the failure rate of such initiatives is estimated to be 85% across industries,” said McLachlan, CyborgIntell managing director.…

Growthpoint signals recovery in JSE listed property sector

Growthpoint Properties Limited published its financial results for 2021 on the 15th of September 2022.

The real estate investment trust (REIT) is the largest such listed entity on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and is reliable indicator for the sector as a whole. The real estate sector in South Africa as in the rest of the world was one of the biggest casualties of the COVID pandemic. REITs on the JSE were not spared.

The COVID pandemic created a perfect storm for property owners in South Africa. When COVID spread to the rest of the world after beginning in Wuhan in China in 2019 two things happened that adversely affected the REIT sector on the JSE including Growthpoint.

  • Growthpoint Properties Limited which is the largest REIT listed on the JSE announced its results on the 15th of September 2022.
  • Results for the REIT reflected an improved operating environment for
South African Space Agency to add 20 more antennas to its Hartebeesthoek Array of Antennas. www.theexchange.africa

The agreement allows Liquid to leverage the Ka-band capabilities of the Eutelsat Konnect satellite to provide broadband Internet services to businesses in Uganda, South Sudan, and the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Liquid becomes the first ground gateway provider for Eutelsat Konnect in Sub-Saharan Africa, broadening broadband coverage and creating new business opportunities in Africa. It is Eutelsat’s long-standing partner.

Under a long-term contract that was renewed and extended in 2021, it operates the Ku-band resources of the EUTELSAT 7B satellite to provide VSAT services in sub-Saharan Africa.…

Mike Teke South Africa's charismatic mining tycoon

The remainder of Anglo’s coal assets were demerged from the group and bundled into a new company called Thungela Resources Limited. This strategy in coal mining circles is called “mine to mouth” and is being continued by Seriti. Eskom, South Africa’s power utility, has an agreement where its thermal power stations are fed with coal from the company’s Kriel and New Largo mines. These mines are adjacent to the power stations.

Seriti Resources (the company’s name is from the native Sotho language and means integrity) was formed in 2017. Mike Teke, through his investment vehicle Masimong Holdings Group owns 25% of Seriti Resources.

The remainder of the shares in the energy company is owned by Sandile Zungu’s Zungu Investments Company, Thebe Investments Corporation, and Community Investment Holdings.…

Brazil's Ebanx expands into Africa with an eye on mobile money. www.theexchange.africa

Much like it did in South America, EBANX wants to centre its strategy on collaborations and partnerships with global merchants. The company processes payments for Uber, Airbnb, and over 1,000 digital companies throughout Latin America.

In a statement, the CEO and co-founder, João Del Valle, explained that although Africa’s digital economy is still nascent, its exciting potential motivated his company’s decision. “Africa’s fast-growing digital economy is only in its early days, and it’s projected to grow up and to the right for the next few decades. Together with local players, EBANX will be a catalyst to realize the many benefits of a digital economy even faster.”

“Expanding our solutions to African countries speaks directly to EBANX’s mission of creating access, and having Pipefy as a merchant makes this moment even more special to us, expanding solutions and services throughout regions full of opportunities,” Paula Bellizia, the President of Global Payments …

Why Australia is a top mining destination

The answer is in the law and the governance models that these countries approach. The way in which the governments of those countries approach the mining industry is imperative.

In South Africa, the natural resource curse is more pronounced in the sense that while the mining sector has made a few individuals fabulously wealthy, inequality in that country has meant that while the richest of the rich get richer, the poor get poorer.

How can governments approach the mining sector to ensure its development leads to broad-based and shared prosperity for all? The answer is the same. The answer is in the respective governments and the legal frameworks for the mining industries of those countries.…

AWS opens new offices in Johannesburg, South Africa. www.theexchange.africa

In 2020, Amazon launched the Africa (Cape Town) Region, the first AWS Infrastructure Region in South Africa. However, plans for the construction of a new Cape Town-based Amazon Africa headquarters were blocked earlier this year by the Cape Town High Court as Amazon had allegedly not gone through the proper process to acquire the land.

Meanwhile, retailer Pick n Pay migrated its entire on-premise information technology infrastructure to Amazon Web Services (AWS).

In a statement, AWS says Pick n Pay worked with Lemongrass Consulting, an AWS Premier consulting partner with migration and SAP Consulting Competencies, to migrate its on-premises SAP environment to AWS and implement a modern SAP HANA platform.

According to the US-based cloud computing giant, moving to the cloud will enable Pick n Pay to streamline its operations and modernize the supply chain network for its stores, develop new digital customer experiences in omnichannel grocery, and expand into …

BRICS nations championing the de-dollarization of international trade.

The current large-scale transition of the global economy, principally triggered by the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia as well as the standoff between China and the United States, creates a multipolar world map with new centres of power.

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, also known as the BRICS nations, have enhanced industrial and financial might and are pushing for a seat at the global new power axis table. These nations are essential participants in international markets for products, services, and money, having a considerable, sometimes decisive, effect on how the global economy operates.…

Prosus picks up the remaining stake in Brazil's iFood. www.theexchange.africa

Global consumer Internet Company Prosus, which is majority owned by South African Internet Company Naspers, disclosed that it has reached an agreement to buy the remaining 33.3 percent stake in iFood. With a market share of more than 80 percent in the country’s food delivery market, iFood is a Brazilian online food delivery service.

The stake was bought from minority shareholder Just Eat Holding Limited for €1.5 billion in cash plus contingent consideration of up to €300 million. Following the transaction, Prosus and its affiliate company, a Brazilian investor in technology companies, Movile will fully own iFood.

  • Prosus, which is majority-owned by South Africa internet group Naspers, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the remaining 33.3 percent stake in iFood.
  • The stake was bought from minority shareholder Just Eat Holding Limited for €1.5 billion in cash plus contingent consideration of up to €300 million.
  • Naspers has
Transnet crisis opportunities for financiers

Transnet Freight Rail, the South African rail logistics giant has few admirers lately. It has disappointed nearly all who rely on it to haul goods from where they are produced to where they are needed.

Infrastructure is critical for the flow of goods and services in an economy. Countries that have efficient infrastructure tend to find that goods and services flow relatively easily and, in a cost-efficient manner relative to their peers whose infrastructure is not in the same condition.

Where infrastructure is not optimally developed there, tend to be bottlenecks and constrictions that hamper the flow of goods and services in an economy. This is so important because you can almost predict how well an economy can and will perform from the state of its infrastructure.

Logistics are central to economic activity anywhere. This component of a country’s infrastructure needs to be in tip-top shape to support the businesses …