technology news
53% of South Africans are Threatened by Job Automation, Research Shows
53% of South Africans believe that the risk of having their job automated has increased over the last year – more than the global average of 41% – according to a new study from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and The Network. Additionally, 31% of workers in the digitisation and automation fields have a significantly lower perceived risk of automation in South Africa than 46% globally says Rudi van Blerk, Principal and Recruiting Director at BCG. In South Africa, the interest in developing new skills is highest among those in the early- and midcareer phases as 40% of respondents are reporting a negative impact on their work due to the effect of COVID-19 on employment, including a decrease in working time or being laid off, versus the average of 36% of global respondents. Locally, highly educa...
Clubhouse is Finally Working on an Android App
Image sourced from Daily Express Clubhouse has become a wildly popular iOS app across the world. And now the invitation-only audio-chat company appears to be working on the Android version of its platform. “From the earliest days, we’ve wanted to build Clubhouse for everyone. With this in mind, we are thrilled to begin work on our Android app soon, and to add more accessibility and localization features so that people all over the world can experience Clubhouse in a way that feels native to them,” reads an official blog post. The company goes on to say that it’s secured a new round in funding, led by Andrew Chen at a16z, who also led our Series A – and it is with these funds that it will begin building the Android version. Is the Clubhouse App Safe to Use? Clubhouse appears to be a reflect...
How Do Technology Brands Take Advantage of Content Marketing?
Most technology businesses are well aware that in order to survive and thrive in today’s ultra-competitive environment, a certain amount of their budget must be dedicated to advertising online. The ideal scenario would be for an IT company to advertise on some of the top online technology news outlets so their message can be seen by millions of eyeballs every single day. This massive exposure would enable practically any brand to quickly gain recognition and traction. Popular media outlets – like ITNewsAfrica.com, for example – are prime candidates for online advertising, but the obvious factor that keeps most businesses from doing so is the perceived exorbitant expense. There are many content marketing benefits regardless of whether you are marketing to businesses (B2B) ...
Apple iMac Officially Available for PreOrder
The all-new Apple iMac is officially available for preorder. The device features a compact design – 11.5 millimetres thin – enabled by the M1 chip. “M1 is a gigantic leap forward for the Mac, and today we’re excited to introduce the all-new iMac, the first Mac designed around the breakthrough M1 chip,” says Greg Joswiak, SVP of Worldwide Marketing at Apple. “With its striking design in seven stunning colours [green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver], its immersive 4.5K Retina display, the best camera, mics, and speakers ever in a Mac, and Touch ID, combined with the amazing performance of M1 and the power of macOS Big Sur, the new iMac takes everything people love about iMac to an entirely new level.” The new iMac also includes a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, studio-quality ...
Airtel Africa Names New Group CEO
Image sourced from Khusoko – East African Markets Airtel Africa has appointed Segun Ogunsanya as the group’s new CEO – effective from 1 October 2021. He is taking over from Raghu Mandava who led the telco for the last five years. “We are delighted to appoint Segun Ogunsanya as the Group’s next Chief Executive Officer. He has displayed significant drive and energy in turning around the Nigeria business by focusing on network modernisation, distribution, and operational efficiency. It is this commitment, together with his industry experience, strategic vision, constant customer focus and proven record of delivery that will enable him to continue to deliver our strategic objectives and to lead the Group in the next stages of its development,” says Airtel Chairman, Sunil Bharti Mittal. He goes...
NETSCOUT Visibility is Enhanced by AWS Expanded Support for Virtual Private Cloud Traffic Mirroring
Risna Steenkamp, General Manager: ESM Division at Networks Unlimited Africa Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world’s largest provider of on-demand cloud computing platforms, has now expanded its Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC) Traffic Mirroring to support additional select non-Nitro Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instance types. As a result of this expansion, NETSCOUT is enabled to provide end-to-end visibility for security and service assurance of even more applications and services that are used in AWS. NETSCOUT, a leading global provider of service assurance, security and business analytics, is distributed throughout Africa by Networks Unlimited. Risna Steenkamp, General Manager: ESM Division at value-added distributor Networks Unlimited, explains, “Nitro is the underlying pla...
Is ICT the Solution to Unemployment in Africa?
Sourced from IDG Connect The socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is especially hard-hitting for younger generations in Africa. The youth are faced with multiple challenges including disruptions to education, training and on-the-job learning. They are further impacted by employment and income losses due to layoffs and reduced working hours. Despite massive obstacles, the employment crisis should be an opportunity for immense transformation. The pandemic has shown that digital technology is now vital for every economy, greatly increasing the potential for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to solve growing problems of unemployment and skills development across the continent. However, the success of countries’ responses to this crisis, the sustainability of the recove...
vivo Partners with Jambo Shoppee to Expand Footprint in Kenya
vivo has partnered with Kenyan online retailer Jambo Shoppee to increase its footprint across the East African country. According to a Master Card study on consumer spending in February 2021, it revealed that 79% of consumers in Kenya are shopping more online since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the partnership, vivo is confident that the online visibility of its products will increase – giving potential customers a wider range of choices. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_454.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_454.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “The Kenyan Smartphone market offers a favourable competitive landscape; with consumers considering online purchasing options, this partnership will give our users a wide range of choice and will see them enjoy the best mobile phones ...
Here’s How Many Mobile Users in Kenya and Nigeria are Affected by Stalkerware
Stalkerware affects one out of every 100 mobile users in Kenya and Nigeria, according to Kaspersky Research. The same report reveals that similar malware impacts every four out of 100 South Africans. “Even though these numbers might seem low, especially when it comes to stalkerware, it bears mentioning that this form of attack is focused on specific individuals,” says Lehan van den Heever, Enterprise Cyber Security Advisor for Kaspersky in Africa. “So, unlike general malware that is distributed on a massive scale, stalkerware is a more personal crime that has life and death consequences for the individual affected, for example, a perpetrator can track down their estranged partner with ill intentions, or human trafficking rings targeting children.” Amongst other things, stalkerware can enab...
New Partnership Allows South African Uber Drivers to Become Vehicle Owners
Sourced from CNet. Uber has once again partnered with flexible car ownership company – Moove – to give Uber Go drivers the chance to become vehicle owners at an affordable rate. This partnership replicates successful launches in both Nigeria and Ghana. Drivers on the Uber Go platform now have access to brand new Toyota Agyas from as low as R1,599 per week for Flexi Car Weekly Rental and R1,950 per week for Drive to Own deals, including zero deposit, free maintenance and free insurance. “As we recover, we know we need to continue to offer solutions that respond to consumers who are now more price-sensitive than ever,” says Frans Hiemstra, GM of Uber Sub-Saharan Africa. “We also need to continue to offer drivers quality, compact and cost-efficient vehicle choices that will better help e...
Absa Group Appoints New Chief Risk Officer
Absa has appointed Deon Raju as the new Group Chief Risk Officer – effective 1 June 2021. Raju is currently Absa Group Treasurer, primarily responsible for the liquidity risk, funding, capital, and non-traded market risks of the Group. He has been with Absa for more than 20 years, having held roles including in Enterprise Risk, Finance, Investment Banking, Credit Portfolio Management and Global Markets. He is a seasoned banking professional with deep institutional knowledge of the Group, as well extensive and diversified banking experience in business, finance and risk management. Raju is a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Financial Analyst. He holds a BCom (Honours) from the University of Natal and is currently completing an MSc in Finance at the University of Michigan (Dearborn). “De...
Top Tech African Entities Collaborate to Boost Digital Transformation for 2021 and Beyond
“To inspire people, don’t show them your superpowers. Show them theirs -” Alexander den Heijer. Africa Tech Week advocates are setting out to do just that. The event is the golden opportunity to showcase what’s hot in tech on the African continent – a platform to demonstrate to the rest of the world Africa’s superpowers. Welcome to the ‘new frontier,’ Africa Tech Week, created in Africa, for Africans, by Africans. The event is taking place on the 5th and 6th of May, and we are expecting an excess of 3000 attendees. Everyone is aware that Africa has faced challenges, and it is together that we can solve them. Africa is a hotbed of potential in terms of measuring and testing concepts and ideas. What we lack in capital, we make up for in passion, resilience and a ‘can do’ attitude. Afri...
