Home » Top Stories » Page 127

Top Stories

MTN Subscribers Can Now Make Payments Via WhatsApp

Sourced from TheTechieGuy (https://thetechieguy.com/) MTN has joined forces with Ozow so that subscribers can purchase data and airtime directly through WhatsApp – an industry-first in South Africa. “Giving customers the ability to transact seamlessly on WhatsApp is a gamechanger in South Africa. It provides a seamless way to stay connected, in touch and in tune, while being simple and secure. Most importantly it will help improve financial and digital inclusion and enhance access for consumers,” says Jacqui O’Sullivan, Executive of Corporate Affairs at MTN South Africa. The service is provided within the MTN Chat platform, which was launched in 2019, to enable customers to initiate the purchase of airtime and data bundles within their WhatsApp chat. Making actual payments via WhatsAp...

Spotify Launches New Premium Offers in South Africa

Sourced from Forbes. /* custom css */ .tdi_4_6bf.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_6bf.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Spotify is launching new offers for its free and first-time South African users to enjoy the benefits of a Premium account. The music-streaming platform is offering three months free to eligible free and first time-users for the Individual Premium plan. For those who are missing their Individual Premium plan and cancelled for one reason or another, Spotify Premium is offering three months for just R59.99. Spotify Premium gives subscribers an audio streaming experience with ad-free music listening, and on-demand audio anytime. On Spotify, users get access to more than 70 million tracks and more than 2.6 million podcast titles that include topics such as c...

Huawei to Launch FreeBuds 4i in Kenya

/* custom css */ .tdi_4_aef.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_aef.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Huawei’s latest addition to the FreeBuds series, the FreeBuds 4i, is set to launch in Kenya. The all-new True Wireless Stereo Bluetooth earphones offer users high-quality sound with long-lasting battery life, active noise cancellation and intuitive controls. With the help of customized internal components such as its 10mm dynamic, the Huawei FreeBuds 4i is capable of providing users with high-quality audio with balanced sound across various frequency ranges. Audio output is tuned professionally and the wind noise reduction structure ensures crystal clear audio at all times, even in noisy environments. The earphones also offer users 10 hours of battery life on a single charge with...

Microsoft Teases Plans for the “Next Generation of Windows”

/* custom css */ .tdi_4_617.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_617.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella has revealed that he is testing “the next generation of Windows” which is expected to be one of the biggest updates to Windows. “Soon we will share one of the most significant updates to Windows of the past decade to unlock greater economic opportunity for developers and creators. I’ve been self-hosting it over the past several months, and I’m incredibly excited about the next generation of Windows,” says Nadella. “Our promise to you is this: we will create more opportunity for every Windows developer today and welcome every creator who is looking for the most innovative, new, open platform to build and distribute and monetize applications. We look fo...

MTN Completes NLD Fibre Cable Project in South Africa

MTN has officially completed its Coastal National Long Distance (NLD) fibre cable project. The fibre route starts in Cape Town, and runs along the N2, moves through Gqeberha and East London and then on to Durban. It is expected to offer an exciting alternative to existing fibre networks and older, slower options and covers an impressive 1,822 kms while supporting several other sites. “The project gives MTN an opportunity to provide additional and significant capacity between coastal cities and the rest of SA, ensuring the digital world is brought one step closer for many more people,” says Giovanni Chiarelli, CIO at MTN SA.  The NLD 5/6 project commenced over 3 years ago, constructed by Liquid Telecoms (Liquid Intelligent Technologies), with MTN as the key anchor investor. Apart ...

Huawei to Launch New Android Alternative HarmonyOS in June

/* custom css */ .tdi_3_aaa.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_aaa.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Huawei has confirmed that it will launch its new smartphone operating system (OS) HarmonyOS in June. The Chinese tech company told Global Times that the OS has been in use for the last two years on a number of Huawei watches, laptops and home appliances but it will now formally support smartphones. Huawei expects the number of devices equipped with HarmonyOS to reach 300 million by the end of 2021, including more than 200 million Huawei devices. According to TechRadar, HarmonyOS is related to, but not exactly the same as, the Huawei Mobile Services (HMS), replacements to Google’s apps that the company is working on in an effort to work pass the Huawei ban. “These are apps th...

Telkom Group Records Growth in Mobile Business

Telkom has released its financial results – ending 31 March 2021. The telco saw the lion’s share of its income made up by “next-generation technologies” like its mobile business. Growth, driven by the mobile business, saw EBITDA grow 11.7% to R11 973 million, with EBITDA margin expanding by 2.8 ppts to 27.7%. Despite a challenging environment, Group revenue grew 0.4% to R43 222 million. Mobile business revenue growth now more than offsets the anticipated structural decline in fixed-voice revenue and revenue pressures from COVID-19. The results showed a change in revenue mix, with legacy fixed-voice income now contributing only 15% to the business. Notwithstanding the challenging trading environment, the Group delivered underlying earnings growth of 88.1% to R2 622 million, growing BEPS and...

Airtel Kenya Joins forces with MyDawa to Provide Fast Access To Medicine

Sourced from Comms MEA Airtel Kenya has partnered with ePharmacy platform, MyDawa, so that subscribers can have easy and fast access to their medication. According to Gadgets Africa, Airtel subscribers will be able to log on to the MyDawa app or website without incurring additional data charges. They will also be able to use Airtel Money to pay for medicine, health, wellness, personal care and other essential items. “This is a great partnership that will increase the access to healthcare products in Kenya. We are happy to partner with Airtel, one of the top telecommunications service providers in the country, to ensure that their subscribers are able to access quality medical products in a convenient and affordable way,” says Tony Wood, MD of MyDawa. “Free access to MyDawa’s services with ...

Flutterwave Partners with Amole to Expand Remittances in Ethiopia

Image sourced from Techpoint Africa /* custom css */ .tdi_3_e04.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_e04.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Flutterwave has partnered with Amole to facilitate money transfers into Ethiopia. Through this agreement, Amole Wallet users will be able to send money to bank accounts and cash pickup locations at over 2,500 locations across the country. This news comes at a time when many remittance services in Ethiopia today are seen as too expensive, with manual paperwork and delays making it challenging and time-consuming. The partnership is expected to solve these problems by providing instant delivery of funds to the receiver at no fee, with more control of where and how to send money, including transparency from a regulatory standpoint. Speaking on...

Salesforce Joins DTF2021 as a Diamond Sponsor

/* custom css */ .tdi_3_961.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_961.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } The highly anticipated Digital Transformation Forum 2021 is just a few weeks away. On the 29th of June, DTF2021 aims to bring together a plethora of local and international visionaries across a spectrum of industries — all sharing their first-hand knowledge of real-world digital transformation journeys. At this digital summit, attendees can expect to collaborate on the reinvention of processes, products, and technologies enabling digital transformation alongside leading customer relationship management solutions company and Diamond Sponsor, Salesforce.  Founded in 1999, Salesforce enables companies of every size and industry to take advantage of powerful technologies—cloud, ...

Founder and CEO of TikTok Parent Company ByteDance to Step Down

Image sourced from Business Tech Africa /* custom css */ .tdi_3_462.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_462.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } ByteDance has announced that its co-founder and CEO, Zhang Yiming, would step down from his role by the end of 2021. Liang Rubo, co-founder of ByteDance, is expected to be the new CEO. “Since the beginning of this year, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to better drive real long-term breakthroughs, which cannot simply rely on steady, but incremental, progress,” writes Yiming. He goes on to say that after several months of thinking about this, he has come to the conclusion that transitioning out of the role of CEO, with all of the related day-to-day responsibilities, would enable him to have greater impact on longer-term initiative...

Uber Offers Discounted Trips To and From COVID-19 Vaccination Sites

Sourced from CNet. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_e0c.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_e0c.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } With South Africa moving into Phase 2 of its vaccine rollout programme, Uber has offered 10 million free or discounted trips to and from vaccination sites so that nobody misses their opportunity to get the vaccine. In partnership with UNESCO, the ride-hailing company says that despite the pandemic’s tragic toll, businesses and communities should continue to band together to show support to make sure all South African’s can share equally in the recovery. “There’s a lot of effort behind every vaccination. We’re grateful to essential workers and NGOs who are working tirelessly to ensure South Africa moves closer to overall recovery by getting vaccinated. We look f...