Top Stories
Bitcoin could Rank as the 8th Largest Bank Globally, Research Says
If Bitcoin were a bank, it would rank as the eighth largest bank globally with a market cap of $169.01 billion, according to data gathered by Buy Shares. Bitcoin continues to lead the cryptocurrency sector towards mainstream adoption on a global scale by directly competing with traditional players like banks. The asset’s high cap correlates with its impressive 27.18% ROI on a Year-to-Date basis. Bitcoin beats traditional markets in ROI From the data, JP Morgan Chase’s cap of $433.5 billion, makes it the biggest bank in the world. Bitcoin would also rank lower than the Bank of America with a market cap of $306 billion. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_52f.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_52f.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } ICBC ranks third with a capitalization of $290.9 billion follo...
Huawei Launches HMS Core 5.0 for Developers
Sourced from Getty Images. Huawei has officially launched Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) Core 5.0 for global developers on the official developer website. HMS Core 5.0 introduces services in seven main areas including App Services, Graphics, Media, AI, Smart Device, Security, and System for developers to make the most of Huawei’s “chip-device-cloud” capabilities. HMS Core, integrated with Huawei’s chip-device-cloud capabilities, provides core mobile services for developers. When HMS Core 4.0 was launched back on 15 January 2020, it not only improved existing HMS Core services such as the Push Kit and In-App Purchases, but also introduced new services including the Map Kit, Machine Learning (ML) Kit, Scan Kit, WisePlay DRM, and more. With HMS Core 5.0, more than 20 additional capabilities – s...
Telkom to Transition Customers from Copper-based Internet to Fibre
Image sourced from My Broadband Telkom has announced that it is transitioning its South African customers from copper-based internet to new-generation fibre technology in all fibre-ready regions. The telecommunications provider says that it is currently hard at work upgrading its customers from copper ADSL internet to fibre-based internet. This migration applies to all customers residing in fibre-ready regions around the country where the current DSL infrastructure overlaps with the FTTH footprint. Telkom notes that fibre promises a significant improvement in users’ connectivity experience and assures customers that they will receive the support that they need to undergo the upgrade with minimal stress and disruption. “With technology advancing so rapidly, we want to help keep our customer...
Vodacom and Alipay Partner to Create a New Super-App
Vodacom and Alipay have partnered to create a super app that’ll allow South African consumers to manage their entire lives and business through their smartphone – which includes playing music, paying for morning coffees, listening to podcasts, sending money to family, paying utility bills, shopping online and ordering new stock for their businesses. According to the companies, the app will not only offer a stellar digital customer experience but will also bring to life a market place of goods and services tailored to the South African customer needs. This will be underpinned by a progressive digital payments ecosystem designed to serve both the banked and unbanked parts of the population. Customers and merchants will all find each other on one affordable platform, operated by Vodacom ...
Bolt Introduces New ‘Low-Cost’ Service in South Africa
Ride-hailing platform Bolt has launched a new low-cost category called Bolt Go – which is aiming to be the cheapest ride-hailing service in South Africa, with fares approximately 20% less than regular Bolt rides. The addition of the new low-cost category hopes to significantly lower the barriers to entry into the South African ride-hailing industry by empowering owners and drivers of hatchback cars to access the Bolt platform and earn an income. “Smaller hatchback cars are less expensive to purchase, have lower maintenance costs, and are more fuel-efficient to operate than Bolt’s regular larger sedan cars,” says Gareth Taylor, country manager for Bolt South Africa. “These lower operational costs also enable Bolt Go fares to be significantly more affordable.” The new more affordable service...
Uber Launches an Intercity Bus Service in Egypt
Uber has launched an intercity Bus service in Egypt – the first country globally to roll out this service – with the aim of connecting cities with the Uber app. The launch comes as part of Uber’s continuous efforts to adapt its technology to build a wide range of products that meet the needs of local markets. “We are honoured to witness another global product launch from Egypt, especially following the last few tense months across the country and the world. Egypt is an innovation hub and a fantastic environment for testing new products,” says Ahmed Khalil, GM of Uber Egypt. “By leveraging Uber’s technology, the new intercity service will introduce a convenient setting to move users between governorates. As we continue to invest in the Egyptian market, we remain committed to broadening...
Rain Launches the First Standalone 5G Network in Africa
Image sourced from MyBroadband Rain has rolled-out Africa’s first commercial standalone 5G network – powered by Huawei. The South African data-only provider currently covers suburbs in Cape Town including Sea Point, Claremont, Goodwood, Bellville, Durbanville and the CBD. “Standalone 5G will further improve 5G network performance with increased uplink rate, lower latency, and improved reliability, ushering in high-end cloud VR and cloud gaming services, more diversified enterprise and home broadband services,” says Khaya Dlanga, Rain CMO. “Standalone 5G will demonstrate how 5G is powerful in realising South Africa’s 4IR future. Powered by Huawei’s global leading 5G solutions, our Standalone 5G will enable the industry’s digital transformation in the future, such as smart healthcare, smart ...
Airtel Africa Expands Network with WorldRemit
Airtel Africa and WorldRemit have partnered to expand operations to Rwanda – which means Airtel Money is now available in DRC, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi and Niger. Airtel Money enables mobile money users to send local and international money transfers, make utility payments, pay merchants, save money in their mobile wallets, purchase airtime and access a range of mobile financial products. WorldRemit will enable customers from across the globe to receive money into Airtel Money wallets. Users can use the free mobile app; choose Mobile Money and Airtel as the operator, then follow the prompts. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_195.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_195.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “The connection to more Mobile Money accounts through Airtel Africa allows us to ...
The Impact of EduTech in South Africa
COVID-19 has shone the spotlight on the importance of technology, especially within the realm of education. When schools around the country were forced to shut their doors, teachers and students needed to adapt to the prospect of continuing their learning online. While some thrived in these conditions, others struggled through. It became evident that not only is there a lack of practical resources available in South Africa’s less privileged communities, but also a lack of tech-related skills amongst South Africa’s youth. Ultimately, it is clear that the country has a way to go before overcoming many of the hurdles standing in the way of fully embracing the power of EduTech. However, the reality is that the use of technology in education, and all other aspects of daily life, is no longer op...
Only 20% of the Cybersecurity Workforce is Represented by Women
Women represent around 20% of the global cybersecurity workforce, according to a report released by Cybersecurity Ventures. This comes a mere two years after Frost & Sullivan pointed a menacing finger at the 1.8 million vacant cybersecurity seats by 2020 and the dearth of skills and people within an incredibly critical industry. There is a lack of female representation within this industry and a lack of actual skills needed to populate the growing number of requirements from organisations facing a rising cyber threat. The answer, according to Anna Collard, MD of KnowBe4 Africa, is to encourage women to cross-skill and expand into cybersecurity roles and to make the industry more welcoming as a whole. “Cybersecurity isn’t just ones and zeros, it’s the people factor, it’s understanding t...
Telecom26 Provides Connectivity To HIV and COVID-19 Testing Programmes Across Africa
Telecom26 has partnered with SystemOne to enable real-time test result communication, timely containment and treatment actions for infectious disease programmes in Ghana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The testing programmes are being implemented in conjunction with each country’s Ministry of Health and build upon SystemOne’s existing work across Africa tackling numerous diseases including TB, HIV, Ebola and now COVID-19. However, unreliable bandwidth and patchy connectivity are problems encountered by eHealth programmes across these countries. The traditional route is to buy local SIMs to provide device connectivity. Unfortunately, this limits users to one mobile network operator (MNO) – and adds juggling multiple SIMs across devices to find the strongest local network to a long list of headach...
130 Twitter Accounts were Affected by Unprecedented Hack
Sourced from Wired. Twitter fell victim to a major hack that saw 130 high-profile accounts – belonging to the likes of Elon Musk, Bill Gates, former US President Barack Obama, Jeff Bezos and Apple, amongst others – targetted, although it’s reported that no passwords were stolen. Hackers used these accounts to promote a bitcoin scam where users were urged to send $1000 worth of the crypto to a specific account that was listed in the tweet, they would then receive double their payment in return. Image sourced from The Hacker News The unprecedented attack is ‘one of the most widespread and confounding hacks the platform has ever seen’, according to The Verge. Twitter has since confirmed that they are working on the issue and have “locked accounts that were compromised and will ...
