Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

Sitoyo Lopokoiyit has been appointed as the M-Pesa Africa managing director effective April 1, 2021. CEO Peter Ndegwa said Safaricom will initiate the relevant talent sourcing processes to identify and appoint the next Financial Services leaders in due course. “…meanwhile he will continue discharging the functions of the chief financial…

South Africa-based agritech startup TonnUp born out of a need to address some of the frustrations and challenges farmers face in the agricultural commodities market has launched an online trading platform that assists farmers in marketing and selling their agricultural produce in a structured and transparent environment. Stephen Krüger, the director of…

South African and majority black-owned and black-managed investment fund Moshesh Partners has secured an undisclosed amount of funding towards its Renewable Energy and Clean Infrastructure Fund. Moshesh Partners Fund Management aims to grow the fund to R2-billion in assets under management over the course of the next 18 months. Sifiso Shongwe, co-founding member…

African financial services company Absa Group Limited has launched an internal cloud computing skills incubator held in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The cloud computing skills incubator aims to enhance Absa’s cloud computing skills across its operations in Africa. In an official press statement, Andrew Baker, Absa Group Chief…

Facebook this week published a 500-word blog post addressing the data leak of phone numbers from 533 million users. However, the company shrugs off to take responsibility or apologize for the breach, instead, it’s placing the blame on pre-2019 policies that enabled the behavior. Also note, regardless of when it was…

E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is the world’s premier event for computer and video games and related products. Many gaming companies use the massive expo to introduce new games, technology, and merchandise to the community. While the conference usually takes place in Los Angeles every year, attracting numerous developers,…

Micro-blogging platform Twitter reportedly tried to acquire the invite-only audio chat app Clubhouse for nearly $4 billion but the talks failed, according to a report from Bloomberg. TechCrunch has also “confirmed the discussions took place from a source familiar with the conversations,” the talks occurred over the past several months but…

Facebook’s F8 developer conference is returning this year as a one-day virtual event on June 2nd. Like so many big gatherings, last year’s F8 was canceled over concerns regarding coronavirus. But the world’s largest social network evidently wants to keep its sizable community of developers engaged and is bringing the conference…

Microsoft’s annual Build conference will be virtual again this year, so Microsoft has also updated its events website to reveal the dates running from May 25 to May 27, along with many of Microsoft’s 2021 events. According to Microsoft, Build is “where developers, architects, start-ups, and students learn, connect, and code…

Apple recently announced that its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with the tagline “Glow and Behold” will take place on June 7th through June 11th this year, and that like last year it will be a completely virtual event, marking the second year in a row that Apple will hold a…

Google’s I/O developer event is returning this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and like many other tech events that have taken place during the pandemic, it will be entirely virtual. The event will take place from May 18th–20th and will be free to attend, according to 9to5Google, which…

One of the main reasons that Android or iOS users are locked into their platform is WhatsApp. More specifically, the inability to migrate their chat history from one platform to the other. At least, not without risks or violating the app’s Terms of Service. Though now, the company may be…

One of South Africa’s oldest crypto exchange, Ice3x, which operated since 2013 after briefly suspending trading on its platform sometime back last month after noting discrepancies in balances of bitcoin and litecoin held on the platform has announced that it is liquidating the business. ICE3x was one of South Africa’s…

Takealot now has a new competitor Everyshop; a new eCommerce platform has officially been launched in South Africa and offers consumers online access to a range of local and international brands. Established by the JD Group, a South African retail company that is part of Pepkor Holdings Limited, EveryShop aims to be…

Due to a software vulnerability, a database containing the personal information of 533 million Facebook users is now circulating on the open internet. So why isn’t Facebook notifying who’s been affected? Well, the company hasn’t given a straight answer on the matter, except to emphasize the leaked data comes from…

Rectron (PTY) Ltd, one of South Africa’s leading distributors of IT products, continues to strengthen its enterprise offering with the addition of Newland ID, a manufacturer of barcode scanners, to its portfolio. In the agreement, Rectron will be distributing the full Newland ID range, comprising (wireless) handheld scanners, stationary scanners,…

As healthcare organizations scrambled to cope with huge surges in patient numbers in the wake of the pandemic, the past year has seen a major step-change in the adoption of technology and digital services. But on World Health Day, any progress they have made in their digital transformation risks being washed away…

Heavy Reading is the research division of Light Reading offering deep analysis of emerging telecom trends to network operators, and this recent survey it undertook reveals 5G operators’ priorities as they move to mitigate new threats. Telcos will implement a wide array of measures in 2021 to secure the next wave of 5G connectivity, according to…

Encrypted messaging app Signal is testing a new feature that’ll let you privately send money to your friends—without going through major financial networks. To pull this off, the app is adding the ability to pay in a cryptocurrency known as MobileCoin, and this new payment feature arrives first for users…

US venture capital (VC) fund Enygma Ventures an investment fund for female entrepreneurs and women founders, focused on Southern Africa or SADC has reportedly funded 10 businesses across the SADC region and invested nearly $4-million in selected startups and SMEs. With this in mind, the VC firm is committed to supporting female-founded…