The department of home affairs plans to expand its smart ID rollout to 750 bank branches by year-end – including self-service terminals at Capitec branches – citing the early success of an eight-week pilot that has processed more than 118 000 applications. Speaking during his department’s budget vote in parliament on Friday, home affairs minister Leon…
Sub-Saharan Africa’s data centre roll-out is slowing materially and consolidation is intensifying, according to the latest African Interconnection Report from researcher Balancing Act, commissioned by Wiocc Group. The number of planned carrier-neutral data centres tracked across the region has fallen from 38 in last year’s edition to 23 — a 39% decline. The number of…
If left unchanged, the new policy could have unintended consequences for SA’s broader economic and energy objectives, warns Zero Carbon Charge. The South African National Roads Agency’s (Sanral’s) proposed overhaul of its rest and service facilities (RSF) policy could derail private investment in electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure at a critical time for the country’s energy…
The GSMA has secured commitments from 18 smartphone manufacturers to support the rollout of a $40 4G smartphone aimed at reducing Africa’s mobile internet usage gap. The initiative was launched at MWC Kigali in October 2024 and sets minimum technical standards for an affordable 4G device designed for African users. At least 8 vendors have…
Spar Group has revised its SAP roll-out strategy, separating its finance systems migration from distribution centre operations in an effort to reduce disruption – a move that comes as the wholesaler faces a R168.7-million lawsuit from a major franchisee family over the original botched implementation. In a trading update on Monday, Spar said the amended…
The prospect of Eskom meeting its March 2026 or March 2027 smart meter roll-out targets looks increasingly unlikely. The utility has only installed and uploaded 75 736 smart meters on feeders affected by load reduction of its target of 577 347 for March 2026, amounting to just 13.1% of the total. The smart meters are meant to…
Legora, the collaborative AI platform for lawyers, today announced the completion of a Series C round of $150 million at a $1.8 billion valuation, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with significant investment from existing investors ICONIQ, General Catalyst, Redpoint Ventures, Benchmark, and Y Combinator, to accelerate its global expansion and growing product roadmap. The funding…
South Africa’s public sector is rapidly adopting biometric and algorithmic tools to improve service delivery. From home affairs’ smart ID roll-out to the South African Social Security Agency’s recent mandatory biometric enrolment for grant processing, governments are rightly chasing efficiency and fraud reduction. But without tight legal guardrails, these technologies concentrate administrative power, create new…
Agnes Mlambo Eskom has purchased 20 electric vehicles, ranging from light delivery vehicles to light trucks, as it pursues a long-term plan to electrify its entire fleet. It said on Wednesday that the 20 vehicles will be deployed mainly in its distribution and generation divisions. The utility plans to buy another 100 EVs in the…
Each smart meter installed under the National Treasury programme costs it R7 500. (Photograph by Nicola Mawson) As National Treasury sets a target of installing 250 000 smart electricity meters by the end of the 2027 financial year, it is facing pushback from communities that have not been adequately educated on the programme’s purpose and…
