January has gone by and has brought us a fascinating range of technology trends and breaking news. This week we look at some of the hottest stories in the world of tech.
From new innovations and upcoming smartphones, growing economies to emerging start-ups. IT News Africa also hosted it’s inaugural Digital Retail Forum 2019, which led discussions on how to increase productivity, reduce costs, attract more customers, improve customer experience, enhance security and sell more – for both small independent retailers and large retail groups alike.
Here is a wrap up of some of the most read articles of the week.
Rudi Matjokana returns to Vodacom
Vodacom Group has announced the appointment of Rudi Matjokana as Managing Executive for Public Enterprise Business. Rudi will report into Vodacom Business Chief Officer for Enterprise Sales, Mickey Mashale and will form part of the Vodacom Business executive committee. He will be responsible for driving strategic direction partnerships, business development and the sustained growth of Vodacom’s Public Enterprise Business. Read more.
Huge Telecom announces new MD
Huge Telecom, a subsidiary of Huge Group, has announced Robert Burger as the new managing director to its investors, effective as of 23 January 2019. Burger was appointed as the Financial Director of Huge Telecom on 1 August 2018 and has acted as managing director since 7 November 2018, following the resignation of Gunter Engling. Read more.
Major banks new partnership offers innovative payment solutions
Credit cards are all about convenience – in-store, online or overseas. Using credit now and gaining long-term financial benefits may seem like worlds apart. That’s about to change. Professional Provident Society (PPS), the financial services company focused wholly on providing solutions for graduate professionals, teamed up with Standard Bank to conceptualise and deliver two unique offerings to its member base. Read more.
Blockchain can enhance F&B industry’s traceability
Advances in blockchain technology could enable the food and beverage industry (F&B) to enhance traceability. In the US alone, food recalls and foodborne illnesses cost $77 billion per annum, including discarded products, loss of revenue, damage to corporate reputations and healthcare costs. Better traceability can significantly reduce these costs. Read more.
Sierra Leone gets faster internet services
Telecom operator K3 Telecom, a subsidiary of the Swiss group K3 Telecom AG, launched in Sierra Leone on 21 January 2019. This marked the official start of their ISP with triple-play services in Freetown, on their own wireless broadband telecommunications network. The services will be provided via wireless technology. Read more.
DRF2019 gives retailers new technology solutions to help businesses
On Wednesday, 30 January 2019, the Digital Retail Forum(DRF) which took place at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton sparked conversations about making digital innovation a key process within all retail organisations. The conference also led discussions on how to increase productivity, reduce costs, attract more customers, improve customer experience, enhance security and sell more – for both small independent retailers and large retail groups alike. Read more.
Nokia 8 Sirocco gets latest Android operating system
HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, has announced that the Nokia 8 Sirocco will now begin receiving the latest Android operating system, Android 9 Pie. With the Android 9 Pie upgrade arriving on the Nokia 8 Sirocco, and the Nokia 8 also joining the family of Nokia smartphones running Android 9 Pie, a total of six Nokia smartphones now run the latest Android OS, giving users access to the latest features from Google. Read more.
Africa Tech Week to give insights on Industry 4.0
The city of Cape Town, in partnership with the department of science and technology (DST), is set to host the inaugural Africa Tech Week which will introduce African small businesses to digital solutions and future business strategies and development. The conference offers deep actionable insight and actual solutions for tangible business strategy in response to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0). Read more.
Telkom expands its 4G network in Kenya
Telkom Kenya’s 3G/4G project expansion worth KES 1 billion and is targeting to maximize fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) product, improving its service quality for enterprise and corporate customers. This expansion, that is part of Telkom’s long-term network modernisation programme, will also see the Telco improve its 3G coverage within strategically selected areas across the country. Read more.
Google’s I/O developer conference is coming up in May
Kicking off on the 7th of May, Google’s next I/O developer conference will be taking place at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA. The 2018 conference kicked off on the 8th of May. Every year, Google announces the date of this event by means of a puzzle. This year they tweeted out a 12-line block of text accompanied by a URL leading to a video that rehashed the text with pictures. It was almost instantly solved by a Twitter user named Till Kottmann, giving us a time and place for the event. Read more.
By Neo Sesinye
Follow Neo Sesinye on Twitter
Follow IT News Africa on Twitter
