Author: Duncan McLeod

Vodacom Group has moved to simplify its structure, creating a standalone South African operation and appointing an MD, a newly created role that will be filled by Vodafone executive Balesh Sharma.

The Competition Commission on Thursday said it has given its conditional approval for an entity called Gatsby SPV to acquire “certain aspects” of Cell C.

The planned recapitalisation of Cell C, believed to involve the Buffet Consortium and other investors, has been finalised, though details are only expected to be made public next month, TechCentral has learnt.

Naspers has agreed to invest R100-million in South African agriculture-technology start-up Aerobotics, which uses artificial intelligence and drone and satellite imagery to help farmers manage crop health and predict crop yields.

Vodacom is working on a new model to reduce battery theft in its base stations that involves community members, working with police, to monitor and safeguard sites.

Dimension Data will retrench in the region of 480 employees following a major restructuring exercise announced in March that saw it pull the plug on two of its biggest brands.

Net1, the company that used to manage the payment of social grants in South Africa, has appointed former Telkom and Eskom chairman Jabu Mabuza as chairman-designate of its board.

Minister Ebrahim Patel has backed down over government’s ban on unfettered e-commerce during level-4 of the lockdown, handing a stunning victory to an industry that has lobbied hard to have the restrictions removed.

A massive new submarine broadband cable is to be built around Africa and the Middle East and is being backed by the likes of Facebook, China Mobile, MTN Group, Vodafone Group and Orange.

JSE-listed technology group Altron has cut its final dividend by 24% to 55c/share to preserve cash amid the economic upheaval created by the Covid-19 pandemic.