Tag Archives: South Africa

30Mar/23

Industry players call for a ‘non-stop’ approach to Africa’s banking digitisation

March 30, 2023FinanceCape Town, Economy, Financial technology, Huawei, South Africa, Telecommunicationsadmin

If banks want to remain competitive in the face of neo-bank and fintech upstarts, they’ll have to fundamentally change the way they do business to be digital first. And if they’re going to achieve that goal, then working with technology partners to ensure that they have the right infrastructure in place will be crucial. That was the overriding message from the speakers at a media roundtable event hosted during the Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit for Africa 2023, recently held in Cape Town, South Africa. Continue reading

01Dec/22

FTX collapse crushes crypto dreams in Africa and beyond

December 1, 2022FinanceAlfred Lee, Bahamas, Bangkok, Binance, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies, Cryptography, Economy, Edward Choy, Elisha Owusu Akyaw, Ghana, Japan, Kenya, Lagos, monetary authority of singapore, Money, Morocco, Nigeria, Osarieme Aghedo, Sam Bankman-Fried, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Stablecoin, Thomson Reuters Foundation, TikTok, United Statesadmin

FTX’s bankruptcy hurts small investors across the world
Young African crypto backers fret about damage to sector
Regulators repeat warnings about risks of crypto dealing

LAGOS/BANGKOK – Days before his FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapsed, co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted “Hello, West Africa!” – his latest nod to a region where a growing number of kitchen table investors had put their faith, and savings, in FTX.
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17Oct/22

Will South Africa’s street vendors go bust in a cashless world?

October 17, 2022EconomyCashless society, Chantal Maritz, Digital currency, Economy, Finance, First National Bank, Ghana, JOHANNESBURG, Kenya, Kim Harrisberg, Lebogang Ramathoka, Michael Thomson, Money, Payment card, Payment systems, PricewaterhouseCoopers, QR code payment, South Africa, Thomas Nhassavele, Timothy, Yocoadmin

Kim Harrisberg

Published: October 12, 2022

Digital payments on the rise in South Africa
People without mobile phones, bank accounts excluded
Calls for innovation to include informal economy

JOHANNESBURG – For more than a decade, musician Thomas Nhassavele has been busking next to the parking payment machine at Johannesburg’s Rosebank Mall, where drivers often dropped their change into his guitar case. Continue reading →

13Oct/22

What is cultural appropriation and why is it so harmful?

October 13, 2022ArtAdam Haupt, African-American music, Afrikaner people, Alexander Saxton, Blackface, Boom Shaka, Brasse Vannie Kaap, Cape Town, Creative Commons, Culture, Die Antwoord, Eric Lott, European diaspora, Fatty Boom Boom, Leon Schuster, Miley Cyrus, Musicians, Rina Arya, Skeem, South Africa, South African culture, United States, Waddy Jones, Watkin Tudor Jones, White South African people, Zwarte Pietadmin

Adam Haupt, University of Cape Town

Die Antwoord is a South African band that uses hip-hop music to create a style it calls “zef”. Since it first appeared in 2009, Die Antwoord has been criticised for cultural appropriation (using cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative way). It’s accused of copying the lyrics and styles of Cape Town artists rapping in South Africa’s Kaaps language, and of mimicking the visual styles of Cape Flats gang members. Adam Haupt has researched and written extensively on hip-hop and identity. He discusses cultural appropriation and the role of power in interactions between dominant and marginalised subjects in a case like Die Antwoord’s.

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26Sep/22

South African teens skip school to chase risky crypto dreams

September 26, 2022FinanceAsheer J. Ram, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Attackers, Brazil, Cryptocurrencies, Cryptography, Decentralization, Digital currencies, Economy, Facebook, JOHANNESBURG, John, Kenya, Kimberly Mutandiro Young South Africans, KwaThema Township, Langaville Township, Money, Nigeria, South Africa, Thandi Mbamo, Tiamo, TikTok, Tsakane Township, United Kingdom, United Statesadmin

Young South Africans see crypto as way to quick wealth
Poverty, high unemployment pushes them to crypto
Users not fully aware of risks, vulnerable to scams

By Kimberly Mutandiro

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 26 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – John first heard of cryptocurrency three years ago, when the teenager came across slick YouTube videos and Facebook posts of other South Africans claiming to have become wealthy overnight with bitcoin.
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26Sep/22

To reach net zero the world still needs mining. After 26 years, here’s what I’ve learned about this ‘evil’ industry

September 26, 2022EnvironmentAngola, Argentina, Australia, Belgrade, Botox, Bridget Storrie, Canada, Chile, China, Creative Commons, Dan Yergin, Erdenet, Irkutsk, James Webb, Joe Biden, Kosovo, Kosovska Mitrovica, Lithium, Mining, Mongolia, Moscow, Namibia, Naval mine, Naval warfare, Novak Djokovic, Peter, Physical sciences, Rebecca West, Rio Tinto, Russia, Serbia, SHUTTERSTOCK, South Africa, Stan Terg, Ukraine, United States, Weapons, Yugoslaviaadmin

Bridget Storrie, UCL

On the wooded hill above the Stan Terg lead and zinc mine in Kosovo, there is an old concrete diving platform looming over what was once an open-air swimming pool. Before the break-up of Yugoslavia, people who worked at the mine would bring their families here to swim, sunbathe on the wide terrace with its view across the valley, and picnic among the trees. Now the pool is slowly disappearing into the forest, the view obscured by birch saplings.

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02Sep/22

Saudi snitching app turns citizens into social media police

September 2, 2022MobileAbsher, Adel al-Jubeir, BEIRUT, bint Saeed al-Qahtani, Countries, India, Khalid Ibrahim, Kollona Amn, Lina al-Hathloul, Nazih Osseiran, Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani, Reactions to the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, Riyadh, Rothna Begum, Salma al-Shehab, Saudi Arabia, Software, South Africa, Stasi, Taha Alhajji, Twitter, Washington, Western Asia, Women's rights in Saudi Arabiaadmin

Saudi government apps seen encouraging citizen spies
Apps needed for greater efficiency, authorities say
Digital vigilantism on the rise worldwide

By Nazih Osseiran

BEIRUT, Sept 2 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A Saudi app that lets ordinary people “play the role of a police officer” may have alerted authorities to the tweets of a student whose sentencing to 34 years in jail has drawn international condemnation.
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01Sep/22

South African tech entrepreneurs tackle digital divide in townships

September 1, 2022EconomyArticles, Brian Makwaiba, Culture, Digital divide, Digital media, Global inequality, Humans, Johan Steyn, JOHANNESBURG, Kathryn Malherbe, Moss Marakalala, Pretoria, Rural economics, Social inequality, South Africa, Taryn Rae, Technology development, Thomson Reuters, Townshipadmin

Tech education taken to South Africa’s townships
WiFi access and apps could boost informal economy
But technology alone is not the answer, experts warn

By Kim Harrisberg

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Moss Marakalala was 11 when he first used a laptop at an after-school programme in Johannesburg, sparking an interest in technology that inspired him to provide young people like himself from South African townships with digital education. Continue reading →

18Aug/22

EskomSePush alerts users to rolling blackouts while Panda provides spaces to vent their frustrations

August 18, 2022InnovationAlon Lits, Anneli Retief, Anton Ossip, Avani Singh, Companies, Economy of New York City, Eskom, EskomSePush, Financial markets, Herman Maritz, Jessica Boyer, JOHANNESBURG, Kim Harrisberg, Lits, Lori Cooperman, Mobile app, Natal, Pothole, S&P/TSX 60 Index, South Africa, Thomson Reuters, Ugandaadmin

Power outages by Eskom lead to surge in app downloads
Apps help build community dialogue, solve problems
Digital literacy needed to protect data privacy

By Kim Harrisberg

At the start of each school day, South African teacher Lori Cooperman prepares her lessons, plans students’ meals and – most importantly – checks an app to see if there will be electricity. Continue reading →

05Aug/22

Beyoncé has helped usher in a renaissance for African artists

August 5, 2022MusicAfrican music, African popular music, African-American culture, African-American music, Afrobeats, Albums, Beyoncé, Beyoncé Black, Black Is King, Bob Marley, Brenda Fassie, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Creative Commons, Disco, Donna Summer, Drake, Funk, Ghana, Gloria Gaynor, James Chikomborero, James Chikomborero Paradza, Kenya, Lemonade, Music, Nigeria, Parkwood Entertainment, Pretoria, Pretoria Beyoncé, Run the World, South Africa, Tems, The Lion King, United States, University of Pretoria, Warsan Shire, Wizkidadmin

James Chikomborero Paradza, University of Pretoria

Beyoncé has released her seventh solo studio album, titled Renaissance (2022). The album, an event in global popular culture, is the first of a three-part project by the US artist. Her previous outing, the visual album Black is King (2020), collaborated with a host of African artists. Renaissance pays tribute to black dance music and again features African artists, including Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems, who is having a global moment of her own.

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