Author: Chris Anu
South Africa, a nation bestknown for its stunning landscapes and rich cultural tapestry, also possesses a remarkable history of scientific and technological innovation. From ground-breaking medical procedures to everyday conveniences and world-beating engineering solutions, South African inventors have left an indelible mark on the world. From CT scanners to a pioneering electric car, TechCentral has collated 15 of the best inventions from South Africa – and had a look at the people behind them. 1. Computed tomography scanner (circa 1960) While the first working scanner was built in the UK, South African physicist Allan MacLeod Cormack developed the crucial mathematical…
PC manufacturers ramped up shipments to the US in anticipation of tariff increases. PC manufacturers ramped up shipments to the US in the first quarter in anticipation of the first round of the Trump administration’s tariff announcements.This is according to the latest data from Canalys, now part of Omdia, which notes the total shipments of desktops, notebooks and workstations grew 9.4% to 62.7 million units in Q1 2025.It adds that notebook (including mobile workstations) shipments hit 49.4 million units, up 10% compared to a year ago.Shipments of desktops (including desktop workstations) rose 8% to 13.3 million units, says Canalys, adding…
This was supposed to be the year that Silicon Valley’s yearslong backlog of billion-dollar start-ups were finally able to go public, delivering riches to venture capitalists. Instead, US President Donald Trump’s promises of sweeping tariffs and the havoc in global markets have thrown those plans into limbo, threatening to plunge the VC and start-up industry into crisis. Most major public listings planned for this year are on ice, with StubHub Holdings, payments firm Klarna Group and trading platform eToro Group all pausing their preparations. Some of these businesses, like Klarna, intend to list as soon as the market stabilises. But…
Zaio Institute of Technology CEO Mvelo Hlophe. The Zaio Institute of Technology has placed 103 graduates from its coding programme in tech roles across nine provinces – with women slightly outnumbering men (53 versus 50).The organisation was founded in SA in 2017, with the mission of empowering African youth through a tech-focused curriculum.It offers online, accredited coding bootcamps, of between six to seven months duration, designed to equip young people with practical, job-ready skills in fields like software development, data science and cyber security.All programmes are 100% online, making them accessible from anywhere in SA. “Our core goals are to…
MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita warned on Tuesday that the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariff and trade war is likely to constrain capital spending by telecommunications operators due to increases in radio equipment costs. Speaking at a media event at MTN’s Fairland, Johannesburg headquarters on Tuesday, Mupita said is too early to know just how impactful the tariff war will be on the global economy, with the world “a month or two away” from seeing the consequences “wash through the system”. “Our anticipation is that global growth will slow and the tariffs, especially…
Tony Anscombe, chief security evangelist at ESET. Cyber risk management is a central focus in cyber security strategies and these strategies must prioritise compliance frameworks, says Tony Anscombe, chief security evangelist at ESET.Anscombe is scheduled to speak at the ITWeb Security Summit Johannesburg 2025, at the Sandton Convention Centre, on 3 and 4 June. He will discuss the growing significance of compliance frameworks in today’s cyber security landscape.According to Anscombe, there are two primary types of cyber security frameworks: compliance frameworks and those designed to improve overall cyber security posture. He emphasises that compliance frameworks are regulatory requirements, especially in…
MTN’s new streaming service, which the telecommunications group has partnered with Synamedia to develop, will focus on the curation of local content within each of its markets in Africa. Speaking at a media event on Thursday, group CEO Ralph Mupita said the operator will not necessarily invest in a production studio to create content itself, but instead source content befitting its strategy and target audience from local producers in each market. The service has already been piloted in Nigeria, MTN’s largest market by revenue and customers, with plans to expand to the rest of the group’s portfolio already in the…
The UniHack competition highlights Standard Bank’s commitment to nurturing young talent and promoting innovation in the ICT sector. Standard Bank has announced the winners of its third annual UniHack Competition, held last week in Cape Town. Thirteen teams of students competed in the two-day competition. According to Standard Bank, this year’s event showcased incredible talent and harnessed technology to address South African challenges in education, mental health and support for people with disabilities.Gerald Perumal, Standard Bank technology head of strategy enablement, said: “The UniHack Competition has once again highlighted the exceptional talent and innovative spirit of our young participants. Their…
Cassava Technologies CEO Hardy Pemhiwa Cassava Technologies may invest as much as US$720-million (R14-billion) in Africa’s first artificial intelligence factory that will be built by Nvidia. The pan-African technology firm founded by Zimbabwean telecommunications tycoon Strive Masiyiwa plans to deploy accelerated computing and AI software from the US company in South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and Morocco. “If we don’t take the first step to deploy our own capital, however limited it maybe, we can’t expect others to go first,” Hardy Pemhiwa, the president and group CEO at Cassava, said in an interview. “This is about ensuring that Africa doesn’t…
The majority of complaints received regarding counterfeit goods sold online relate to clothing, footwear and cosmetics. Counterfeit goods are flooding the South African market, without perpetrators being subjected to the might of intellectual property and trademarks laws, says the e-commerce sector.Alastair Tempest, CEO of E-commerce Forum South Africa (EFSA), says the failure of the authorities to identify counterfeit goods from e-commerce sites is leading to consumers increasingly falling prey.The Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) tells ITWeb that while it has not seen a spike in complaints in this category, it has taken a particular interest in the counterfeiting outlook…