Author: Chris Anu

Solly Malatsi. Image: DCDT Communications minister Solly Malatsi has put his stamp on one of the most contentious issues in South Africa’s ICT sector: how black economic empowerment is applied to companies, like Elon Musk’s Starlink, that cannot, or will not, dilute ownership in their local operations. In a final policy directive published on Friday and issued more than six months after a draft version was published for public comment, Malatsi has asked Icasa urgently to align its ownership regulations with the ICT BEE sector code, including recognition of equity equivalent investment programmes (EEIPs), which are already lawful under the…

MTN Group’s Bayobab has made several strategic leadership appointments. MTN Group’s digital infrastructure company Bayobab has announced three executive appointments.The appointments are Lloyd Mphahlele as MD of Bayobab South Africa FibreCo, Rami Farah as chief technology and information officer (CTIO), and Priscilla Adjei Dorsese as GM of risk and compliance.Mphahlele, whose role is effective 1 January 2026, will lead the FibreCo business in SA, according to a statement. “Lloyd’s appointment marks a significant step in advancing our fibre strategy and operational excellence in South Africa,” says Mohammed Aliyu, chief FibreCo officer at Bayobab. “His deep industry expertise and visionary leadership…

Solar industry body Sapvia has said the maturing of South Africa’s renewable energy sector brings with it many opportunities for the local manufacture of solar PV components. But swapping out manufacturing for the current import and assemble model threatens to slow job creation. “Manufacturing in this space is important. The industry is finding those spaces where manufacturing makes sense. But we want to do manufacturing that creates jobs as well and one of the big challenges with solar modules, particularly with the large factories in China, is that they actually turn the lights off during the day because it is…

VIDYAQAR – A complete quantum platform with cryogenics, control hardware and QPU – powered by Quantum EDGE. QuantrolOx today announced a major milestone in quantum technology with the launch of VIDYAQAR, the world’s first True Open-Architecture Quantum Platform designed specifically for education, research, testing, and benchmarking. The system was unveiled today in India and will be available globally in the first half of 2026. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251210668898/en/The name VIDYAQAR derives from the Sanskrit Vidyākar, meaning “causing wisdom, giving knowledge or science”—a perfect reflection of the platform’s mission to widen access to advanced…

Time magazine named the architects of artificial intelligence its “Person of the Year” on Thursday, citing their ability to deliver the age of thinking machines with transformative technology. “Person of the Year is a powerful way to focus the world’s attention on the people that shape our lives. And this year, no one had a greater impact than the individuals who imagined, designed and built AI,” Time editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs wrote in a letter to readers. Jacobs described the architects as “wowing and worrying humanity” and “transforming the present and transcending the possible”. Time is among many media outlets partnering…

A dozen innovative local start-ups emerged as the winners. The winners of the 2025 South African Startup Awards were announced this week, via livestream from Cape Town.Now in its third year, the awards have grown into the country’s flagship initiative recognising early-stage technology ventures.The awards were established in 2023 and are hosted by Startup Club ZA, a tech start-up and investor network. See also They seek to recognise SA’s innovative tech start-ups shaping the future − across 13 categories, adjudicated by 28 independent judges and supported by thousands of national voters.The 2025 awards saw 221 entries submitted in five days,…

Australia this week became the first country to ban children under 16 from using major social media platforms. TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and others now face one of the toughest child-protection regimes ever imposed on Big Tech. And while critics are warning of overreach and creeping digital nanny-statism, it’s increasingly difficult to argue that doing nothing is still a defensible option. For years, governments have stared blankly at a generational crisis unfolding in plain sight. Kids are spending unprecedented amounts of time buried in algorithmic feeds engineered to keep them scrolling. TikTok and other platforms are endlessly optimised attention traps…

Magatho Mello and Nketheleni Norman Gidi have been appointed to lead SITA and the Film and Publication Board, respectively. South Africa has a troubled history with state-owned entities (SOEs), with many flagged for their poor financial condition and governance challenges. Some of the SOEs under the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) portfolio have been described as being run “really well”, while others experience challenges that extend to leadership instability.Yesterday, the DCDT announced the appointment of senior executives for the State IT Agency (SITA) and Film and Publication Board (FPB), which have both been plagued by a leadership vacuum…

BCX CEO Jonas Bogoshi BCX CEO Jonas Bogoshi is clear-eyed about both the challenges and the opportunities facing the South African IT services provider and subsidiary of Telkom Group. After years of restructuring, retrenchments and the drag of Telkom’s declining legacy communications business, he believes the picture is improving for BCX, with the business positioned for growth in a market being reshaped by cloud and artificial intelligence – and fiercer-than-ever competition. But the turnaround is far from simple. In an interview with TechCentral on Wednesday, Bogoshi detailed how BCX is navigating the complex transition from legacy infrastructure and voice services…

Samsung SA extends SOS+ to more Galaxy devices. Samsung South Africa has expanded its device-embedded 24/7 emergency support tool to a wider range of Galaxy devices.Provided by AURA, Samsung SOS+ allows users to connect with emergency responders in critical situations.In an emergency, it geolocates the user and dispatches the nearest private security or medical response unit. Users can also trigger support through the “in case of emergency” list, the app, SMS, or a toll-free number. In July, AURA founder and CEO Warren Myers told ITWeb that his company had inked a partnership with the South Korean electronics giant.The agreement would…