Author: Chris Anu

Alfa Romeo launched a brave and important new car for the brand on Wednesday. The all-new Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica is now available in South Africa and, while it isn’t perfect, it unquestionably retains the Alfa DNA that Alfisti demand. It’s with a little trepidation that one attends Alfa launches because … well … it’s an Alfa, after all. There are expectations. And of course, there are needs. Alfas are special. They’re unique, and they should have that Alfa DNA that centres on what now seems like the quaint absurdity of focusing on the driver and connecting the driver to…

International guest speaker and tech advisor Ross Saunders. Organisations in SA must be proactive about compliance. This is vital even as they use fast-moving new technologies to innovate and compete in increasingly risky environments. This was the message from technology experts at the ITWeb GRC 2025 event in Bryanston, Johannesburg this week.Global trends are affecting how governance, risk and compliance (GRC) is adopted, said Nerushka Brown, founder of the LITT Institute. She pointed to trends like non-profits becoming for-profit entities. She also noted that gaining users and using data often now trumps considerations like responsibility, safety, ethics and governance. “We’re…

Netflix is actively exploring a bid for Warner Bros Discovery’s studio and streaming business, retaining a financial advisor and gaining access to financial information, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The video streaming service has hired Moelis & Co, the investment bank that advised Skydance Media on its successful bid for Paramount Global, to evaluate a prospective offer, two of the sources said. Netflix also has been granted access to the data room, which contains the financial details needed to make a bid, according to two of the sources familiar with the matter. Warner Bros Discovery and Moelis…

The demand for data science talent is growing fast, as AI becomes essential to how companies operate. Zindi, an online network of professional data science talent, says the growing deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) by African businesses has seen it register 92 000 data practitioners on the platform since inception.Launched in September 2018, Zindi is an online networking platform where African data scientists convene, collaborate and participate in online competitions, to solve some of the continent’s most pressing challenges.The Cape Town-headquartered organisation has a recruitment arm and works with companies, non-profits and government institutions to place data practitioners within a…

MTN Nigeria Communications CEO Karl Toriola MTN Nigeria has delivered a sharp turnaround in the nine months to 30 September 2025, restoring positive retained earnings and shareholders’ equity and declaring an interim dividend as service revenue and profitability surged. The operator grew total subscribers 11% year on year to 85.4 million, with active data users up 12.8% to 51.1 million. Service revenue jumped 57.5% to ₦3.71-trillion, propelled by strong data demand (data revenue +73.2%), voice (+41.9%) and fintech (+72.5%). Ebitda – earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – more than doubled, rising 123% to ₦1.92-trillion, expanding the margin by…

Candice Solomons, Business Executive: Data & Analytics at iOCO. As organisations move from disparate proofs of concept (POCs) to enterprise-wide AI deployments, it is crucial for them to build high-quality, properly governed data foundations to ensure that their AI investments deliver the expected operational benefits, business value such as long-term efficiency, and ROI. This is according to speakers at an executive breakfast hosted by iOCO, in partnership with HPE, in Sandton this week. The forum highlighted that a solid data foundation is the single most critical factor separating successful AI initiatives from failed experiments. Candice Solomons, Business Executive: Data &…

Emerging markets fintech Optasia has confirmed it will list on the JSE at a valuation of R23.5-billion following the closing of its bookbuilding period on Thursday. The company – backed by former First National Bank CEO Michael Jordaan – confirmed that its share offer closed at the top end of the R15.50 to R19/share range previously outlined in its pre-listing statement. “Based on a total of 1 235 061 843 ordinary shares in issue, the offer price implies a market capitalisation of R23.5-billion and the offer shares, including the overallotment shares (if the overallotment option is exercised in full), will…

In this episode of ITWeb TV, Jalusi Tech MD Thandiwe Shema details her start as a tech entrepreneur, reaching a target of employing 80% women in tech roles, adding more solutions to their product suite and how her company is helping small businesses innovate and plug in their digital gaps.With two new solutions – a customer relationship management (CRM) offering and an agritech tool – set to go live early next year, local player Jalusi Tech is looking to grow its staff complement. So said Thandiwe Shema, entrepreneur and MD of Jalusi Tech, in an interview with ITWeb TV,during which…

Remember walking into a grocery store 15 years ago? You’d see a mix of people at the till, some with cash pulled from purses or wallets, others with cheques or debit cards, often leading to clunky delays at checkout. There was no tap-to-pay, no mobile wallets and no seamless apps linking bank accounts to phone numbers. And when the technology did work, it was a slow, fragile process often riddled with inconsistencies and outages. Now, fast forward to today. People barely carry cash or even physical cards. The experience of payments has become almost invisible; it is a quick tap,…

Bending Spoons, one of Europe’s leading technology companies, today announced it has raised $710 million in equity at a pre-money valuation of $11 billion. The round was led by accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc., with participation from Baillie Gifford, Cox Enterprises, Durable Capital Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Foxhaven Asset Management, and Radcliff, among others. Goldman Sachs International acted as sole placement agent and Clifford Chance served as legal advisor to the transaction. Notarial advisory services were provided by ZNR Notai. “This moment is a validation of a decade’s worth of work and it serves…