Podcasts about mtn south africa

Mobile money has an increasingly vital role to play in South Africa's economy, despite the fact that the country boasts an advanced financial services sector. That's the view of Kagiso Mothibi, CEO of Fintech at MTN South Africa, who was sharing his views in a recent interview with TechCentral's TCS+ (watch it below) in which he discusses the broader fintech vision for the network operator and its role in driving innovation across the group. But what is it about mobile money services that is attracting South African consumers to products like MTN's MoMo, and what role do these platforms fulfil in the broader financial services ecosystem? Mothibi unpacks this in detail in the interview. He also discusses: • Why South Africa has proved to be a tougher mobile money market to crack than many other countries in Africa; • How the South African market differs from others in which MTN operates; • Who the target market is for MoMo – is it the unbanked and underbanked, or does MTN also have plans to serve well-heeled customers, too? • What's driving the growth in MoMo services in South Africa and why; • What MTN's fintech portfolio houses today and the company's plans to expand this in the coming years; • The recent launched of MoMo Pay, how it works and how MTN is onboarding merchants; • What pain points MoMo Pay addresses in the payments ecosystem; and • What the future holds for the fintech business in South Africa – and how product innovation locally is being deployed in other MTN markets across the continent. Don't miss an exciting interview! TechCentral

The Better Connection. Everywhere You Go. Or simply just Y'ello. Brand identity matters, and MTN South Africa – one of South Africa's most valued brands – is keenly aware of that fact. Indeed, when a big consumer brand changes its brand positioning, it's always a big deal – not only because of the work involved behind the scenes but also because it helps shift the narrative for that brand in small but important ways in the public consciousness. For a handful of times in its storied, 31-year history, MTN has refreshed its brand image. And it's just hit the “play” button on the latest overhaul. In this episode of TechCentral's TCS+ business technology podcast, MTN South Africa GM for residential and post-paid services Bertus van der Vyver unpacks the company's latest brand identity and why it made the decisions it did. In the podcast, Van der Vyver chats about: • Whether brand ends up influencing strategy, or the other way around; • How the new brand positioning – the payoff line is Together We Make Moves – aligns with MTN's ongoing efforts around customer experience, network innovation and its service offerings; • How consumers will experience the brand refresh; • How the changes tie into MTN's social and business commitments; and • How MTN's new brand identity will allow the company to differentiate itself in the market, including in relation to its competitors. Don't miss this fascinating conversation about the value and importance of branding. TechCentral

In this What's Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, Bertus van der Vyver discusses MTN's updated brand positioning and the importance of the phrase “Today We Make Moves.” Van der Vyver is the General Manager for Residential and Postpaid at MTN South Africa. Before taking on his current role in April 2023, he held many executive roles in the South African telecommunications industry across the industry's largest players. Through this experience, Van der Vyver has developed strong commercial acumen and the ability to solve problems and make the right decisions in high-pressure situations. In this What's Next interview, van der Vyver discusses the important role MTN has played in connecting South Africans over the decades. He then unpacks MTN's updated brand positioning, which focuses on the phrase “Today We Make Moves.” Van der Vyver expands on how MTN is working to address the digital divide in South Africa through access to connectivity and technology. He then discusses the moves MTN is making to build better connectivity offerings for its South African customers. Van der Vyver concludes the interview by sharing a message with South Africans who want to take charge of their future through technology.

Bongani speaks to Mmenyana Ranku, who is the General Manager for Branded Retail Channel at MTN South Africa about the launch of its state-of-the-art Digital Experience Centre in Morningside. She says the centre redefine the traditional retail model by integrating cutting-edge technology with practical, hands-on experiences, demonstrating MTN’s ongoing commitment to empowering its customers and redefining digital engagement in South Africa.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this What's Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, Ernst Fonternel discusses the importance of putting customers first. Fonternel is MTN South Africa's Chief Consumer Officer and boasts over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. During this time, he has worked in many important roles - including as Senior Manager at MTN Group, Chief Marketing Officer at MTN Zambia, and Chief Marketing Officer at MTN Uganda. In this What's Next interview, Fonternel explains why it is important for MTN to put its customers first and how it achieves this through its world-class mobile services. He reveals how MTN is also leveraging chatbots to improve customer experience, and using AI to create personalised mobile plans. Fonternel then explains how customers can take advantage of customisable MTN mobile plans, before discussing how MTN uses data-driven technologies to ensure optimal network performance. He concludes the interview by explaining how MTN is addressing inequality and helping underserved South Africans access the connectivity they need to thrive

Ray White speaks with Charles Molapisi, MTN SA CEO, on the company's significant turning points as it marks 30 years in business. He also discusses the MTN Skills Academy, which provides a range of free digital and financial courses to equip young people with these skills in order to better their career prospects and encourage entrepreneurship, and the Connecting Every Child campaign, which is an initiative led by MTN South Africa in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Communications & Digital Technologies aiming to provide 30,000 digital devices to learners in rural and remote areas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Mteto Nyati is a South African corporate executive, who has held various top positions in some of the largest companies, both local and multinational corporates. He joined Altron in April 2017 as its CEO after holding the same position at MTN South Africa and hailed for its turnaround. The professional mechanical engineer is also the recipient of several awards and a published author with his book “Betting on a Darkie”. He is currently the Chairperson of Eskom and Chairman of Business and technology consulting company, BSG. He spoke to Gugs about his upbringing, on the importance of awakening the giant in others while giving credit where its due, the importance of being a problem solver and the length it will take to turn around Eskom.     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kartik Mistry, recently appointed head of Standard Bank Connect, believes there is still strong growth ahead for South Africa's mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market. Standard Bank, which recently rebranded its MVNO from Standard Bank Mobile to Standard Bank Connect and shifted its network partner from Cell C to MTN South Africa, has launched a new value proposition in cellular communications for its customers. TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod is joined by Mistry on the TechCentral Show, where he explains the bank's decision to partner with MTN and why it decided to engage directly with a mobile network operator rather than working through an “enablement” partner as it had done previously. Kartik, who has experience in both telecommunications – he has previously served as chief operating officer at Rain – and in banking, talks about the state of the MVNO market in South Africa, where Standard Bank Connect is positioning itself strategically, and why the market might be primed for consolidation. Don't miss the discussion! TechCentral

MTN South Africa last week announced that PayShap, South Africa's rapid payments platform, is being integrated into its Mobile Money (MoMo) platform. Bradwin Roper, chief financial services officer at MTN South Africa, is the guest in the latest episode of the TechCentral Show (TCS). He unpacks the PayShap development and what it means, and explores MTN's fintech strategy and the future of mobile money in South Africa. In this episode of TCS, Roper chats about: * The significance of MTN becoming the first non-banking platform to offer access to PayShap; * Why and how it's working with Investec and technical service provider Electrum to deploy the solution; * What MTN customers will be able to do with PayShap; * The growth of mobile money in South Africa, and the work that MTN is doing to grow the ecosystem; and * Lessons South Africa can draw from other emerging markets, notably India and Brazil, in mobile money and rapid payments. Don't miss the interview! TechCentral

As the democratic South Africa turns 30 years old today, telecommunications giant MTN also turns 30 this year. CEO of MTN South Africa, Charles Molapisi reflects on how instrumental the company has been in shaping our telecommunications, the strides the company has made in dominating the continent, some of their social sponsorship programs, some of the innovations they have made and on what the future holds for this proudly South African telecommunications giantSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of South Africa's youth don't watch a TV set. Why should they? They have a mobile entertainment console in their hands that can access the new form of television: streaming. Jason Probert, general manager for digital services for MTN South Africa, tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak how he is making it easier and more cost-effective. Read more on Stuff.

On Black Friday, Radio Life & Style decided to paint the town Yellow with the power of MTN's massively upgraded network! Morning radio show host Mike Charles chats to Ernest Paul (MTN's GM of Network) to find out what makes MTN South Africa's best network and to learn just how much investment has gone in to ensuring that network resilience remains a defining feature of MTN's service offering in KZN and throughout the country. Radio Life & Style on Facebook · The Morning Show Sponsor: Excellerate Security

For many millions, a mobile phone is their only computer and their only screen. Jason Lobel, MTN South Africa's head of video, wants to get streaming services to those people, he tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Imagine truly unlimited phone calls and texts to any local network and a large allocation of monthly mobile data for just R299/month. That's what MTN South Africa unveiled last month when it launched SuperFlex, a mobile tariff plan that allows consumers to choose how much data they want, coupled with unlimited minutes and SMSes and a six-month free trial to the mobile version of Disney+. The new plans start at R299 for 10GB of anytime data. The plans on offer, all providing unlimited phone calls and SMSes, are: • 10GB: R299 • 15GB: R399 • 20GB: R479 MTN described SuperFlex as a “mobile plan that offers customers simplicity, customisation and flexibility” without paperwork, contact lock-in or credit checks. Now MTN South Africa GM for the consumer segment Bertus van der Vyver shares the inside story about the launch of SuperFlex with TechCentral's TCS+ technology show. Van der Vyver tells TCS+ about: • The SuperFlex offering and the market research that informed its launch; • Why it's an online-only product and how consumers can sign up for it; • The level of personalisation on offer to consumers; • The pricing strategy behind SuperFlex; • How MTN built the product, and the work that went into building a robust backend solution to support it; • The security measures in place to protect consumers; and • What consumers can expect from SuperFlex in future. Don't miss the discussion! TechCentral

In this What's Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, Rami Farah — CTO of MTN South Africa — discusses how MTN won the 2023 MyBroadband Best Mobile Voice Network award. Farah has worked at MTN for over 20 years, during which time he has served as CTO in multiple regions — including Uganda, Rwanda, Liberia, and Iran. In this What's Next interview, Farah discusses MTN winning the 2023 MyBroadband Best Mobile Voice Network award and explains what it takes to earn this accolade. He then expands on how MTN is handling the major issues that all South African operators are facing: load-shedding and vandalism. Farah also touches on the value generated by the spectrum MTN acquired during the 2022 high-demand spectrum auction. He concludes the interview by outlining the technological advances that MTN has been working on to provide its customers with the best possible network experience.

Instead of buying expensive textbooks, which learners are stuck with, what if you could “rent” them? Calling it a "Spotify for textbooks," this is the idea behind MTN's new educational offering, MTN South Africa's general manager of digital services Jason Probert tells says Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. Joining them is Thabiet Allie, the head of new business development and who is driving the operator's online learning. Read more on Stuff.

Gaming is still a fundamental way us humans interact and hasn't always been on a high-tech console, MTN's gaming geeks tell Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. Veteran executive Jason Probert is general manager of digital services for MTN South Africa, while Bradly Kirby is senior specialist of eSports and gaming– and gamers themselves. Apart from this philosophical reminder, gaming is how we have fun, blow off steam and socialise. Some of us do it on a padel court, others over a PlayStation. Read more on Stuff.

For years, Cell C was the only game in town for brands wanting to launch a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). That's changing -- fast -- and now MTN has said it is positioning itself as the “go-to network backbone partner” in South Africa. MTN South Africa wholesale executive Quintus de Beer joins Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show (TCS) to unpack in detail what this plan means for other network carriers and prospective MVNO players. De Beer said MTN wants to be the “network of choice” for the wholesale market by 2025, even as rivals Vodacom and Telkom gear up to launch MVNO enablement platforms of their own -- in line with the requirements set out in last year's broadband spectrum auction. Already, both Telkom and Cell C both roam on MTN's infrastructure, with a number of MVNOs also launching on the operator's network, including Pick n Pay's PnP Mobile and Afrihost's Air Mobile -- with more to be announced soon, according to De Beer. In this episode of TCS, De Beer chats about: * Why wholesale is so important to MTN * MTN's relationship with Cell C and Telkom * The MVNOs on MTN's network * What's involved in supporting MVNOs * The market size for MVNOs * Why it took so long for MVNOs to take off in South Africa Don't miss a fascinating discussion. TechCentral

South African Internet entrepreneur Calvin Collett is launching his latest venture, mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Melon Mobile, next week, hoping to lure customers looking for a simpler proposition for their telecommunications needs. Collett joined TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show (TCS) on Thursday to unpack the new company's plans. Melon Mobile, which will be launched officially next Thursday, piggybacks off MTN South Africa's network and offers a full range of connectivity solutions, including voice, data and text messages. Customers can choose exactly how much data, voice or SMSes they want upfront using sliders, offering them the sort of granularity that's not available from the big network operators. Collett, speaking on TCS, explained that Melon Mobile has worked to remove the inefficiencies associated with subscribing to mobile services. In the interview, Collett, who previously headed the MTN-owned Internet service provider Supersonic, talks about: • Why the MVNO market in South Africa is mushrooming; • Why Melon Mobile chose MTN as its network partner; • Melon Mobile's prices, and the company's pricing strategy; • The company's target market and the market opportunity; and • What its next moves are after launch. Don't miss the interview – and if you enjoy it, please subscribe to TechCentral's tech shows on YouTube, Spotify and elsewhere (see details below). TechCentral

MTN South Africa hosted a media event in Soweto on Thursday to demonstrate to journalists the severe impact that criminal vandalism is having on its base stations. In this interview, conducted at the site of an MTN base station in Mofolo South in Soweto, the company's chief technology and information officer, Michele Gamberini, tells TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod about the attacks taking place on its high sites and how it's fighting back. MTN disclosed that it will spend at least R1.5-billion this year at it moves to secure its network against both severe load shedding and vandalism. Gamberini said MTN will use the R1.5-billion allocated to building resilience in its network - protecting its infrastructure from vandals and deploying thousands of additional batteries to ensure its sites remain operational during extended power outages. Gamberini said that in the past year there have been more than 400 unique attacks on its tower infrastructure in the Eastern Cape alone. Some sites have been hit as many as 15 times, he said. In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Gamberini unpacks the impact of the vandalism and power cuts on its ability to service its clients. He also talks about how the company is working with law enforcement in an effort to address the problem, which is affecting all industry players. TechCentral

Former Altron Group and MTN South Africa chief executive Mteto Nyati has strong views on South Africa, specifically regarding the country's potential with the right leadership in place. Nyati joins Duncan McLeod on TechCentral's TC|Daily technology show to chat about the announcement this week that he has acquired a 40% stake in technology and business consultancy BSG (Business Systems Group) and how the deal came about. Nyati, who will serve as BSG's executive chairman, explains why he felt BSG was a good fit for him, and why he believes it will afford him an opportunity to build on his legacy. The conversation touches on a wide range of topics, including why Nyati joined the Eskom board -- an unexpected appointment, he says -- and decided to join the Nedbank and Telkom boards, too. He also provides his views on the outlook for South Africa, and explains why he believes that the country has a bright future -- provided it gets the right leadership in the right places. TechCentral

Former Altron Group and MTN South Africa chief executive Mteto Nyati has strong views on South Africa, specifically regarding the country's potential with the right leadership in place. Nyati joins Duncan McLeod on TechCentral's TC|Daily technology show to chat about the announcement this week that he has acquired a 40% stake in technology and business consultancy BSG (Business Systems Group) and how the deal came about. Nyati, who will serve as BSG's executive chairman, explains why he felt BSG was a good fit for him, and why he believes it will afford him an opportunity to build on his legacy. The conversation touches on a wide range of topics, including why Nyati joined the Eskom board -- an unexpected appointment, he says -- and decided to join the Nedbank and Telkom boards, too. He also provides his views on the outlook for South Africa, and explains why he believes that the country has a bright future -- provided it gets the right leadership in the right places.

Today on the Techpoint Africa Podcast, we discuss some of the hot topics in the African tech space.The stories: 54gene CEO steps down 2 months after the company laid off 30% of its workforce Customer gets ruling against MTN for misleading advert Kloud Commerce unfolding saga Nigerian Central Bank to redesign naira notes CBN plans to launch a national ATM card To advertise or promote your brand, visit this link or send an email to business@techpoint.africaExplore the fintech in everything at The Fintech Summit 2022Timestamps00:00 - Intro01:43 - Nigeria's brain drain problem17:44 - 54gene CEO steps down23:55 - Customer gets ruling against MTN South Africa over misleading ad27:06 - Kloud Commerce shuts down35:14 - CBN to redesign naira notes43:34 - CBN's national card schemeUseful links With less than 0.1% of workers migrating, Nigeria’s brain drain problem is an exaggerated case of talent migration Intelligence by Techpoint data on immigration Tibu Health is bringing world-class healthcare to Kenyan doorsteps 54gene co-founder and CEO steps down one month after co-founder VP of engineering left the company Customer gets ruling against MTN for misleading advert Investors Seek Legal Recourse After Founder Trouble Kills Kloud Commerce Unverified Kloud Commerce statement denies allegations of financial impropriety; says they are unfounded rumours by a SAFE investor Emefiele’s full speech: Why CBN is redesigning Naira notes The CBN wants to create ATM cards, could compete with Mastercard, Visa, and Verve This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and Gracious SedeEmail us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa for more stories.Music - Beach by MBB

Charles Molapisi – CEO, MTN South Africa

In this episode, we unpack lessons from Mteto Nyathi. He is the CEO who heads up the technology powerhouse Altron. He is responsible for transforming Altron into a world-class information and communications technology company that does good business while doing good. He was once the Chief Executive Officer of MTN South Africa, where he succeeded in returning the mobile company to growth by overhauling employee engagement and transforming the customer experience. Over a period of 12 years, Mteto held various leadership positions at IBM in South Africa and Europe. He later joined Microsoft South Africa, where he was MD for six years. In 2019 Mteto won the Business Leader of the Year award at the All African Business Leaders Awards (AABLA) and the IPM CEO Special Award from the Institute of People Management. He was also the joint winner of South Africa's 2013 IT Personality of the Year. In 2004 he was named one of Yale University's World Fellows on Global Leadership.  He is Mteto Nyathi and here are some lessons we can learn from him. Your choices make you“To those born in difficult circumstances, dealt a bad hand, or perceived as outsiders, in the end, what makes you are your choices.” Mteto has built his life and career on making good quality decisions. From the choice of the degree to study, to which jobs to take and how to change the course of a business, good quality decisions have been a staple. Decisions should be based on data and key values. Demming said it best “In God we trust, all others bring data.” “People will try to bamboozle you so you...you must be able to pick that up quickly and address it,” Nyathi said in an interview. Deciding on misinformation can be costly. In addition, the values need to be clear to everyone as they will be your guidance system. If you have a key value of excellence, you will make decisions aligned with excellence and not let your past dictate your future despite your background and upbringing. Employ scenario planning“When people transcend their differences and work together to achieve a common goal, greatness is possible.”“Scenario planning is something that I find so valuable today where you look ahead at the likely scenarios and start thinking about ‘what am I going to do if this thing happens?'” There is a reality that the future may be different than today and conditions may not be favourable. One way to combat this is to ensure that there is a way forward in the case of uncertainty. Scenario planning is making assumptions on what the future is going to be and how the business environment will change over time in light of that future. Mteto has employed this to lead his organisations to the pinnacle of growth and success. We are currently going through a pandemic and those who have successfully implemented scenario planning are faring better than those who have not. Scenario planning needs you to find driving forces, identify the uncertainties, come up with multiple sustainable scenarios and collectively discuss the implications. People from multiple backgrounds have so many valuable takes so it will be in the best interest to involve all their inputs. If scenario planning becomes embedded in the culture then you will be prepared for when the worst happens. Embed key values“My leadership style is rooted in values. It is the key to simplifying my life, as I base all my decisions on family, fairness, integrity and excellence. I value excellence and demand it from the people who work for me and believe that leadership is about embedding the behaviours that are linked to these values.” Mteto Nyathi is a man who bases his entire leadership style, interactions, decisions and speech on key values. His mother's influence taught him to respect people, customers and operate a business. If a decision had to be made, and it went against a key value, he would not take that root. This was easy since his value was defined and became his guidance system. A first step when he...

Tata Consultancy Services, India's biggest software services company, kicked off the fiscal second quarter earnings season on Friday. It reported revenues of $6.33 billion for the three months ended September 30. Revenues grew 15.5 percent over the same period one year ago, in constant currency, the company said in a press release after the close of Mumbai trading on Friday. Profits rose 14 percent to $1.3 billion. And in our tech conversation, we speak with Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur Jahangir Mohammed, founder and CEO of Twin Health (2:30). Tata Consultancy Services, India's biggest software services company, kicked off fiscal second-quarter earnings season on Friday, reporting revenues of $6.33 billion for the three months ended September 30. Revenues grew 15.5 percent over the same period one year ago, in constant currency, the company said in a press release after the close of Mumbai trading on Friday. Profits rose 14 percent to $1.3 billion. During the quarter, the company won large orders from customers including Swiss Re, ZF, Transport for London, Cordis, Carrefour Belgium and MTN South Africa. The company ended the quarter with nearly 529,000 employees. Apple is appealing the September ruling in the lawsuit that was brought against it by Epic Games, in which a California judge ruled that the iPhone maker can't prevent developers from including payment systems outside the App Store, The Verge reports. That ruling was part of a verdict that Apple had called a ‘resounding victory' for itself. The ruling was set to become effective in December, but with the appeal, it will likely get pushed back, according to The Verge. Tiger Global, a New York-based hedge fund, venture capital and private equity company, is in advanced talks to lead a $100 million funding round at Slice, a Bangalore fintech startup, TechCrunch reports. Other investors could include Insight Partners, Ribbit Capital and Greenoaks, according to the report.Slice has previously raised around $30 million and was valued at under $200 million in a round earlier this year, according to TechCrunch. The company, which is looking to expand India's credit card market, counts Blume Ventures, Gunosy Capital and Better Capital among its investors. Ola Electric, the electric vehicle unit of ride-hailing company Ola, has raised $200 million in an investment that values the business at more than $5 billion, according to a Press Trust of India report that appeared in Economic Times. The new investment comes days after the company raised $200 million at a post-money valuation of $3 billion. The latest funding round saw the participation of existing investors and some US-based bluechip tech funds, according to ET. Jahangir Mohammed is your quintessential serial tech entrepreneur, with a finely honed knack for identifying problems that offered large market potential if they could be solved with the right technology-led solutions. Twenty-five years after he left India for the US, he sold his second company, Jasper Technologies, a Silicon Valley-based internet-of-things company, to Cisco for $1.4 billion. It was then, that his “life's work” started, he told me in a zoom call over the weekend. His latest venture is Twin Health, a medical services business that combines the latest in AI and medical sciences to treat and even reverse diseases like diabetes in many cases. As the name suggests, part of the solution is around developing a digital twin of each patient's metabolism.

Aki Anastasiou interviews Godfrey Motsa, the CEO of MTN South Africa.

TechCentral — MTN South Africa chief technology and information officer Giovanni Chiarelli joins the TechCentral podcast to chat about the company's launch on Tuesday of its commercial 5G network and what was involved. In the podcast, Chiarelli talks about why MTN has chosen the cities and towns it has for the launch, why it's using different frequency bands - including 700MHz in Port Alfred - and why it won't be rushing to build a national 5G network until there's clarity on the outcome of a planned spectrum auction. Chiarelli also explains why MTN is deploying a technology known as dynamic spectrum sharing and why he believes this year's Apple iPhone 12 launch is going to propel consumer interest in 5G.

Mobile operator MTN Group will launch its 5G commercial network in South Africa next week, joining Vodacom Group and Rain in the race to expand fifth-generation technology in the country. The firm said it is hosting a virtual launch event on June 30, where MTN South Africa CEO Godfrey Motsa will be present with other officials. Last November, Swedish mobile telecoms equipment maker Ericsson announced that it had been selected by MTN South Africa to build its new 5G core mobile and radio network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The South African Reserve Bank has announced emergency liquidity measures in a bid to ease the stress on banks caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The measures, announced on Friday, include a lower rate for commercial banks to borrow money from the SARB. In a statement, the bank said the Standing Facilities lending rate will be adjusted lower to the repo rate, from the prevailing rate of the repo rate plus 100 basis points. It said the measure will support banks to facilitate their flow of money market liquidity without being penalized.Meanwhile, South African telecommunications company, MTN, has agreed to reduce the cost of its monthly data bundles of 1 gigabyte and below by between 25 percent and 50 percent from April. The telecoms company, on Friday, says the decision follows findings that the country's mobile data prices were the highest on the continent. MTN South Africa said the price of its 1GB monthly data bundle will fall by 33 percent to 99 rand from 149 rand.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/africabusinessnews/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/africabusinessnews/support

MTN South Africa has announced that it will reduce the tariffs of its monthly data bundles of 1GB and below by between 25-50 per cent while the 1GB monthly bundle will decrease by 33 per cent to R99 with effect from next month. MTN made the announcement at a briefing held at its headquarters in Johannesburg, joined by minister of communications and digital technologies Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. After two year of investigation, the Competition Commission released its data services market inquiry report in December last year. The report said MTN and Vodacom had to independently reach an agreement with the regulator on substantially reducing data prices within two months of the release of the report.We spoke to MTN SA's Executive for Corporate Affairs, Jacqui O'Sullivan….

The South African Reserve Bank has announced emergency liquidity measures in a bid to ease the stress on banks caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The measures, announced on Friday, include a lower rate for commercial banks to borrow money from the SARB. In a statement, the bank said the Standing Facilities lending rate will be adjusted lower to the repo rate, from the prevailing rate of the repo rate plus 100 basis points. It said the measure will support banks to facilitate their flow of money market liquidity without being penalized. Meanwhile, South African telecommunications company, MTN, has agreed to reduce the cost of its monthly data bundles of 1 gigabyte and below by between 25 percent and 50 percent from April. The telecoms company, on Friday, says the decision follows findings that the country’s mobile data prices were the highest on the continent. MTN South Africa said the price of its 1GB monthly data bundle will fall by 33 percent to 99 rand from 149 rand. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TechCentral — In this promoted episode of the podcast, TechCentral speaks to Tim Akinnusi, founder and CEO of MortgageMarket.co.za, about how the fintech start-up hopes to make it easier – and more financially rewarding – to secure a home loan. In the podcast, Akinnusi -- a former MD of Absa Home Loans and former executive head of sales & client value management and Nedbank Home Loans -- explains how MortgageMarket, which he describes as South Africa’s first online marketplace that allows consumers to compare home loan offers, works with South Africa’s biggest banks. He explains why he quit the corporate world to launch MortgageMarket, how the platform works and how he sees it growing in the coming years. Is it always just about the best price, or are there other factors one needs to consider when choosing a home loan provider? How long does it take compared to a normal home loan application process? And how does MortgageMarket work with real-estate agents? There is no fee involved for home buyers and, in fact, MortgageMarket pays home buyers a guaranteed R5 000 to R25 000 – Akinnusi explains how and why in the podcast. He also talks about the companies MortgageMarket has partnered with -- including Samsung Electronics and MTN South Africa -- and who the platform is targeted at.

TechCentral — In this episode of the podcast, Duncan McLeod speaks on an Internet call with Cell C chief legal officer Graham Mackinnon about the multibillion-rand 3G and 4G/LTE roaming agreement his company has just signed with MTN South Africa. Mackinnon explains the mechanics of the deal, what it means for consumers and the impact it could have on data pricing. He talks about what the deal means for Cell C's existing roaming deal with Vodacom, the geographic areas that are covered by the MTN deal and what it means for Cell C's balance sheet. How important is seamless handover, which forms part of the deal, for consumers and when can Cell C customers expect to benefit? Mackinnon answers all these questions and more in the podcast. Don't miss it!

It’s been a busy week for the continent’s fintech scene. The past week saw MTN South Africa announce that it would be discontinuing its mobile money service due to “a lack of commercial viability”. This revelation comes months after Vodacom South Africa ended it’s catastrophic attempt at copying and pasting Kenya’s M-Pesa magic. Meanwhile, Madagascar became only the second African country after Tanzania to to roll out mobile money interoperability across the country's mobile networks. But easily one of the catchiest headline stories of the past week was about Barclays Africa’s involvement in what’s being celebrated as the very first blockchain verified financial transaction in the world by a major banking institution. The pilot deal between The Seychelles Trading Company Ltd. and Ornua saw the two companies harness a blockchain platform developed by Wave to trade a letter of credit. This transaction has to be Barclays’ most overt show of confidence in the potential of blockchain technology to deliver improved efficiencies in international trade. Also in this week’s African Tech Round-up, is a discussion Andile Masuku had with the Kenyan journalist, Eric Mugendi. Eric is Editor-at-large at iAfrikan.com, and also writes for his Tumbler called Kenyan Longreads. Eric joined Andile on the show to discuss the controversy that unfolded on Twitter around the African Tech Summit happening in London on September 29th. The event’s conspicuously mostly male non-black/non-African speaker list included folks many people in the Twitterverse did not feel were representative of Africa’s tech ecosystem, and also managed to leave out many worthy participants. Andile and Eric unpacked the issues at play. Music Credits: Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In the latest episode of TalkCentral, hosts Duncan McLeod and Regardt van der Berg chat about Google's I/O 2016 developer conference, big changes happening at MTN South Africa and the return of Nokia-branded mobile phones. Podcast website

TechCentral — In the latest episode of TalkCentral, hosts Duncan McLeod and Regardt van der Berg chat about Google's I/O 2016 developer conference, big changes happening at MTN South Africa and the return of Nokia-branded mobile phones.

There are three prevailing views on bitcoin and the blockchain: 1) that it's a scam, 2) it's one of the most fascinating technological developments of the decade, and 3) it's just another tech fad that's not worth trying to grasp, nevermind fussing over. View number three is probably held by the vast majority of people on the continent. This week, Tefo Mohapi and I (Andile Masuku) will try and establish whether the hype around bitcoin and the various useful applications of the blockchain (which Africa has so far tentatively embraced) is justified. Despite Wall Street's gradual warming to bitcoin, and companies like Kenya's BitPesa building clever service offerings on the back of the bitcoin blockchain, it remains to be seen whether bitcoin will go on to be widely accepted worldwide as a trusted measure of value, and whether the blockchain will be used to platform future technological innovation. We've decided to make featuring listeners' comments a permanent part of the show, and so this week we share comments made in response to last week's debate: "Open Source vs. Proprietary Software: What is Best For Africa?" As always, you can also expect all the week’s most important tech, digital and innovation news: -- Discover why there's an outcry over South Africa's recently-announced aerial drone laws, -- Get details on Automattic's acquisition of WooThemes, -- Learn more about the MTN South Africa workers' strike that saw 2,000 people down tools, and -- Find out which African country Kenya's BitPesa is expanding into. Music Credits: All Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/