Posts by Shahrain Coovadia
Jumia, officially the 1st African tech unicorn
Last month we reported that Jumia was to offer its shares on the NY Stock Exchange. On the launch day, 12 April Jumia’s valuation reached $3.9bn on the NYSE. MTN…
Read MoreNew PWC Report shows that Mobiles are now used more than PCs for ecommerce
PWC’s annual survey PwC Global Consumer Insights survey assessed the shopping behaviour, habits and expectations of 21,480 consumers in 27 countries, including 1,009 from SA, and found that consumers shop on smartphones…
Read MoreSkilling the Youth of Africa
Recently I saw that the Gauteng Department of Education has opened 2 new schools focused on creating a skilled labour force in respond to the challenge of fixing digital skills gap in key…
Read MoreGoogle opens AI Research Centre in Ghana
Google has officially opened its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Centre in Ghana with high hopes of finding solutions to Africa’s problems. As readers know, AI emphasizes the creation of intelligent…
Read MoreEurope needs to decide on a digital tax and should lead the way if there is insufficient consensus globally, according to the EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
There is still disagreement among EU members over how to implement a so-called “GAFA tax” – named after Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon – to ensure the global internet giants…
Read MoreGoogle has agreed to unbundle the Apps it offers in Europe
Last July the European Commission fined Google €4.34bn for imposing conditions on mobile phone manufacturers who wished to install its apps in Europe. These included a requirement to install a…
Read MoreWarning Magento users!
IT Web carried a story recently that an attack code has been going the rounds that exploits a critical vulnerability in the Magento ecommerce platform, meaning it could be used to…
Read MoreAd-blockers and the Internet
The widespread use of ad-blockers, said to be much higher amongst the under 35s, is threatening both traditional online news providers and their new all-digital rivals. Also, the number of…
Read MoreMinister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane unveils a new White Paper for Science and Technology
In March the Cabinet approved the new White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI). This new roadmap, according to the Department of Science and Technology (DST), identifies the fourth…
Read MoreThe dangers of fake news recognised
In the run-up to the SA Elections next month, concern has been expressed over the use of fake news and trolls to influence the results. After all Cambridge Analytica, before…
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