Rampant online retail set to hit R130bn
Kathy Gibson reports – Online retail is set to account for 10% of all retail spend in South Africa within just a few months, reaching a value of R130-billion by the end of this year. Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, points out that the online market was worth...
Demand for AI skills in surges
Artificial intelligence (AI) skills are in high demand in the South African job market, with the demand in advertised roles requiring AI expertise increasing by 352% since 2019. This is one of the key insights to emerge from Pnet’s Job Market Trends Report for August...
Africa is most heavily attacked region by cybercriminals
Check Point Research’s latest Global Threat Intelligence Report for August 2025 shows that organisations worldwide faced an average of 1 994 cyberattacks per week and, while this marked a 1% decline from July, it represents a 10% increase YoY - reinforcing that the...
Smartphone attacks are up in 2025
According to Kaspersky data, there were 29% more attacks on Android smartphone users in the first half of 2025 compared to the first half of 2024, and 48% more compared to the second half of 2024. In 2025, Kaspersky detected prominent mobile threats such as SparkCat,...
FTC investigates AI chatbots for children
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered seven companies that provide consumer-facing AI-powered chatbots to provide information on how these firms measure, test and monitor potentially negative impacts of the technology on children and teens. AI chatbots may...
Greylisting not the only test of SA’s financial system
With FATF’s review imminent, the country faces more than the risk of remaining greylisted. Outdated and costly international money transfers are undermining competitiveness, increasing trade risks, and deterring investment. By Harry Scherzer, founder and CEO of Future...
A primer on essential first aid skills
World First Aid Day – taking place on September 13 this year – is a reminder that the first few minutes of an emergency are the most critical. Every year, thousands of preventable deaths and injuries occur simply because people don’t know what to do in these moments....
Digital Parks Africa, iXAfrica expand African data centres
Digital Parks Africa (DPA), a 100% South African-owned data centre provider, has partnered with iXAfrica Data Centres, East Africa’s first, hyper-scale, carrier-neutral, AI-ready data centre, to bring world-class data centre services to Southern and East Africa. The...
ER24 and Vodacom reach out to SA’s deaf community
More than 600 000 people in South Africa use sign language and, in 2023, South African Sign Language (SASL) became the country’s 12th official language. Yet speech- and hearing-impaired, as well as deaf communities, still face significant challenges in accessing...
Scan to Pay partners with AltcoinTrader to enable crypto spending
Cryptocurrency holders will be able to spend AltcoinTrader’s xZAR stablecoin directly at over 650 000 acceptance locations across the payment network thanks to a new partnership between Scan to Pay and AltcoinTrader, which transforms stored digital value into...
Export-led growth hinges on livestock health,
Robust biosecurity systems, disease surveillance and coordinated response mechanisms are critically important to protect South Africa’s livestock industry against transboundary animal diseases. This is one of the recommendations of the Spring edition of the Absa...
SA could leapfrog the world in EV adoption
Often perceived to be lagging behind the developed world, South Africa has a unique opportunity to not only catch up, but to leapfrog established markets like Europe and the USA in the long-term adoption of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs). By Linda Cele, products head key...