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JOHANNESBURG: Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced a 36-player squad for the SA20 Women’s U19 Camp at the CSA Centre...
The post SA20 U19 WOMEN’S CAMP COMMENCES PREPARATION FOR 2025 U19 WORLD CUP first appeared on Cricket South Africa.
These are uncertain – even frightening – times in which we find ourselves. Simultaneously, we’re experiencing the psychological and financial aftershock of a global pandemic, the escalation of geopolitical tensions, and the spectre of rising global conflict. We are also experiencing unprecedented levels of social division. Given this unsettling background, the demands on corporate leadership …
Haematopus moquini has gone from “Near Threatened” to “Least Concern” on the Red Data List
By Mike Cook, Mukuru Head of Wallet and VAS; Lorraine Nyawo, Mukuru Head of Product Domain: Financial Services (www.Mukuru.com).
All around the world businesses are pulling out the stops to achieve growth in what can best be described as challenging economic conditions. Africa is no exception. The continent has long been recognised for its immense potential, and as such businesses across sectors are investing heavily into the continent. Advancements in technology make serving the unbanked and underserved populations in Africa more viable than ever before. However, that does not mean growth comes easily. It is a hyper competitive and complex environment where genuinely understanding your customer is key to growth.
Even with this textbook understanding, there is a strong urge to take the “build it and they will come” approach because we can get caught up in our own technology and view problems from our frame of reference while ignoring the customer. This is typified in the African market where we see multiple shiny apps being dropped across markets with massive investments behind them only to be followed by a scaling down of operations as customer uptake and usage have not met expectations.
Instead, leading fintechs that show consistent growth have a deep understanding of their customers' needs and then constantly listen to their customers. Having a deep understanding of customer needs results in innovative solutions. But that is only half of what you need. Listening to customers as you build those solutions is what guarantees market adoption and success. It also allows you to discover further unmet needs. Without listening you fall into the trap of building it and hoping customers will come.
The point here is that you need to listen to customers that are already talking to you. Yes, A fintech can listen directly to its customers in the form of focus groups or formal surveys where customers can engage and tell it directly and clearly what they don't like, what they do, and what they want. But in a fast-paced environment it is not always possible to engage in traditional research to uncover what your customers are saying. More importantly, businesses need to develop the capacity to use existing touch points where customers are already talking to them to gather the insights needed for successful product development.
Social media is a massively useful tool for this. If a business is using its social media only as a marketing or customer service tool it is missing the boat. By mining the comments coming through social media channels, including positive and negative feedback, businesses have a treasure trove of data on their customers' voice.
Internal support tickets are another avenue. Whether customers are emailing, submitting comments through various platforms or calling into a contact centre, they are telling you about their problems. Often, this information starts and stops with frontline staff. Fintechs, or any businesses, need to have the right processes to gather that information effectively and feed it up to the product development team.
Of course, it is great when customers explicitly tell you what they want or need through these channels but regardless of what they say, every interaction can implicitly give you direction. For example, if customers continue to complain about something, they may not be telling you what to do or what to change, but they are telling you that your current solution is not working. An effective business must address those problems because that's how to genuinely serve customers.
Of course, listening is only worth anything if you do something about it. The amount of data and insights being mined can become overwhelming and so businesses need a quick way of scoring opportunities. It is impossible to have all possible information to calculate the most accurate return on investment. Rather, the business needs a quick, effectively designed scoring system or process that can help decision-makers weigh up revenue opportunities and customer service opportunities.
The team needs to balance these opportunities based on the business's long-term strategy and on what the most pressing need is for customers. This is important because in a highly competitive world, customer retention is golden. Beyond this, an effective scoring system keeps the development roadmap full.
Beyond scoring, prioritising opportunities is also influenced by where a business is in its development cycle, which development teams have immediate capacity, and which of the top opportunities can fit into the development roadmap immediately. Certainly, from an innovative fintech's perspective, the goal should be to get a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) out of the gates as quickly as possible as opposed to chasing the Rolls Royce solution at the outset. This is critical if the fintech wishes to be agile and relevant as opposed to producing one shiny, state-of-the-art product a year with no real knowledge of how customers will react to it.
One of the most important ways a fintech can listen to its customers is to gauge how they engage with its products. By using agile methods and principles, and building iteratively — from getting an MVP into testing and then exposed to the market, all the way through phase two and three development — a successful fintech is able to use its tight feedback loops to continually listen to customers. This way the product's development is influenced by the needs of the customer all through its development, meaning the product is effectively serving needs and not just being pushed into the market.
A customer may not understand or use a product the way it was designed — this is incredibly useful information during development phases. Mukuru develops with a finger on the pulse of feedback loops because developing products for the unbanked is not the same as developing products out of Silicon Valley: Solutions don't yet exist and they need to be built from scratch.
Of course, not all resources can go into new features and a portion of development should go into maintenance and support for live products — after all, the brand promise must be kept. It's a balancing act that each company must manage.
This is how fintechs such as Mukuru evolve into next-generation digital financial services providers. The brand promise is pinned on growing diverse products on the same platform, using the same payment rails and methods that customers have used and grown to trust.
This is, at its core, financial inclusion because it takes the unbanked and underserved on a journey from remittances, to wallets, to the ability to purchase online goods and services, to credit, funeral cover and more. None of this is possible without developing products based on the exact needs of your customer base.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Mukuru.
About Mukuru:
Mukuru is a leading next generation financial services platform in Southern Africa that offers affordable and reliable financial services to a customer base of over 13 million across Africa, Asia and Europe.
With over 100 million transactions to date, our core was built providing international money transfers and from this base, we've developed a set of services to address the broader financial needs of our customers. We now operate in over 50 countries and across over 300 remittance corridors.
We are a business that puts the customer at the centre of everything we do, and for that reason, we serve clients across physical and digital channels, by various payment methods (cash, card, wallet) as well as a range of engagement platforms including WhatsApp, USSD, contact centre, App, website, agents and a branch and booth network.
Mukuru has, for the fourth consecutive year, been listed as one of the top 100 Cross Border Payments businesses in the world in the 2023 FXC Intelligence Top 100 Cross-Border Payment Companies (https://apo-opa.co/48HwI0k), one of only six African companies to receive this accolade.
In April 2023, Mukuru officially ranked sixth on the 2023 LinkedIn Top Companies List in South Africa.
Mukuru was celebrated for innovation and excellence at the 2023 Africa Tech Festival Awards, receiving the Fintech Innovation of the Year Award - an acknowledgment of the transformative power of financial technology in driving economic growth, financial inclusion, and digital transformation.
Further information can be found at https://www.Mukuru.com.
Michael Weeder, who has spoken out against Israel’s bombardment of Palestine, retires as Dean of St George’s Cathedral
Over a million travellers processed over Easter period
The Border Management Authority (BMA) facilitated about 1 136 250 travellers across the country’s 71 ports of entry over the Easter period.
This represents a 24% increase or 222 391 more travellers than last year, the BMA announced on Sunday.
This as the BMA’s Commissioner, Dr Mike Masiapato, announced the results of the 10-day Easter plan implementation that ran from 26 March to 4 April 2024.
Masiapato identified OR Tambo International Airport, the Lebombo port of entry to Mozambique, and Beitbridge port of entry to Zimbabwe as the top three ports that processed the majority of travellers with a total of 528 042 individuals.
“In fact, OR Tambo facilitated the most travellers at 217 855, followed by Lebombo at 157 069 and Beitbridge at 153 118 travellers,” he said at a media briefing held at the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) head office in Pretoria.
He added that at the Cape Town harbour had seen an increase in the number of holiday makers boarding cruise ships for various destinations, according to border law enforcement officials.
The BMA also processed about 36 675 private vehicles, 1 893 minibus taxis, 1 309 buses and over 2 621 aircrafts at various international airports.
It also handled 252 vessels across seaports of which 119 were for crew changes through the off-port limit mechanism.
“This has to do with the facilitation of crew changes for vessels that have not docked at the port. During the implementation of this plan on people movement, we deployed proactive preventative measures for the speedy detection of non-compliances on the set port protocols.”
The Commissioner revealed that 3 841 people attempting to enter South Africa illegally were intercepted.
Of the 3 841, about 2 403 did not have any documents, 1 019 were refused entry for being “undesirable”, while about 419 were found to be “inadmissible” to enter the country due to various reasons.
“The majority of those arrested without documents were intercepted at the vulnerable segments of the borderline. They were processed, declared undesirable for five years, and were deported.”
According to Masiapato, most of the “inadmissible” individuals had invalid passports, fraudulent visas or simply failed to produce relevant documents such as valid yellow fever certificates.
“We would like to indicate that the success of this Easter operations can be attributed to the consistent implementation of all proactive measures and those include effective corridor management which was done in full collaboration with the respective local traffic authorities. As such, none of our key arteries leading to any of the land ports of entry experienced any kind of congestion.”
He also expressed his gratitude to all motorists for observing traffic laws and adhering to the instructions of traffic authorities.
He also applauded the Stockpoort port of entry for processing and recording data of all passengers who were on the bus en route from Botswana to Moria in Limpopo for the Easter pilgrimage.
“Despite our limited resources, our officers continue to work tirelessly to ensure the smooth flow of legitimate travellers while upholding the highest security standards. We are extremely proud and appreciative of the resilience of our border officials in rendering a stable service in very difficult conditions,” he said.
Earlier this week, President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Botswana counterpart, President Mokgweetsi Masisi visited the site of the bus crash which claimed the lives of 45 Botswana nationals.
The only survivor of the crash was an eight-year-old child. SAnews.gov.za
Gabisile
Sun, 04/14/2024 - 11:39
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in partnership with the Wireless Female Network (WFN) team up to launch first Period Art gallery in South Africa and on the African continent. The Wireless Female Network and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) are thrilled by the concept of a Period Art gallery as this further dismantles the glass …
Two teachers were given an inappropriately small fine by the South African Council for Education and left to continue teaching
Storing food in the right spots in the fridge, at the right temperatures, can help it stay fresh longer, leading to less food being thrown away. Preserving food in the fridge may seem like a common task, yet doing it correctly can significantly affect your health and food quality. Understanding the importance of proper food …
Unleash limitless adventures from your couch thanks to LG’s perfect, compact sound system. The living room is more than just a space for relaxation—it is the heart of home entertainment. Imagine being whisked away from the comfort of your sofa to the electric atmosphere of a live concert in Sydney or the thrilling energy of …
It’s more than a trend…non-alcoholic pairings are becoming de rigueur in fine dining restaurants around the world. Chefs and sommeliers from FYN, Pier, The Living Room at Summerhill Estate, and Salsify talk about their experience of non-alcoholic pairings in a South African restaurant context. Fine dining and fine wines have been the preferred pairing since …
1 000 permanent officials appointed for the Correctional Services
The Department of Correctional Services’ National Commissioner, Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale, has approved the permanent appointment of 1 003 learners as correctional officials for the 2024/25 financial year.
According to the department, the move is a demonstration of government’s foremost priority of creating opportunities for young people and supporting them to access work opportunities.
This means the youngsters, who took part in the 12-month Correctional Services Learnership NQF Level 4 programme in 2022 and were subsequently hired as auxiliary support officials on a contractual basis, have now been offered permanent positions starting from 1 April 2024.
The learnership programme also includes practical training at correctional centres.
As per the statement, 466 correctional officials were appointed in the Western Cape, 214 in KwaZulu-Natal, 107 in the Eastern Cape, 75 each in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West, 69 in both Free State and the Northern Cape, 64 in Gauteng and eight at head office.
Thobakgale believes the appointments will strengthen security at correctional facilities.
“These appointments will go a long way to strengthen security in correctional centres and ensure more boots on the ground. This serves as a direct response to contributing to a just, peaceful and safer South Africa through effective and humane incarceration, and the rehabilitation and social reintegration of inmates,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
Gabisile
Wed, 04/10/2024 - 15:38
EAST LONDON: Tazmin Brits showcased her batting prowess with her second career hundred for the Proteas Women as the first ICC...
NH Collection Sandton to be launched in Africa’s richest square mile Johannesburg, 9 April 2024: Minor Hotels, an international hotel owner, operator and investor with more than 540 hotels in 56 countries in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Europe and the Americas, is pleased to announce the signing of a strategic …
Entries for the Totalsports Women’s Race, South Africa’s premier Women’s Month Celebration, will open on Wednesday, 10 April 2024. “What better way to honor National Women’s Day than by extending the celebration throughout the month of August,” says Michael Meyer, Managing Director of Stillwater Sports. “We’re excited to unite with thousands of active women across …
Fresh from her dominant victory at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K this past weekend, Kenya’s Diana Chepkorir has confirmed that she will take part in the next Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series race of the season, the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K on Sunday, 12 May 2024. The diminutive Kenyan put …
As South African households continue to grapple with high inflation, rising interest rates, increasing petrol and food prices, as well as unrelenting electricity hikes, getting as much value as possible from finances and banking has become a priority for most people. Nedbank has responded to this need for value-adding banking with a premium banking experience, …
Zwelinzima Primary has 200 learners and 13 staff but no toilets
Kenya’s Vincent Kibet Langat and Diana Chepkorir claimed top honors in the men’s and women’s races, respectively, at the 2nd annual Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K on Sunday, 7 April 2024. Langat boasted a winning time of 28:01 and Chepkorir 31:15. At the age of 37, veteran South African top runner Elroy Gelant is …
Feeling overwhelmed by life’s demands? Is the constant juggle of work, family and relationships leaving you feeling like you are just keeping your head above water? According to research, the solution is simple: spend more time in nature. “Sounds easy enough, yet many of us just don’t do it,” says Orrin Cottle, CEO of Brahman …
JOHANNESBURG: Cricket South Africa (CSA) has named the SA Emerging Women squad set to challenge Sri Lanka in a 50-over warm-up...
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Political parties, independent candidates sign Code of Conduct
Political parties and independent candidates contesting the 2024 National and Provincial Elections have signed the Electoral Commission’s Code of Conduct committing to abide by the set of rules that are meant to ensure free and fair elections.
The General Elections will be held on 29 May to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each province.
This will be the seventh general election held in the democratic dispensation since the end of the apartheid era in 1994.
In total, 325 political parties will be taking part in this year’s elections.
In his keynote address at the signing ceremony held in Midrand on Thursday, Electoral Commission (IEC) chairperson Mosotho Moepya said violations of the Electoral Code of Conduct can cast doubt on the legitimacy of election results, and lead to disputes and legal challenges.
“By complying with the code, political parties help to ensure that election outcomes are accepted as legitimate by all stakeholders, thereby contributing to political stability and social cohesion,” Moepya said.
Click here for the Electoral Code of Conduct.
Moepya said with freedom comes great responsibility. The Constitution affords political parties, independent candidates and citizens the freedom to contest elections for public office.
“Today's signing ceremony holds profound significance, as the country witnesses leaders of parties represented in the National Party Liaison Committee publicly pledge to abide by the Electoral Code of Conduct for the forthcoming elections.
“This code provides the framework for conduct consistent with the vision of democratic forebears, who envisioned a society at peace with itself and all its constituents. It is a statutory instrument for realising free and fair elections, requiring profound political leadership, as its observance reflects not only our commitment as democrats but also our collective dedication to orderly public affairs.
“As leaders, we bear the responsibility of guiding our nation towards a vision of peace and tranquillity,” Moepya said.
Rules and regulations
Moepya said beyond adherence to the code, political parties, independent candidates and citizens alike must actively promote awareness of the code's purpose and support efforts to educate voters.
Moepya said certain behaviours, such as inciting violence, intimidation, spreading false information or abusing positions of power, are strictly prohibited and must be met with swift accountability measures.
Moepya said upholding the provisions of the Electoral Code of Conduct reinforces democratic values such as tolerance, respect for diversity and the peaceful resolution of disputes.
“These values are essential for the functioning of a healthy democracy and fostering trust between citizens and their elected representatives.
“We know that political violence and intimidation can undermine the integrity of the electoral process and deter citizens from exercising their right to vote. By complying with the code, political parties help prevent such incidents and contribute to a peaceful electoral environment.
“The Electoral Code of Conduct also aims to ensure that all political parties and candidates have equal opportunities to campaign and communicate their messages to voters,” Moepya said.
30 Years of Democracy
Sy Mamabolo, the Electoral Commission’s Chief Electoral Officer, said as the country commemorates the 30th anniversary of democracy, it is vital to reflect on one of its abiding successes.
“Today, we stand before South Africa and her people to affirm our readiness to conduct an election which accords with the constitutional yardsticks and international norms.
“We give this affirmation of readiness, alive to the enormity of the challenge that rests on our hands. We stand ready to assiduously ensure that we do not let the motherland down for otherwise history will have a deleterious account of our charge of this task,” he said.
Most political parties had expressed their delight in taking part in the signing ceremony.
Sizwe Ummah Nation (SUN) party representative, Mondli Thulani Ncayiyane, commended the signing ceremony.
“The Electoral Commission has done a splendid job by coming with the Code of Conduct committing political parties to, among other things, denounce violence during the election period.
“As a party, we support the initiative and we hope that this is going to ensure peaceful elections in our country,” Ncayiyane said.
Echoing the same sentiments was Inayet Hussain Hassen from the Allied Movement for Change, who praised the IEC for the good work they have done in a bid to ensure peaceful elections.
“We are aware that it is not going to be easy for the voters as the ballot paper is going to be a big one, but we hope everything will be under control.
“The IEC has a good track record for conducting elections. We are confident that all the other political parties are going to uphold the Code of Conduct,” Hassen said.
Party lists
Last month, the Commission made available the lists of names of independent and political party candidates available for inspection at its national office, and at all its nine provincial offices and local municipal offices.
Parties intending to contest the elections were given an opportunity to revise their lists and inform the commission if they had nominated candidates who also appeared on the list of another party or who were nominated as independent candidates.
In all, there were 42 candidates appearing on more than one party list implicating 39 parties. Furthermore, one candidate was nominated as an independent candidate and also appeared on a list of a party.
The final list of candidates contesting the elections will be published by the Commission on 10 April 2024.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in February that South Africa will head to the polls on 29 May 2024 for the General National and Provincial Elections. – SAnews.gov.za
Edwin
Thu, 04/04/2024 - 13:52