The digitisation of social interactions has made it easier for people to maintain contact and build online communities. However, there has been a decrease in in-person interaction that has contributed to a sense of disconnect.
South African-made social media platform Sociable hopes to solve this problem by combining online engagement with in-person meetups, connecting people based on shared interests.
In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Sociable co-founder and CEO Jason van Dyk tells TechCentral’s Nathi Ndlovu about the importance of community and how Sociable is helping drive its development.
In the show, Van Dyk delves into:
• How community builders benefit from using the Sociable platform;
• The features Sociable provides to communities and their members to enhance engagement;
• How meeting spaces including coffee shops, bars and restaurants benefit from the in-person component of Sociable’s community meetups;
• Sociable’s approach to safety for its users;
• How Sociable positions itself against large social media platforms like Facebook;
• Some of the most popular communities on the platform; and
• The impact of AI on the social media landscape.
Don’t miss the conversation!

TCS | South Africa’s Sociable wants to make social media social again

Spar Group is determined to play a significant role in the on-demand grocery delivery space in South Africa despite coming from behind, its omnichannel executive for Southern Africa has told TechCentral.
Speaking to the TechCentral Show, Blake Raubenheimer took the publication’s editor, Duncan McLeod, through the retailer’s plan to compete directly with the likes of Shoprite Holdings’ Sixty60, which gained an early market lead during the Covid lockdowns.
Spar has every intention of becoming a meaningful player in app-based on-demand deliveries, according to Raubenheimer, who unpacked the retailer’s plan to gain market share in the increasingly competitive but fast-expanding segment with Spar2U.
South Africa’s grocery sector has become increasingly competitive as price-conscious consumers look for value, convenience and distinctive products.
Shoprite and Woolworths are keeping their rivals on their toes as they continue to sign up customers. Pick n Pay, which is also coming from behind, is aggressively targeting the space, too.
In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Raubenheimer discusses:
* How Spar’s business model – the vast majority of stores are run by franchisees – has complicated its move into the on-demand grocery game, and how it's working to turn this to its advantage;
* How Spar is working to convince consumers to try Spar2U over other on-demand services;
* The group’s broader omnichannel strategy, where the retailer is positioned in the market, where it wants to get to, and how it plans to do it;
* Its focus on the township and rural markets through partnerships with companies like KasiD and Delivery Ka Speed – and why it’s important;
Spar’s partnership with Uber Eats;
* How Spar’s SAP enterprise software implementation in KwaZulu-Natal went awry and how it impacted the retailer; and
* What Spar is working on from a technology perspective.
Don’t miss a fascinating discussion about how technology is transforming the retail industry in South Africa.

Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

What should one make of the noise surrounding the licensing (or non-licensing) of Starlink in South Africa? And what of the plans to reform the rules around black economic empowerment in the sector?
To make sense of these developments – and others – TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod sat down this week with Nomvuyiso Batyi, CEO of the Association for Comms & Technology (ACT), an industry body that represents South Africa’s six largest telecommunications operators: MTN, Telkom, Vodacom, Rain, Liquid Intelligent Technologies and Cell C.
In the interview, for the TechCentral Show, Batyi unpacked communications minister Solly Malatsi’s draft policy directive to communications regulator Icasa on so-called “equity equivalents” and why ACT believes there needs to be fairness in the licensing process. If the new rules apply to satellite operators, she said, they should apply to all licensees in the sector equally, including the big telecoms operators ACT represents.
In the show, she also discussed:
• Whether Starlink – and other low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite internet companies pose a threat or an opportunity for South Africa’s network operators;
• The role of LEO satellite operators in South Africa’s future telecommunications mix – and can they help bridge the digital divide?;
• The latest on the planned switch-off of 2G and 3G networks in South Africa, and why 3G will be the first to go;
• Whether national treasury’s recent move to cut ad valorem tax on basic smartphones goes far enough – and what other measures ACT would like to see to get smartphones in the hands of everyone in South Africa; and
• What is happening regarding the next spectrum auction.
Don’t miss a great discussion!

Nomvuyiso Batyi on Starlink, BEE reform and spectrum

Altron Group announced last week that it was selling its Altron Nexus businesses in a management buyout led by Nexus MD Louis du Toit and BriteGaze founder and technology entrepreneur Reshaad Sha.
Sha and Du Toit are our guests in this episode of the TechCentral Show, where they tell TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod about the acquisition and their growth plans for the business.
As part of the acquisition – which is still subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions, which should be concluded by the end of June – Altron Nexus will be rebranded as Sentiv, a portmanteau of “sentient” and “intuitive”.
Sha will serve as Sentiv’s executive chairman while Du Toit will be CEO.
“Together they will steer Sentiv’s transformation into a future-orientated technology partner offering intelligent, context-aware, mission-critical communications and industrial internet-of-things solutions,” according to a statement from the acquiring parties.
In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Du Toit and Sha tell McLeod about:
• How the deal came about;
• The assets and businesses housed in Altron Nexus; and
• The plan to turn the business around.
Don’t miss a great conversation!

Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

TechCentral’s guests in this episode of the TechCentral Show believe Blue Label Telecoms and its affiliate (and soon to be subsidiary) Cell C present a compelling investment case.
Philip Short, global portfolio manager at Flagship Asset Management – which counts Blue label as its sole South African investment – and Dylan Bradfield, portfolio manager at Sharenet, tell TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod that they believe the turnaround taking place at Cell C is real, and will have a meaningful impact on Blue Label shares.
Blue shares, which have already rallied strongly – which have more than doubled in the past six months – could still have plenty of room to run, according to Short.
In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Short and Bradfield unpack:
• Blue Label’s announcement earlier this month that it is considering a JSE listing for Cell C;
• Why Cell C’s restructured operating model and strategy makes sense, and why that’s good news for Blue Label shareholders;
• The role of Cell C CEO Jorge Mendes in the turnaround – and what the opportunity is for the mobile operator with its new “asset-light” model of running its network – management of its radio access network has effectively been outsourced to partners (and competitors) MTN and Vodacom;
• Which operators would be most vulnerable to a resurgent Cell C;
• The importance of Cell C’s strategy around mobile virtual network operators and the significance of its relationship with Capitec;
• The move by Blue Label to sell Comm Equipment Company to Cell C – good move or not?
• Whether Cell C can compete with Telkom, Vodacom and MTN in the business market, something Mendes has signalled his desire to do;
• What the listing of Cell C could look like, what management’s focus should be before the listing and what kind of valuation the business could attract; and
• How much more value could be unlocked for Blue Label shareholders.
Don’t miss a fascinating discussion!

Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

4Sight Holdings has turned the corner and has signalled this with a recent move from the AltX to the main board of the JSE.
CEO Tertius Zitzke is our guest in this episode of the TechCentral Show. He tells TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod about the turnaround he’s leading – not to mention the mess he inherited when he took over leadership of the business in December 2019, months before Covid hit.
4Sight has been operating largely below the radar, but the investment community has begun paying attention – and, although the shares been moving sideways for the past year, over three years they have climbed by 250%.
In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Zitzke unpacks:
• What motivated the decision to move to the JSE’s main board;
• His background, including his leadership AccTech Systems, its acquisition by 4Sight and how he became CEO of the group;
• Why the business was listed originally, and how its focus has changed under his leadership;
• How the turnaround was achieved – and what still needs to be done;
• Where 4Sight fits into the ICT market in South Africa;
• The recent acquisition of XFour Group and plans for more acquisitions; and
• What’s next for 4Sight.
Don’t miss an interesting discussion!

Tertius Zitzke on 4Sight’s big turnaround

One of South Africa’s responsibilities as president of the global Group of 20 (G20) nations in 2025 is to hosting the G20 TechSprint, an event that invites innovators from around the world to develop financial solutions that solve the most pressing challenges faced by central banks.
The South African Reserve Bank is hosting this year’s TechSprint in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements.
Lyle Horsley, head of fintech at the Reserve Bank, joined TechCentral’s Nkosinathi Ndlovu on the TechCentral Show to talk about the competition and other initiatives spearheaded by Bank under the G20 banner.
In this episode of the show, Horsley delves into:
The history of the G20 TechSprint and some of the solutions developed in previous iterations of the competition;
The problem statements entrants are required to centre their solutions on;
How central banks balance the often-opposing concerns of innovation on one hand and strong regulation on the other;
How digital identity and the principles of open finance are critical to digitised financial systems;
How the global central banking community will help winners develop and scale their solutions; and
Details about the format of the TechSprint, how to participate and the prizes up for grabs.
Don’t miss an interesting discussion!

Reserve Bank fintech head Lyle Horsley on the G20 TechSprint

Boasting 1.6 million subscribers after less than three years in the market, Capitec Connect has quickly become South Africa’s largest MVNO – and it has an ambitious plan for further growth.
Dalene Steyn, head of Capitec Connect, tells the TechCentral Show (TCS) that the MVNO – or mobile virtual network operator – market in South Africa is poised for further expansion as banks, retailers and other brands muscle into the mobile business through wholesale partnerships with network operators.
According to Steyn, although Capitec Connect is not a loss leader for the bank, the focus for now is building a critical mass of subscribers from Capitec Bank’s customer base – Capitec Connect users must be bank clients to sign up for the service.
In the interview, Steyn tells TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod about:
• Why Capitec Connect recently cut its prices, matching another MVNO, Afrihost AirMobile, as the cheapest MVNO provider in South Africa – spoiler: it’s all about building scale;
• Why Capitec is pulling ahead in the MVNO market and how big the bank wants to be in mobile – and why it’s so important to its business;
• Capitec Connect’s plans to introduce post-paid contracts later this year and how this aligns with its push into business banking services;
• The company’s plans for device financing;
• Its relationship with Cell C, whose network it uses to provide mobile services to its clients, and why it’s pleased with the relationship; and
• The unconfirmed market talk that Capitec might buy a strategic equity stake in Cell C.
Don’t miss the discussion!

Dalene Steyn on Capitec’s ambitious mobile gameplan

Cape Town-based fintech start-up Stitch last month caught the attention of many people when it announced it was raising R1-billion (US$55-million) in a significant series-B funding round.
Co-founder and CEO Kiaan Pillay is our guest in this episode of the TechCentral Show, where he tells TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod about the funding round, which was led by QED Investors with participation from a range of new and existing investors.
The latest round brings Stitch’s total funding to date to nearly R2-billion, or $107-million.
In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Pillay unpacks:
• His background and why and how Stitch was founded;
• How well-known South African comedian Trevor Noah became one of the participating funders in the latest funding round;
• What Stitch is doing differently to other fintech and payment start-ups that has allowed to raise the quantum of funding that it has;
• The significance of Stitch’s recent acquisition of Exipay – and why it’s important for Stitch to be a player in the in-person payments market;
• Stitch’s plans in the cryptocurrency space; and
• Why the company is focused (for now) on the South African market.
Don’t miss a great discussion!

Kiaan Pillay on fintech start-up Stitch and its R1-billion funding round

Shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Tiffany Dunsdon – at the time CEO of JSE-listed Adapt IT – found herself having to fend off an unwanted takeover bid from Huge Group.
Dunsdon did not feel the deal made much sense for Adapt IT – a fast-growing enterprise software services provider whose share price, like many others at the time, had been knocked lower by the uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
The Huge Group approach was opportunistic, said Dunsdon.
So, instead of entertaining the approach from Huge Group, she set about engineering a very different deal: one involving Canadian-listed Constellation Software: Constellation subsidiary Volaris Group would buy out Adapt IT and delist it from the JSE.
Dunsdon, who was recently appointed as acquiring group leader at Omegro – a portfolio company within Volaris Group that houses Adapt IT – joins Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show for an update following the conclusion of the sale.
In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Dunsdon also discusses:
• Adapt IT’s performance since its acquisition and delisting;
• The Huge Group hostile approach and how that played out inside Adapt IT;
• The timeline of events that led to the acquisition by Volaris Group; and
• What’s next for Adapt IT and Omegro.
Don’t miss the conversation!

How Covid sparked a corporate tug-of-war over Adapt IT

TC|Daily is a technology show from TechCentral, South Africa's premier business technology news website. It features interviews with newsmakers, ICT industry leaders and other interesting people.

Duncan McLeod

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