South Africa’s big three telecommunications operators have all reported numbers in recent weeks, and the theme is clear: competition in prepaid has intensified sharply.
Telkom’s resurgence has put pressure on both MTN and Vodacom, with MTN acknowledging it has “discernibly” lost prepaid market share.
This is one of the topics covered in this wide-ranging and exclusive TechCentral Show interview with MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita, who sat down earlier this week with TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod to discuss this and other major topics, including:
• The impact of online gambling on the telecoms sector;
• The need for further consolidation in South African telecoms, and why Mupita won’t completely rule out a deal with Telkom, provided the “stars align”;
• Vodacom’s acquisition of a co-controlling stake in Vumatel parent Maziv and how MTN will respond;
• The impact of low-Earth orbit satellite connectivity on the telecoms industry and how MTN plans to work with companies like SpaceX/Starlink and Amazon Leo – and whether he sees them as competitors or partners (or both);
• The spectacular turnaround in Nigeria and whether it’s durable;
• The future of MTN’s involvement in Iran, and the lessons learnt from the group’s exit from other Middle Eastern markets;
• Plans to shift MTN Group’s focus to East Africa in the coming years; and
• Why he’s fascinated by the impact that AI could have on telecoms in Africa.
Don’t miss a great discussion on the future of MTN and telecoms in Africa!

MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita on competition, AI and the future of mobile

Returning to the TechCentral Show is ICT regulatory expert Dominic Cull, founder of Ellipsis and regulatory advisor to the Internet Service Providers’ Association (Ispa). Cull recently attended communications minister Solly Malatsi’s policy colloquium in Pretoria – the first under a non-ANC communications minister.
Cull says there is a discernibly different tone from Malatsi compared to his predecessors: more openness, more willingness to engage stakeholders and a stronger focus on evidence-based policymaking. However, while the intent is encouraging, South Africa’s ICT policy environment remains inconsistent, slow and fragmented.
In the podcast, Cull discusses:
• Malatsi’s policy colloquium and what came out of it
• The state of ICT policy and regulation in South Africa
• The biggest policy bottlenecks holding back growth in the ICT sector
• Why government doesn’t fully grasp the economic impact of digital infrastructure
• The latest on the next spectrum auction
• The EU’s decision to hand much of the 6GHz band to mobile operators – and why South Africa shouldn’t blindly copy it
• What’s needed to fix the Rica legislation
• Why Starlink isn’t coming to South Africa anytime soon
Cull also shares the top priority areas he’d focus on in 2026 if he was minister of communications.
It’s a great discussion – don’t miss it!

Dominic Cull on fixing South Africa’s ICT policy bottlenecks

South Africa’s automotive industry is in a state of flux. In this episode of the TechCentral Show, BMW Group South Africa CEO Peter van Binsbergen unpacks the challenges – and opportunities – facing a sector under pressure.
He tells TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod about the future of BMW’s Rosslyn manufacturing plant in Pretoria, which was established more than half a centry ago, and the urgent need for new government policy to ensure the automotive industrial base in South Africa is future-fit and ready for the shift to electric mobility.
Van Binsbergen also discusses the rise of imported vehicles in the sales mix in South Africa – including the rapid expansion of Chinese brands. China is a market he knows well, having spent three years there with BMW.
In the interview, TechCentral Show viewers will also hear about:
• The state of the local automotive manufacturing industry;
• What South Africa needs to implement in policy reform to ensure the automotive industrial base in South Africa – and why this is urgent;
• How the country must adapt to the global shift to electric mobility;
• The role of BMW’s IT Hub in South Africa;
• BMW’s global EV strategy, and what that means for South African EV buyers; and
• BMW’s Neue Klasse vehicles, which run the company’s next-generation EV platform, and why they are significant to its future.
Don’t miss a fascinating discussion!

BMW CEO Peter van Binsbergen on the future of South Africa’s automotive industry

Altron earlier this month announced that it has deployed an "AI factory" in one of Teraco’s new Johannesburg data centres. Powered by Nvidia AI infrastructure and software, the factory is has already gone live with half a dozen customers.
In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Altron Group chief technology officer Bongani Andy Mabaso explains the rationale for the investment, what building the factory entailed and what the anchor tenants are using the platform to do.
Mabaso tells TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod:
• What an AI factory is exactly and why Altron has decided to build one;
• What’s involved in deploying AI infrastructure, especially from a power and cooling perspective – and why Altron decided to locate its AI factory at Teraco;
• What companies like Lelapa AI, MathU and Dataviue are using the Altron AI Factory to do;
• Why Altron partnered with Asus and HPE on the project;
• How the infrastructure can be used; and
• The advantages of hosting an AI factory in South Africa, as opposed to an offshore data centre – it’s not only about better network latency.
Don’t miss the conversation!

Why Altron is building an AI factory

The invention of the silicon transistor was fundamental to the success of the digital age, driving the core of the modern-day digital economy.
The rise of generative AI has put hardware at the epicentre of the next wave of economic growth, with chip makers such as Nvidia and AMD reaching record valuations as demand for advanced chips far outstrips supply.
But as AI data centres expand, so, too, does their consumption of resources, with their demand for water and electricity rising exponentially.
FinalSpark is a Swiss biocomputing company exploring more efficient ways of computing – and it’s turned to human neurons as a potential solution.
In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Fred Jordan, co-founder and co-CEO of FinalSpark, gives insight into “wetware” (in effect, living hardware) and what it means for the future of computing.
Jordan delves into:
• What inspired him turn to living neurons as a means of processing;
• Parallels between his training as a signal processing engineer and his work with living neurons;
• Why FinalSpark uses human neurons and not any other like those from a cat on an octopus;
• How skin cells are used to “create” the neurons;
• How the neurons are fed, stored and kept alive;
• How long the neurons live for and the sort of computations FinalSpark has made them perform; and
• His views on the future of computing.
Don’t miss this intriguing discussion!

The company building a ‘living computer’ with human cells

Cryptocurrencies are increasingly moving beyond being seen as an investment asset as users find more real-world uses in everyday contexts. It appears that crypto is becoming more like cash – with users prepared to use it as the point of sale.
Crypto payments specialist MoneyBadger recently signed a deal with fintech Scan to Pay allowing crypto wallet users pay at more than 650 000 stores nationwide.
In this episode of the TechCentral Show, MoneyBadger CEO Carel van Wyk and Luno country manager for South Africa Christo de Wit tell TechCentral’s Nathi Ndlovu about what the partnership means for crypto platforms, their users and the broader economy.
Van Wyk and De Wit delve into:
• The mindset shift that happens when users move from being crypto investors to day-to-day users of digital currencies;
• How crypto payments allow for immediate settlement in rands and what that means for merchants and users;
• How merchants benefit by supporting crypto payments at their stores;
• Why a crypto investor might want to consider using it to make payments;
• The tax implications that must be considered before investing in or using crypto for payments;
• The role cryptocurrencies play in promoting financial inclusion; and
• The role cryptocurrencies will play as the Reserve Bank modernises the National Payment System.
Don’t miss an interesting discussion!

Why South Africans are starting to spend crypto, not just trade it

E-commerce will soon reach an important milestone in South Africa: by January, according to World Wide Worx research, online shopping will top 10% of total retail sales for the first time. The move to 15% and then to 20% will come much quicker.
That’s the view of Frederik Zietsman, CEO of Naspers-owned Takealot Group – South Africa’s largest online retailer – who was speaking to TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show.
In the interview, Zietsman unpacks what’s driving the rapid adoption of online shopping in South Africa – Covid-19 was a key trigger – and what the future holds as international e-commerce giants step up their investments in the country.
He also discusses:
• How the competitive dynamics of the market have changed in recent years;
• The impact of the entry of international giants such as Amazon and Walmart and how this will reshape the market in the coming years;
• The decision to expand subsidiary Mr D’s focus from fast food to include new product categories;
• The township opportunity and how Takealot is working to crack that market;
• Takealot’s plans to move to electric vehicles in its logistics fleet, including a look at what’s needed to introduce electric motorbikes at scale;
• The challenge of crime in the logistics chain and what’s being done to fight it;
• Why Takealot is getting into the home loans business; and
• What’s going to drive the company’s growth in the next few years.
Don’t miss a fascinating conversation!

Takealot CEO Frederik Zietsman on township growth, EVs and the future of online retail

Seacom last week announced that it plans to build one of the highest-capacity subsea broadband cable systems the world has ever seen.
Dubbed Seacom 2.0, the cable system – which will have an expected design capacity of a staggering 2 000Tbit/s – will be larger than the company’s original system, which brought high-speed connectivity to Africa’s eastern coastline when it was launched in 2009.
The new system, which will include an “express route” from South Africa to Singapore and leg around South Africa to Lobito in Angola – and which will also cover much of the same East African coastline as the first system – will use the latest fibre-optic technology and 48 fibre pairs to deliver its extreme total capacity.
Alpheus Mangale, CEO of Seacom, sat down with TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod for an exclusive first interview with the TechCentral Show to unpack the announcement and provide much greater detail about the deployment – including its timelines and the technology that will be used.
In the interview, Mangale touches on a range of topics, including:
• What’s involved in building a submarine cable system of this magnitude;
• Why Seacom has chosen the routing for the cable that it has;
• The need for great redundancy around the African continent, and how this fed into Seacom’s planning for Seacom 2.0;
• The commercial model for the new system and what this means for the region;
• The assumptions Seacom is making about future internet demand and how that feeds into its return-on-investment forecasts;
• How the system will be funded and who is backing it;
• The risks inherent in building telecommunications infrastructure at this scale; and
• The terrestrial infrastructure that will be deployed to support Seacom 2.0, including landing stations and edge data centres.
Don’t miss a fascinating interview!

Seacom 2.0: Alpheus Mangale unpacks all the details about the giant new subsea system

South Africa’s payments ecosystem is evolving at a rapid pace. PayInc – previously BankservAfrica – sits at the core of the country’s payments infrastructure. As the builder and manager of the PayShap instant payment rails, PayInc is central to the Reserve Bank’s plans to drive digital inclusion through payment modernisation.
In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Stephen Linnell, CEO of PayInc, tells TechCentral’s Nkosinathi Ndlovu about the strategy behind the rebrand to PayInc and how that fits into the utility’s vision of the payments ecosystem in South Africa and the broader Southern Africa region.
Linnell delves into:
• PayInc’s new ownership structure with the Reserve Bank taking over 50% ownership from the private banks;
• How the Reserve Bank’s participation will help PayInc achieve its goals;
• An assessment of PayShap since its 2023 launch and what comes next;
• What the proposed inclusion of non-bank players including fintechs, retailers and telecommunications operators in the national payments and settlements system means for the economy;
• The efforts PayInc is making to implement instant payments at a regional level; and
• Emerging payment technologies like central bank digital currencies and stablecoins.
Don’t miss this informative discussion.

PayInc CEO Stephen Linnell on South Africa's payments revolution

The Invigilator, the developer of a South African application that helps educational institutions monitor web-based assessments to prevent cheating, recenty secured US$11-million (R195-million) in funding to help it expand internationally.
In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Nicolas Riemer, co-founder and CEO of The Invigilator, joins TechCentral’s Nkosinathi Ndlovu to discuss how the start-up is going to use the cash injection to take on international markets.
He also gives insight into the app’s software and the company behind it.
In this episode, Riemer delves into:
• How The Invigilator app got started during the Covid-19 lockdown;
• The markets it plans to expand into internationally;
• The challenges of developing an app like The Invigilator in the South African market and why this may have set the company up for international success;
• How the app uses AI to minimise network and storage demands while improving outcomes;
• Barriers to The Invigilator’s adoption, like resistance from students, and how they were overcome; and
• The future technologies Riemer is most excited about in the ed-tech space.
Don’t miss the conversation!

From lockdown idea to global player: The Invigilator bags $11-million funding

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.