Enhancing AI-powered, advisor‑led customer service through responsible, human‑led design FNB has announced the enhancement of its virtual assistant platform, NAVi, as part of a broader move to strengthen advisor-led banking and improve how customers experience servicing in real time. NAVi was launched as a virtual assistant on the FNB Banking App late last year to enhance…
South African homeowners using Standard Bank’s LookSee platform have helped prevent an estimated 43 000 tonnes of carbon emissions, while collectively saving an estimated R890 million on the cost of home ownership. The figures highlight how climate-smart housing choices are delivering tangible financial benefits at a time when energy prices continue to rise faster than inflation. The…
Applications for the National Cleantech Innovation Challenge (NCIC) 2026 have closed with over 2000 innovators, entrepreneurs and researchers who showed interest across the country. This was in response to the call for solutions to nine challenges spanning energy instability, water insecurity, climate-stressed agriculture, rising waste, and logistics inefficiencies. “We’re excited by entries and this diverse…
Standard Bank Business and Commercial Banking (BCB) has announced the winners of its first Inclusive Excellence Awards, an initiative that recognises South Africa’s Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) led by entrepreneurs with disabilities. “The initiative form part of BCB’s Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) efforts that aim to advance inclusive entrepreneurship by supporting majority black-owned South…
Annie Hodes South Africa doesn’t have a mentorship shortage. If anything, there’s no lack of people willing to offer advice. What we do have is a shortage of people prepared to genuinely invest — to open up their world, share their networks, and back someone who doesn’t yet have the access to back themselves. That…
Johannesburg, South Africa: This Worker’s Day, John Craig turns the spotlight inward to celebrate the people who make work possible not just for the men who wear the brand, but for the brand itself. Known for helping men step confidently into the workplace, John Craig is launching a Worker’s Day campaign titled “The Faces That Get…
New entry-level model launched: The JAC T8 Comfort becomes South Africa’s cheapest double‑cab bakkie at R349,900, lowering the national entry price by R50,000. Market context: 1. New Lowest Price in the Segment Engine & performance: Standard features: What it doesn’t have (vs Lux model): Practical capability: Price lineup (April 2026): This article is adapted from…
Bradley Elliot The Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s (FSCA) call for a centralised anti-fraud hub at its 2026 conference reflects a timely recognition that South Africa’s Financial Institutions (FIs) can’t successfully fight financial crime in isolation. However, centralisation alone is not sufficient. The real opportunity lies in turning shared intelligence into real-time, coordinated prevention across the entire ecosystem….
South Africa has made steady progress in expanding access to contraception, with an estimated nine million women using modern contraceptive methods. Yet despite this relatively high uptake, most women still rely on short-acting options, such as pills, injectables and condoms. Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods, like intrauterine devices (IUDs), account for less than 2% of…
Business leaders, HR professionals, and technology experts gathered in Johannesburg recently to explore how organisations can navigate rising regulatory complexity while building more connected, high-performing workforces. SAP HR Connect brought together a community of HR leaders to discuss how digital technologies are helping organisations reduce compliance risk, streamline operations, and unlock more strategic value from…
