The RIA RAMP Index ranks South Africa as one of the most costly countries on the continent to buy data, hence any issues concerning the country’s data service industry are of national relevance.

Much grandstanding and politicking on the matter between ICASA and broadband satellite internet company Starlink has occurred in the absence of a true and balanced explanation of the procedural and regulatory requirements to obtain an ISP license to operate as an internet service provider in South Africa.

In this episode of iAfrikan BYTES, were joined by Lucien Pierce from ICT firm PPM attorneys, to understand what compliance considerations are required by the Regulator, to be granted an ISP license.

According to research from the University of the Western Cape School of Business and Finance, 70% to 80% of startups and small business in South Africa fail within five years, and just 1% of micro enterprises that began with less than five employees have expanded to employ 10 or more people. In this episode of iAfrikan BYTES, Heavy Chef founder Fred Roed joins us to discuss growth issues and how failure can be minimised. Heavy Chef, a platform for entrepreneurship education, provides recipes on how successful entrepreneurs succeeded in light of the difficult environment.

In this episode of iAfrikan BYTES, we are joined by journalist, Molebogeng Moloka and senior research analyst, Euston Witbooi from the Centre for Analytics and Behavioral Change. We discuss standard techniques like keyword tracking, sentiment analysis, topic modeling, influencer identification, geolocation tracking, real-time monitoring, and data visualization. We also look at how social media listening tools track and monitor political narratives, lastly, they share insights and data on the National Shutdown Deep Dive Report and Xenophobia Social Media Analytics Report.

One notable contribution to the AI revolution in Africa comes from AI research Lab Lelapa AI. With a mandate to strengthen AI research capacity on the African continent, Lelapa aims to empower developers, researchers, and entrepreneurs to harness the potential of AI for positive impact. In this episode of iAfrikan BYTES, we are joined by Prof. Vukosi Marivate, Co-Founder and CTO of Lelapa AI and Chair of the Data Science for Social Impact Research Group at the University of Pretoria to talk about AI and what they are doing at Lelapa AI.

Using technology to increase customer experience, efficiency, and cost savings. The traditional insurance sector has been disrupted by technology such as artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms are increasingly used to analyse massive volumes of data in order to correctly assess risk and price policies. The first insuretech startup to take advantage of this technology and transform the South African industry was Pineapple Insurance. Ndabenhle Junior Ngulube, co-founder and chief developer officer of Pineapple, joins us on this episode of iAfrikan BYTES to share where it all started and explain what are all the technical ingredients needed to bake this.

Although the African continent’s venture capital market is expanding, there are still many obstacles preventing the sector’s expansion. Regulatory obstacles, transaction flow restrictions, infrastructure problems, a lack of knowledge, and insufficient cash are few of the major roadblocks to this expansion. Proximity Ventures, an Australian-based company, is tackling this issue head-on. In addition to backing the best startups on the continent, tech Safari, their African-focused publication, is helping to highlight and create a strong network for African startups. Join us in this episode of iAfrikan BYTES as we speak with Caleb Maru, partner at Proximity Ventures and editor at Tech Safari, about the inspiration behind this engine.

With an increasing number of companies and investors aiming to capitalise on the continent’s untapped potential. On this episode of iAfrikan BYTES, partner and co-founder of Knife Capital Keet van Zyl joined us to discuss the maturation of the VC landscape in South Africa and the matrix VCs use when investing in startups.

The South African Information Regulator is requesting the National Department of Health to comply with its requirements for the deletion and de-identification of personal data handled during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode of iAfrikan BYTES, we’re joined by Adv Collen Weapond from the Information Regulator to better understand what procedural and substantive considerations the regulator will undertake after it referred matter to its enforcement committee following unsuccessful compliance attempts by health officials.

The French pay-television firm Canal Plus upped its stake in Multichoice to 30 percent, making it the largest stakeholder. This has alarmed market observers. Critical, is section 64 of the Electronic Communication Act, which regulates the extent to which foreign entities can have interests in commercial broadcasting services within South Africa. In this episode of iAfrikan BYTES, from ICT law firm PPM Attorneys, we're joined by Lucien Pierce, to unpack the interpretation of section 64 and understand the legality of Canal Plus largest shareholder status.

The University of Pretoria and the United States Attorney General Alliance are hosting a webinar titled Fintech-Crypto Assets and Consumers to discuss the regulation of crypto assets as it stands today, the difficulties facing regulators, and what the future may hold for this rapidly developing industry. In this episode of iAfrikan BYTES, we are joined by Prof Sylvia, associate professor, Department of Mercantile Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa to share insights about the event.