Tech

Mastercard seals remittances deal with SA’s Bidvest Bank

Published

5 months ago

December 5, 2023

Global payments processor,
Mastercard, has entered into an exclusive partnership with South Africa’s Bidvest Bank to provide a solution that allows customers to send international remittances at their convenience.

The new offering titled, “Bidvest Bank BidSend”, according to a release by the company, will be powered by Mastercard cross-border services, which is a real-time payment network that enables users to send money to 103 countries and allows senders to select their beneficiary’s preferred choice of pay-outs as cash, onto a mobile wallet or as bank account payments.

“Through this innovative technology, Bidvest Bank is set to transform traditional remittance channels, allowing both account and non-account-bearing consumers, to send money across borders at an affordable price,” the release stated.

“Powered by Mastercard’s world-class technology, using BidSend, users can send international payments securely knowing that their funds will be safely received by their beneficiaries in near real-time, depending on the receiving country.

“This innovative remittance platform puts payments at the user’s fingertips by providing them with familiar and easily accessible payments technology within the application”, it added.

Gabriel Swanepoel, Country Manager at Mastercard, Southern Africa, who spoke on the new solution, said one of its notable features was that users could also settle their payment transactions using either a debit or credit card at any time, offering a large network of pay-out options that made it easy for users to access, manage and control.

“Providing innovative solutions that deliver the choice, security, and flexibility that South Africans need and expect is a factor win we take pride in.

“MasterCard is delighted to collaborate with Bidvest Bank to make this level of payment ingenuity a reality for Bidvest Bank -customers allowing MasterCard to bring millions of people from underserved communities into the financial and digital economy,” he added.

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Tech

RepAir, Cella partner to launch carbon capture in Kenya

Published

1 day ago

April 27, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Global Direct Air Capture (DAC) firm, RepAir, has entered into a partnership with carbon storage technology company, Cella, to launch a first-of-its-kind innovative Carbon Capture and Storage venture in Kenya.

In a statement on its website on Friday, RepAir said the venture will see a replication of its “cultivating partnerships” with storage firms in Europe, U.S. and Africa.

“This storage agreement will streamline the sale of high-quality carbon credits to off-takers, enabling corporations to meet evolving ESG standards, manage offsets and advance towards net zero goals,” the statement issued by RePAir CEO, Amir Amir Shiner, stated.

“Our solution sets a new standard, requiring only 600 kWh per ton of CO2 captured, marking the lowest energy consumption on the market.

“This agreement is perfectly aligned with the launch of our commercial demonstrator in 2025, empowering RepAir to offer high-quality carbon credits to our customers.

“It will see to the establishment of a storage partnership with Cella aimed at creating dedicated value chains for extracting CO2 from the atmosphere and permanently storing it underground through in-situ mineralization.

Corey Pattison, CEO, Cella, who also issued a statement on the partnership, said “by partnering with Cella at our first demonstration site, RepAir can capitalize on two critical resources: the potential for truly permanent, highly verifiable carbon storage via mineralization combined with Kenya’s abundant renewable energy sources.

“Together these resources provide a comprehensive solution for capturing and storing CO2 for off-takers. This collaboration represents an extraordinary opportunity to nurture mutual growth.”

Tech

Intel Liftoff Hackathon 2024 calls for applications from African AI startups

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Applications for the 2024 cohort of Intel Liftoff Hackathon has opened for African AI startups designed to bring together aspiring tech entrepreneurs, software developers, and AI enthusiasts to collaborate, innovate, and create solutions to concrete African challenges.

In its second edition, the hackathon welcomes pioneering early-stage AI startup teams from the African continent, delving into experiments with LLM technology, a statement on the website of the organiser stated.

It added that the Intel Liftoff Hackathon for African AI Startups, which will be held online on May 27-31, is themed “Hack and Connect”, and will take place in partnership with Modus Africa, University Mohamed VI Polytechnic, Morocco

Other partners include TUT Hub of Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Africa, Prosper Africa, UM6P Ventures, FAST Accelerator, Innov8 Technology Hubs, and Open Startups International.

“The hackathon will feature hands-on workshops that will allow learning of AI essentials; three days of challenges with mentors to test skills; exhibition opportunities to showcase startups and forge partnerships with industry leaders; and networking opportunities to engage with fellow startups and gain insights from domain experts in the AI ecosystem,” the statement said.

“Winners will be invited to join the Intel Liftoff for Startups programme, and receive unique mentoring sessions with ecosystem partners and marketing opportunities with blog articles,” it concluded.