
Interview: Bringing fast reliable internet to South Africa
Aki Anastasiou speaks to Mark Harris .... For companies who had a digital-first approach to business in place, or were agile enough to rapidly implement one, the shift from “business as usual” to the “new normal” was taken in its stride. Businesses which were not able to quickly adapt and did not have connectivity plans in place, however, did not fare as well.
In Conversation with Tim Jenkin
Tim Jenkin is a political and social activist and a unique individual. He is the author of the book “Escape from Pretoria” which tells the amazing true story of his escape in the 1970’s from Pretoria's maximum security prison. He developed cutting-edge data communication technology in the 1980’s for the ANC’s underground. He is currently involved in Community Exchange which is paving the way for a world without money.
In Conversation with Pieter de Villiers
Twenty years ago Pieter De Villiers and his co-founders came up with a tech innovation that was a world first. It literally went on to change the world of digital technology. They launched the company Clickatell which now has offices around the world, including Silicon Valley, although most of its developers still sit in Cape Town. Apart from being a successful South African tech entrepreneur, Pieter has worked really hard to encourage and develop local innovation and entrepreneurship. He is also working on an initiative to grow digital skills in South Africa.
Can an Innovation Hub be virtual?
Innovation and entrepreneurship depends on social networks. Innovation Hubs are physical spaces which aim to draw like-minded innovators into chance encounters. But what about the situation - which we are now experiencing - where physical proximity is not possible. Can we achieve these same chance encounters in a virtual innovation hub?
In Conversation with Mark Harris
Mark Harris is one of the most respected leaders in the South African digital sector. He entered the sector in 1981 as an engineer at IBM. He remained with IBM for over 30 years rising through the ranks to become Head of IBM SA and then Vice President of business development for the Middle East and Africa region. In 2013 he left IBM to become CEO of Kagiso Media. In 2019 he joined Altron Nexus as its CEO.
In Conversation with … Mteto Nyati
Mteto Nyati, CEO of Altron, is in conversation with Prof Barry Dwolatzky and Kerryn Gammie. Mteto, who previously headed Microsoft SA and MTN SA, shares his thoughts on how to lead and how to inspire those who you lead, in the context of South Africa’s digital economy. He also talks about some of the important lessons he has learnt in his own life journey. In 2019 Mteto became a best-selling author with the release of his book “Betting on a Darkie”. Don’t miss this entertaining and inspiring episode of the Optimizing podcast.
In Conversation with … Kent Beck
Kent Beck is an American software engineer, writer and thought leader. He is best known as the creator of the eXtreme Programming (XP) and was one of 17 signatories of…
Webinar: Narrowing the Digital Divide
This Webinar, co-moderated by Prof Barry Dwolatzky, and sponsored by Nedbank, brought 4 experts together to discuss "Narrowing the Digital Divide". Keynote address by Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. Panelists: Arthur Goldstuck, Luci Abrhams, Mark Harris and Lance Williams.
In Conversation with … Tshilidzi Marwala
Professor Tshilidzi Marwala is a South African engineer, AI expert and academic leader. In this conversation with Prof Barry Dwolatzky and Kerryn Gammie he talks about his early days and…
Introduction to Optimizing Season 2
Season 2 of the "Optimizing - Leading Africa's Digital Future" has the subtitle "Passing and Receiving the Baton". History is a relay race in which we receive a legacy of…