trends

South African commuters using the country's most popular form of public transport - the minibus taxi - will now be able to update their Facebook status, check their e-mail and surf the internet through a free wi-fi connection on their way to work.

Mobile broadband is the primary way sub-Saharan Africa consumers access the internet, Swedish company Ericsson points out in its latest report on mobility in Sub-Saharan Africa. It predicts that there will be 930-million subscriptions in the region in just five years time.

South African government support programmes for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are receiving better approval ratings from their users, according to a new survey by technology market researchers World Wide Worx.

Foreign arrivals in South Africa reached their highest level ever in 2013 as the country's international tourist numbers approached the 10-million mark, increasing by 4.7% year-on-year to 9.6-million, with strong growth from all regions.

South African comedian David Kau clinched a deal with US company Archstone Distribution the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday for his upcoming movie Sekwankwetla, about a South African township superhero who can fly - but no more than 10 centimetres high.

A team of South African students, competing against hundreds of entries from around the world, has won a People's Choice Award for their low-cost fire detection device for shack-dwellers at the annual Global Social Venture Competition at the University of California, Berkeley in the US.

South Africa's Johannesburg Stock Exchange - one of the top 20 exchanges in the world in terms of market capitalisation - has teamed up with Google Finance to enable local and international and investors to track JSE equity market data online.

A learnership programme that aims to transform South Africa's estate agency sector will see 10 000 new entrants recruited to the profession over the next three years, Human Settlements Minister Connie September announced at the programme's launch on Thursday.

Commended by the World Bank as a world first, the Thuthuka Fund - an innovative development programme by the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants - is helping to transform the profession through its "decisive" support of female and black students.

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies officially launched the Durban branch of the South African Chemical Technology Incubator at the University of KwaZulu-Natal last week. The centre offers free support services to small chemical technology businesses in the province.