Two local entrepreneurs launch platform that empowers teachers

Updated on 6 April 2017

Subscription - Articles

Today's Top Entrepreneurship and Business Stories (6 April)

Realising how vital education is in shaping the future of our country, Strand-based software developer DataDIGEST has launched a new cloud-based platform that’s aiming to raise the standards of education by lightening the load for SA’s stressed teachers.

Edly is a first in South Africa, DataDIGEST CEO David de Villiers says: “We believe teachers are the key to a great education and that’s why we develop solutions that empower them in the classroom. Here in South Africa, social challenges and syllabi that keeps changing are just some of the challenges teachers face. With edly we hope to at least help lighten their administrative load.”

Edly can be operated from any computer, tablet or smartphone and, at this stage, comprises three integrated apps based on the insight that better results are achieved when parents, teachers and students collaborate. The edly Behaviour and edly Attendance apps allow teachers to easily track, record and share with other teachers class attendance and student behaviour, while edly Note! sends real-time reports to parents. Later, more apps will be integrated into the platform.

“Our door is open to developers with great app ideas for edly. If it saves teachers time and makes their job easier in any way – we’re interested,” says David.

Facebook moves into larger South Africa premises as African growth accelerates

Facebook has moved its Johannesburg offices into new premises. The new office will continue to provide support to Facebook advertisers, application developers and other key partners across the continent.

“Since we first established a direct presence in sub-Saharan Africa in 2015, Facebook has grown from strength to strength,” says Nunu Ntshingila, Regional Director, Africa, Facebook. “We have enjoyed working closely with entrepreneurs, partners, developers and small businesses as they have used Facebook as a platform for growth. It’s inspiring for us to learn from the continent and to play a role in helping people and organisations connect with the world.”

Since 2015 the number of people connected to Facebook across Africa has grown to 42% to over 170 million monthly active users. Of these, 94% come back on mobile. The Facebook team in Africa has grown alongside the number of people and businesses who use it and its ecosystem of developers, entrepreneurs and business partners.

March shows growth in new vehicle sales

South Africa’s new vehicle industry grew 2.1% in March, with total sales of 48,534 vehicles according to the latest data from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa).

This follows a minor decline of 0.1% in February and growth of 3.7% in January. Year-to-date, new vehicle sales are up 1.9%.

In an about-turn for the industry, this growth was driven by sales through the dealer channel – where consumers are active. Conversely, government and rental channel sales saw sharp declines of 22.8% and 22.5%, respectively. Passenger car sales through the dealer channel grew 14.3%, year-on-year, with light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales seeing marginal growth of 0.8% off an already strong base.

“March’s sales performance is indicative of the positive sentiment in the economy during the past month. There were a few contributing factors, including a strong rand and falling fuel prices,” said Rudolf Mahoney, head of brand and communications at WesBank. “Consumers had many reasons to feel confident enough to spend money, and this is immediately evident in the new vehicle sales.” (via Bizcommunity)

Get Weekly 5-Minutes Business Advice

Subscribe to receive actionable business tips and resources.

Subscription - Articles

Feeling Stuck?

icon