A recent announcement from Eiffel Corp, a leader in the Higher Education software and service digital education space, has announced that the company has decided to end its 21 year-long partnership with Blackboard, an international e-learning company.

Eiffel Corp has recently sent notice to Blackboard, highlighting its intention to terminate this long-standing partnership. Reportedly the motivation behind this decision was largely based in Eiffel Corp’s desire to structure and tailor its services in such a way that it can be more responsive to its core customer base in African Higher Education sector and beyond. Eiffel Corp believes that the separation will empower the company to align better with sentiments and macrotrends in the African higher education space. In addition, Eiffel Corp is looking forward to improving its multiple offerings to “effectively serve the local higher education landscape to an even greater degree,” says Ian Light, CEO, Eiffel Corp.

Light stated that much consideration had gone into this decision. He outlined that, although Eiffel Corp appreciates the success achieved with Blackboard during the course of the 21-year partnership, the time has come for Eiffel Corp to forge a new and separate path. Light made it clear that this decision was believed to be the best step in Eiffel Corp’s pursuit to align its services more directly with client needs. “Although our partnership is ending, we remain fully committed to our clients’ needs and ongoing contracts and programmes. We greatly value the relationships that we have built over the past two decades,” continues Light. This step also affords Eiffel Corp the opportunity to diversify its services beyond its current core e-learning offerings.

Through the process of working with and learning from experiences within the African higher education market, Eiffel Corp has continued to grow and tailor its services to fully meet the continually changing needs of the higher education space. This experience has afforded Eiffel Corp the position of being considered the number one software and service provider in digital and related services for higher education.Light believes that this experience, and the resultant industry expertise, equips Eiffel Corp to maintain its premier position and continue to service the South African Higher Education landscape effectively. This applies not only in the present but also in terms of predicting, shifting, and adjusting services to maintain excellence within this ever-evolving space.

“From 2020 onwards, we look forward to building on our mutual successes with all clients and partners and plan to share our exciting innovations with our current and prospective customers. We will be scheduling face-to-face updates with our clients early in the new year, and we are excited for what lies ahead,” concludes Light.

Eiffel Corp has made it clear that the organisation has a deep respect for Blackboard and the valuable connections and personal relationships made over the lengthy period of collaboration. Eiffel Corp wishes Blackboard all the very best both now and in future.

Cape Town, South Africa: Today WeSit, an online babysitting company connecting parents to caring, trusted and verified babysitters, announced that they have officially completed 100 hours of babysitting.

WeSit is going from strength to strength as they deliver care to more and more happy clients. This news comes on the back of WeSit’s most recent scaling up drive wherein they signed on 1000 babysitters in 3 short months.

When asked to comment, WeSit CEO and founder Nqobile Msibi said “We’ve been focusing our energies on really getting close to our customer’s pain points, delivering a world-class customer experience and making sure our client’s kids are happy, healthy and having a great time! We really are committed to our customers and the recent success is all a result of that commitment.”

WeSit’s latest operational milestone was achieved whilst taking part in the inaugural cohort of the Cape Town based Akro accelerate program. WeSit joined The SA SME fund sponsored initiative in June of this year.

About WeSit: WeSit is an online on-demand babysitting service which connects parents to caring, trusted and verified babysitters in seconds. Based in Cape Town, South Africa and operating since March of 2019 and available in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria. 

Available in South Africa through local authorized distributors, Plantronics Manager Pro provides enterprises total control and flexibility over their Plantronics audio headsets and devices. Plantronics Manager Pro is a web-based service that gives IT Managers easy-to-use tools to configure settings and update audio device software and firmware for end-users across the enterprise. Last month, Wendy Dawson, Senior Development Marketing Manager for Plantronics, blogged about a professional partnership which represents a collaborative viewpoint of the value of adopting Software-as-a Service (SaaS) solutions such as Manager Pro.

"Today, I’m happy to let you know that Plantronics and Nectar are introducing the industry’s first ear-to-ear (e2e) unified communications (UC) diagnostics solution, extending call visibility past the desktop. Nectar UC Diagnostics troubleshoots network issues contributing to poor UC experiences and along with the actionable insights from Plantronics Manager Pro software-as-a-service (SaaS), can be used to improve your customers’ UC experience.

Nectar and Plantronics are bringing two stellar communications solutions together to provide diagnostics showing call-specific health statistics for wireless headsets. Until now, the last three feet of the UC network has been out of reach to the enterprise IT team. This new solution goes beyond traditional UC diagnostic solutions that end at the desktop and now gives IT the ability to see network health all the way to the end user’s Bluetooth headset.

Using this solution, enterprises and UC service providers can diagnose issues faster than in the past and they can track and make decisions from these actionable insights over time. This means call quality issues—no matter what is causing them—won’t ever get in the way of the ability to deliver superior customer service and user experience before an issue is ever detected.

Many factors can impact the quality of a UC session. The “data-your-way” philosophy built into the Plantronics Manager Pro offering extends Nectar’s capability with e2e diagnostics for Plantronics touch points providing this entirely new level of visibility into the last few feet of connectivity.

Last September, Nectar announced their agreement to develop this e2e diagnostics solution with us. Now, link quality is collected for the Plantronics Voyager UC family of headsets (excluding Voyager Legend, Voyager Edge and Voyager 104). And, it’s officially available for purchase through authorized Nectar and Plantronics authorized partners.

Nectar’s initial release of this solution will support Skype for Business on-premise deployments, with additional UC platform and cloud service support to be added over time."

If you are interested in finding out more about Plantronics Manager Pro for your South African business, please visit www.plantronics.com/za/en/services To read the original blog referenced, visit this page.

About Plantronics
Plantronics is an audio pioneer and a global leader in the communications industry. We create intelligent and adaptive solutions that support our customers’ most important needs: experiencing and facilitating simple and clear communications while enjoying distraction-free environments. Our solutions are used worldwide by consumers and businesses alike and are an optimal choice for open office environments. From Unified Communications and customer service ecosystems, to data analytics and Bluetooth headsets, Plantronics delivers high-quality communications solutions that our customers count on today, while relentlessly innovating on behalf of their future. For more information visit www.plantronics.com/za.

Plantronics is a trademark of Plantronics, Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries, Plantronics Hub, Plantronics Manager and Plantronics Manager Pro are trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

Help your customers understand why workplace noise affects productivity and profitability. And how they can fix it.

Today, work happens everywhere — in busy open-plan offices and contact centers, at home, even coffee shops. This flexibility is great for business and people, but with it comes a new challenge: noise. Distraction caused by noise reduces productivity and well-being and, in contact centers, detracts from a positive customer experience.

Studies show that it takes 23 minutes to recover from distraction, and over 58% of employees are distracted multiple times each day. That represents a significant impact on your customers’ businesses you can easily help avert through proven noise reduction strategies and products.

Plantronics engineers solutions that help people manage the noise around them so they can be more effective — no matter where they work. Together, we can help your customers reduce distractions caused by noise so their businesses can thrive.

Plantronics in South Africa offers several solutions for managing noise. This week we focus on the Voyager 6200 UC, a Bluetooth® neckband headset with earbuds that offers professional-grade audio and versatility. 

On any given day, you might need to collaborate with colleagues remotely, field calls from customers or listen to music to help you focus on your latest project. Now there’s a headset that’s flexible enough to meet the demands of your role inside the office and out. Voyager 6200 UC offers everything you’d expect from Plantronics — active-noise canceling, clear voice transmission and premium audio — in a versatile Bluetooth® neckband headset with earbuds. Intuitive controls make it easy to use, and the neckband vibrates to signal an incoming call. Voyager 6200 UC is so comfortable and low-profile that you can use it all day long, in the office and on the go. 

IT Managers

The professionals in your organization have different roles, responsibilities and work styles, so why offer them all the same headset? Now you don’t have to. New from Plantronics, Voyager 6200 UC is the first Bluetooth® neckband headset with earbuds built to enterprise standards. With its premium audio and versatility, users will want to wear it — and stay connected — everywhere they go.

Flexible Workers

With premium features and professional-grade audio, Voyager 6200 UC is a Bluetooth® neckband headset with earbuds that has the versatility to go beyond the office. Transitioning to your next conversation is easy: Connect with colleagues working remotely, listen to music to focus distraction-free or drop an earbud to tune in to the conversation around you. You can count on Voyager 6200 UC for outstanding audio every time, everywhere.

Hear and be heard clearly with these features:

• On-demand active- and passive-noise canceling let you focus on your call or work.
• Four omnidirectional microphones with enhanced digital signal processing (DSP) deliver superior background noise canceling.
• Premium hi-fi stereo lets you immerse yourself in your favorite music.
• Wide band audio provides high-quality PC telephony.

About Plantronics

Plantronics is an audio pioneer and a global leader in the communications industry. We create intelligent and adaptive solutions that support our customers’ most important needs: experiencing and facilitating simple and clear communications while enjoying distraction-free environments. Our solutions are used worldwide by consumers and businesses alike and are an optimal choice for open office environments. From unified communications and customer service ecosystems, to data analytics and Bluetooth® headsets, Plantronics delivers high-quality communications solutions that our customers count on today, while relentlessly innovating on behalf of their future. For more information visit www.plantronics.com/za 

©2018 Plantronics, Inc. Plantronics, SoundGuard, aptX and Voyager are trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. registered in the US and other countries, and Plantronics Hub is a trademark of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 01.18

1 Oxford Economics, “When the walls come down – the evolution of the workplace.”
2 Plantronics Noise in the Workplace Global Study, 2017.
3 The Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress Study from the Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine, 2008.

Only 1 percent of employees now say they can block out distraction in the office, a dramatic drop since 2015; millennials less satisfied with their office layout than older colleagues.

The open office is designed to increase employee collaboration, but a new study from Oxford Economics, commissioned by audio pioneer Plantronics (NYSE: PLT), finds that the resultant noise pollution of the open office is reaching epidemic levels. According to the findings, conditions have grown much worse since Oxford Economics conducted its first study in 2015.

Oxford Economics interviewed 500 senior executives and non-manager employees from many industries and functional areas for the 2018 study. Participants hailed from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, China, Australia, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway. The study also included detailed interviews with executives who are taking steps to deal with these business collaboration and productivity challenges in their open offices.

Among the findings:

Open Office Conditions Dramatically Decline

The majority of executives and employees report near-constant noise in their workplace and many say they lack quiet space for meetings or to focus. Conditions are much worse now than three years ago, yet the executive disconnect remains:

• Only 1 percent of employees (down from 20 percent in 2015) say they are able to block out distractions and concentrate without taking extra steps in the office.
• 54 percent of executives believe their employees have the tools they need to mitigate noise and distraction in the office, but only 29 percent of employees agree (down from 41 percent in 2015).

 As a result, employees are taking matters into their own hands by leaving or tuning out their surroundings to get work done:

• 75 percent of employees say they need to take walks outside to focus, and 32 percent use headphones to block out distraction.
• Employees in the noisiest office environments are more likely to say they may leave their job in the next six months.

Wellness, Productivity and Financial Performance

The findings suggest that noise and distraction impact wellness, productivity and even financial performance, yet executives aren’t doing enough to address the problem:

• 63 percent of employees say they lack quiet space for focused work, which has a negative effect on their productivity, satisfaction and well-being.
• 96 percent of executives see employee productivity as critical to their financial performance, yet just 40 percent understand the link between noise, distraction and productivity.
• A mere 6 percent of executives report having equipped their office with noise mitigating features.

Millennials

According to the study, millennials, or those aged 22 to 36, are more accustomed to an open office versus older colleagues, likely because they started careers in such a setting. Despite that, they are the first to acknowledge the issues that come with these environments and tend to deal with these challenges differently than their older colleagues. Millennial employees are:

• Much less likely to say they find a noisy working environment energizing (9 percent, versus 30 percent of older colleagues).
• Less satisfied with their office layout than older employees (38 percent of millennials versus 48 percent of others).
• More likely to say their organization should address noise, distraction and information overload (89 percent versus 75 percent of older coworkers).
• More likely to say they take walks outside to focus (84 percent versus 63 percent of older employees), and less likely to use an office break room or quiet space.

Top Performers Have the Right Recipe

The survey shows a correlation between companies’ revenue growth and how those same companies approach their work environments. More than three-quarters of top performers (revenue growth above 10 percent and less turnover) report that office design and noise mitigation are important to financial performance and are proactively addressing the noise epidemic in their offices. These top performing companies are:

• More likely to provide workers with tools to block out noise and quiet space to focus.
• Less likely to say some employees find a noisy environment energizing (28 percent versus 50 percent of others).

Plantronics commissioned the study to better understand how to help create environments where employees thrive. “This year’s results are telling – open offices may provide overall cost savings, but they’re taking a toll on our productivity and wellness,” said Jennifer Adams, director, Enterprise Solutions Marketing. “We’re applying nearly 60 years of expertise in acoustics to come up with a whole range of solutions to address these challenges, from noise-cancelling headsets to our Habitat Soundscaping solution. Our vision: an open office that employees are excited to come into because it enhances their well-being and inspires them to do their best work.”

For more information about the study, visit this page. Plantronics offers products and services that help companies optimize collaboration in open office environments. For more information about solutions available in South Africa, please visit  www.plantronics.com/za/

About Plantronics

Plantronics is an audio pioneer and a global leader in the communications industry. We create intelligent and adaptive solutions that support our customers’ most important needs: experiencing and facilitating simple and clear communications while enjoying distraction-free environments. Our solutions are used worldwide by consumers and businesses alike and are an optimal choice for open office environments. From unified communications and customer service ecosystems, to data analytics and Bluetooth® headsets, Plantronics delivers high-quality communications solutions that our customers count on today, while relentlessly innovating on behalf of their future. For more information visit www.plantronics.com/za

The mobile workforce is growing at a rapid rate, and its workers need technology that enable them to be more efficient at collaborating and communicating. Gavin Sear, Manager Global Product Marketing at Plantronics talks about the new Calisto 7200 in his recent blog:

"Today I have the pleasure of letting you all know that Plantronics has added to the Calisto family of speakerphones by introducing Calisto 7200 to the market. This new, sleek and compact speakerphone is designed specifically for small “huddle rooms” for up to six people, to provide a meeting experience beyond compare. With the addition of Calisto 7200, our partners can now offer their customers a complete selection of audio collaboration devices: headsets, personal and small group speakerphones.

We created this product in a collaboration that began last year with Polycom, a leader in the conferencing space, as we share a mutual goal of providing users with superior user experiences. There’s no doubt the need for small conference rooms is growing quickly. A Nemertes 2018 study found 67 percent of IT leaders are evaluating now, or planning this year or next year, to invest in meeting rooms. Even in today’s open-office environments, the need for smaller conference and collaboration rooms is increasing.

Calisto 7200 offers a professional audio experience on both ends of the call, powered by Polycom. Four highly-directional microphones pick up speech from every corner of the meeting room, with a great reduction of the “cave effect” of room reverberance. In addition, Calisto 7200 comes with wide band support for natural-sounding meetings with a small group of people. Noise cancelling technology filters out undesirable background noises like keyboard typing and paper shuffling when nobody in the room is actively speaking.

One of the best things about this speakerphone is that it can help increase adoption of unified communications (UC) systems. Because it’s so easy to use, with intuitive, plug-and-play connectivity for both PCs and mobile phones, it’s just flat-out simple to connect with UC applications. An additional side benefit is that businesses placing these in their huddle rooms don’t need to worry about post-installation availability. Calisto 7200 comes with a combined USB audio and security cable. However, without the locking cable, the device is portable, so you can take it on the road with you if you wish. To top it all off, there is software support for asset management via our Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering, Plantronics Manager Pro. With the subscription of Plantronics Manager Pro, IT can track these (and other) Plantronics audio and mobile devices to control inventory, update firmware, pre-configure and lock device settings remotely to ensure consistent audio across all devices.

Calisto 7200 connects easily via a USB cable, or you can connect wirelessly via Bluetooth. It has touch-sensitive controls to make it easy to manage calls and the Bluetooth memory can be cleared of previously paired devices which is essential for a shared audio device. And it’s affordable enough to install in all of your huddle rooms, small conference rooms and collaboration zones."

Designed for exceptional conferencing performance in a small group conference room, watch this page https://www.plantronics.com/za/en for more information about future availability in South Africa or speak to one of our local South African distributors.

Read the blog here

Plantronics is an audio pioneer and a global leader in the communications industry. We create intelligent and adaptive solutions that support our customers’ most important needs: experiencing and facilitating simple and clear communications while enjoying distraction-free environments. Our solutions are used worldwide by consumers and businesses alike, and are an optimal choice for open office environments. From Unified Communications and customer service ecosystems, to data analytics and Bluetooth headsets, Plantronics delivers high-quality communications solutions that our customers count on today, while relentlessly innovating on behalf of their future. For more information visit www.plantronics.com/za 

Plantronics is a trademark of Plantronics, Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Discerning, informed, and connected.

With a multitude of choices in the marketplace, multiple buying channels, and instant access to information, today’s customers have never been more empowered, or more demanding. They’ve come to expect the ability to deal with a company on their own terms, very often opting for the convenience of self-service. So, when they do take the time to call a company, it’s usually because they have an immediate need—an issue they want resolved right away, and to their complete satisfaction.

An effective customer service representative (CSR) plays a critical role in meeting those expectations. No detail—from the CSR’s speaking voice to the quality of the sound on the line—is too small. And, the CSR must possess a certain kind of temperament, professionalism, and skill—but these alone are not enough. Answering the phone is just the start. Today’s customer service representative (CSR) listens, understands, and acts upon a customer’s needs with skill, rigor and thoughtfulness. Every minute, every day, the CSR needs to demonstrate that they have the customer’s best interests in mind, while presenting the company in the best possible light.

In fact, for the customer, the CSR doesn’t just represent the company, they are the company. Their job is to completely engage with the customer to provide the most informed advice, support, and guidance.

Problem-solver, diplomat, expert, empathizer: a CSR needs to be all these, and more. How can you help equip them for success?

A headset is a vital tool to the CSR. When it’s performing as expected, it’s barely noticeable. But if a setting needs to be adjusted or updated, it’s immediately noticed—and IT needs to handle it, right away. For companies with hundreds or even thousands of CSRs, it has meant a lot of effort for IT to manage their needs efficiently—until now.

Plantronics has a solution that helps IT monitor, manage, and maintain headsets. Plantronics Manager Pro is a cloud-based management tool that results in effortless management for IT, helping ensure users always have well-maintained headsets that enable them to confidently engage with customers, and ultimately improve the customer experience.

Now available in South Africa, find out how Plantronics Manager Pro can help make headset management effortless. Learn more here.

About Plantronics Plantronics is an audio pioneer and a global leader in the communications industry. We create intelligent and adaptive solutions that support our customers’ most important needs: experiencing and facilitating simple and clear communications while enjoying distraction-free environments. Our solutions are used worldwide by consumers and businesses alike and are an optimal choice for open office environments. From Unified Communications and customer service ecosystems, to data analytics and Bluetooth headsets, Plantronics delivers high-quality communications solutions that our customers count on today, while relentlessly innovating on behalf of their future. For more information visit www.plantronics.com.za 

What's all of this that we have been hearing about Active Noise Cancelling? It is not new, but more business owners are connecting the dots about the terminology that aligns to the technology already being used every single day in business centers across the globe. Below is excerpt from a simple, informative article written by one of our global directors, Frank Timmermans, and it certainly applies to technology readily available in the South African region. 

"Silence sometimes feels like a warm bath. Spending time alone works wonders for your concentration, productivity and the quality of your conversations. But finding peace and quiet in the hectic environment of a busy open-plan office space seems to be extremely difficult because there’s always some form of background noise. Luckily many headset suppliers have found a solution for this: noise cancelling.

What is noise cancelling?

To start off: by noise we mean external sounds that don't come from the headset. Just think of buzzing appliances at the office, talking colleagues, traffic noise, ringing telephones and noises from incoming app messages and reminders for meetings. Noise cancelling technology is the method for reducing these undesired sounds. There are two forms: active and passive. Passive noise cancelling actually means nothing more than a good seal. You’re probably familiar with the malleable foam earplugs and hearing protection that road workers use. These are examples of passive noise cancelling. Headsets with this function work in the same way, they make sure that the ear is well sealed.

Active noise cancelling (ANC) on the other hand, is much more advanced. It works by adding sound to the sound coming from your headset. Contrary to what you might expect, this ends disturbing background noise.

How does it work?

Sound is vibrating air and it moves in waves. These waves of sound have an amplitude (which determines the volume) and a frequency (which determines the pitch). Think for example of the constant buzzing noise that comes from a plane engine which moves like the blue line.If you run precisely the opposite sound wave (anti-noise – the orange line) through an existing sound wave, you’re left with silence. This physical process is known as destructive interference. And this is exactly what headphones with ANC use. They are fitted with both a microphone that records ambient noise and the technology that ‘turns around’ these sound waves. These reversed waves are then added to the sound that comes out of the speakers in your headphones, and voilà: ambient noise disappears for the user. 

Noise cancelling in the microphone

The ANC technology not only ensures that you can work in your own bubble of silence. The person you’re talking to can also take advantage of it, by implementing the technology in the microphone of a headset. For the best sound, several omni-directional microphones are built into our newest products. Each microphone calculates where the sound of your voice comes from and focuses on that point in space. In this way the headset can already ‘ignore’ a lot of irrelevant background noise. In addition, the headset also lays several digital filters over the sound: one algorithm detects non-stationary sound like speaking colleagues, and another algorithm checks whether there are stationary sounds like buzzing printers or the air-conditioning. All of this combined means that it feels just like you’re alone in the office, wherever you are!

Why is ANC so great in a headset?

Noise in the workplace is not only the biggest enemy of efficiency, it’s also really bad for your health. So it’s no surprise that headsets with noise cancelling functionalities are popular in the workplace. We now have four different ANC products in our portfolio. This is our way of contributing to the whole world’s productivity!" You can view a demonstration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpgOVTtn0eQ 

Noise and managing it in the workplace is a popular topic which we will discuss across the South African region over the coming months. Including technology options within business strategies for helping workers have clear conversations is certainly something to consider, amongst other ideas for adapting to modern work styles. To read more about products available in South Africa which are strong ANC contenders for helping office workers, visit https://www.plantronics.com/za/en/category/office-worker 

About Plantronics

Plantronics is an audio pioneer and a global leader in the communications industry. We create intelligent and adaptive solutions that support our customers’ most important needs: experiencing and facilitating simple and clear communications while enjoying distraction-free environments. Our solutions are used worldwide by consumers and businesses alike and are an optimal choice for open office environments. From unified communications and customer service ecosystems, to data analytics and Bluetooth headsets, Plantronics delivers high-quality communications solutions that our customers count on today, while relentlessly innovating on behalf of their future. For more information or to find authorized distributors in South Africa, visit https://www.plantronics.com/za/ 

In the era of communication and collaboration, noise reaches everywhere, including your bottom line.

In today’s open offices, noise is the biggest distraction to getting work done. Modern work spaces promote collaboration but in increasingly crowded spaces, the sounds created by hard surfaces and fewer walls can make it hard to focus. Plantronics brings immersive headsets along with an intelligent multisensory experience that uses natural sounds and complementary visuals to dynamically adapt to distracting speech and ever-changing noise to keep an office in tune.

Hero Solutions: Voyager 6200 UC, Voyager Focus UC, Blackwire 5200, Savi 700 

For on-the-go workers, which we’re seeing more and more of, even in South Africa, noise in mobile environments makes it difficult for them, and their teammates back in the office, to hear, be heard and connect to what matters most. For this type of work style, Plantronics has solutions that easily connect to multiple devices and cancel out noise on both sides of the conversation.

Hero Solutions: Voyager 8200 UC, Voyager 5200 UC, Voyager 6200 UC  

In contact centers, noise is a huge problem. With so many conversations happening at once, focus can sometimes falter, employee comfort can drop, and the security of sensitive customer information could potentially be compromised. Plantronics has purpose-built headsets designed for the Contact Center, but with hundreds – even thousands of headsets to manage, dealing with individual needs can be labor-intensive. Through SaaS, Plantronics delivers insights, simplifies headset adoption and lets IT respond to needs without interruption to the CX, all from one place.

Hero Solutions: Encore Pro 500/700, Manager Pro

Wherever work happens, noise stands in the way. With Plantronics’ portfolio of collaboration solutions it doesn’t have to. For more information or sales questions, contact one of our authorized local South African distributors which are listed on www.plantronics.com/za

Plantronics is an audio pioneer and a global leader in the communications industry. We create intelligent and adaptive solutions that support our customers’ most important needs: experiencing and facilitating simple and clear communications while enjoying distraction-free environments. Our solutions are used worldwide by consumers and businesses alike, and are an optimal choice for open office environments. From Unified Communications and customer service ecosystems, to data analytics and Bluetooth headsets, Plantronics delivers high-quality communications solutions that our customers count on today, while relentlessly innovating on behalf of their future. For more information visit www.plantronics.com/za

©2018 Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

One of the most influential global innovation accelerators, Startupbootcamp, launched its first African-based programme last month. Starting in September 2017 and led by seasoned innovation experts, Zachariah George, Philip Kiracofe, and Paul Nel, a 3-month intense “bootcamp” will take place in Cape Town, South Africa to scale selected top startups.Innovators and entrepreneurs around the world can apply to participate from now until 9 July 2017.

“The aim is to grow disruptive startups and connect them with dynamic corporates, providing both with an opportunity to collaborate and build the African innovation ecosystem,” shares Zachariah George.

The 10 most promising teams will be selected from a pool of hundreds of applicants and provided with EUR 15,000, 100+ highly engaged industry mentors, free office space, access to funding and a network of industry partners, investors and venture capital firms.

FastTrack Events

Ahead of the application deadline, 16 FastTrack events will be held all over the globe for the local talent to present their ideas to the Startupbootcamp Cape Town team and sponsors for pre-application advice and feedback.  The South African FastTracks will be held in Cape Town (11 May) and Johannesburg (18 May) and hosted by sponsors RCS and PWC respectively. Startups can apply now to attend. 

“RCS wholeheartedly believes in supporting initiatives such as Startupbootcamp Africa, and looks forward to hosting the very first FastTrack event on the 11 May at our Head Office in Cape Town’, said Regan Adams, CEO of RCS.  He added that, ‘There is an abundance of untapped potential that exists in Africa. As one of the leading financial services institutions in South Africa, we are constantly looking for innovative ways to improve our credit product offering for our customers and business partners and essentially improve their overall experience.”  

These FastTracks will then move to other cities within the African continent as well as Middle East and Europe. The cities include Accra, Amsterdam, Cairo, Doha, Dubai, Johannesburg, Kampalba, Lagos, London, Nairobi, Paris, and Tel Aviv. 

When and Where

Cape Town, 11 May 2017 

Johannesburg, 18 May 2017 

How to apply?

Interested teams can apply to attend a FastTrack here: http://bit.ly/capetownft

Any mentors that would like to help with the FastTrack can apply here: http://bit.ly/capetownmentor

Startups interested in applying to the 3-month Cape Town program can apply here: https://www.startupbootcamp.org/accelerator/cape-town

Notes For Editors

For more information about this press release, contact:  

Caitlin Dreyer

The Loudhailer: PR for Startupbootcamp Cape Town

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

+27 84 945 3728www.startupbootcamp.org 

About Startupbootcamp

Founded in 2010, Startupbootcamp is a global startup accelerator with 18 programs in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Chengdu, Istanbul, London, Mexico City, Miami, Mumbai, New York, Rome, Singapore. They take startups global by giving them direct access to the international network of the most relevant partners, investors and mentors in their sector in more than 30 countries. 79% of the Startupbootcamp alumni teams are still active and 71% have gone on to raise additional funding from many of the world's leading VCs and angels.For more information visit: www.startupbootcamp.org 

About RCS

The RCS Group (RCS) is a leading consumer finance business that offers its customers a range of financial service products under their own brand name, as well as in association with a number of leading retailers in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. RCS collaborates with its retail partners as BNP Paribas Personal Finance South Africa.RCS not only finances, operates, manages and promotes successful credit programmes, but also offers state of the art IT, call centre, risk management as well as financial marketing and brand building solutions.RCS continues to demonstrate growth and innovation in the credit market, offering ground breaking and accessible credit solutions to customers. The company provides more than just a technical solution and product for its partners, it also customises products that integrate people, processes and technology, creating value for their partners and customers. 

About BNP Paribas Personal Finance

BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in France and in Europe for personal loans via its activities in consumer credit and mortgage lending. A 100% subsidiary of the BNP Paribas Group, BNP Paribas Personal Finance has nearly 20,000 employees and operates in about 30 countries. Under brands including Cetelem, Findomestic in Italy, AlphaCredit in Belgium, the company offers a full range of personal credit products at points of sale and car dealerships and directly to consumers through its customer relations centres and Internet. BNP Paribas Personal Finance has added an insurance and savings offer for its clients in Bulgaria, France, Germany, and Italy.BNP Paribas Personal Finance has developed an active partnership strategy with retailers, manufacturers and automotive retailers, web merchants and financial institutions (banks and insurance companies), based on its experience with marketing credit offers and integrated services tailored to partners’ business and commercial objectives. It is also a leading player in the field of responsible lending and financial education.www.bnpparibas-pf.com 

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 157 countries with more than 223,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.PwC has a presence in 34 Africa countries with an office footprint covering 66 offices. With a single Africa leadership team and more than 400 partners and 9000 professionals across Africa, we serve some of the continent’s largest businesses across all industries.PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.