South African Airways in North America launches “Go See Southern Africa” campaign in collaboration with tour operators, hotels and safari lodges in an effort to encourage and increase tourism to SA.

Johannesburg, South Africa – SA Airways in North America has launched a special campaign that focuses on the great experience and value travel that is on offer when travelling to Southern Africa.

Cape Town and the Kruger National Park can ready themselves as these are very popular South African destinations for tourists from North America.

The “Go See Southern Africa” is a collaborative campaign with participation from leading tour operators, destination tourism organisations, hotels and safari lodges that aim to generate increased awareness about travel to Southern Africa.  All parties are working together to offer tourists an attractive, value-added programme.

The campaign follows recent misinformation concerning travel to the entire continent, which has created a hesitation for future travel planning.  

SA Airways, as the predominant airline from the U.S. to Southern Africa, has taken a leading role in developing the “Go See Southern Africa” campaign in an effort to emphasise the great experiences and the great value that abounds for travel throughout the region. 

South African Airways offers the most flights between the U.S. and South Africa, with daily nonstop service from New York-JFK Airport and daily direct service from Washington, DC-Dulles Airport to Johannesburg.  From its Johannesburg hub, SAA, and its regional airline partners, offers convenient flights to over 55 business and leisure destinations throughout the African continent. In conjunction with the campaign, numerous SAA tour operators and travel service providers are promoting very affordable packages and unique value-added offers to South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and other destinations within the region.  

Travellers are invited to visit Southern Africa as “now is a great time to explore Southern Africa with the extremely favourable exchange rate for the U.S. Dollar and the very affordable offers that are being promoted by SAA and our participating tourism partners in North America,” says Nico Bezuidenhout, SAA Acting Chief Executive.

“Cape Town is the most popular onward destination in SA for North American tourists.  A large majority of the travellers from North America visiting South Africa come to Cape Town, with many more travelling to the Cape from points other than North America – Johannesburg.

“In addition to Cape Town, other very popular spots for American visitors are the Kruger National Park, the Western Cape (including wine country) and the Garden Route.  South Africa is a multi-destination vacation for most Americans.  They don’t just visit one destination.  They visit several, particularly Cape Town and the Kruger National Park, or Cape Town, the Kruger National Park and Victoria Falls.

” The “Go See Southern Africa” campaign will be featured during 2015 with various offers by SAA and the participating travel partners being promoted throughout the year.  

For a list of participating tour operators that are offering special air-inclusive packages to Southern Africa, visit: www.flysaa.com/cms/US/GoSeeSouthernAfrica.html. The campaign will also be prominently featured in SAA’s advertising, marketing promotional programmes and social media throughout 2015.  Consumers and travel agents will be encouraged to follow the campaign through SAA’s social media channels using the hashtag:  #GOSEESOUTHERNAFRICA  

About South African Airways (SAA)  South African Airways is a Star Alliance member that offers flights to 38 destinations worldwide. Domestically, SAA operates 544 flights a week between Johannesburg – Cape Town, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth. Regionally SAA offers 24 destinations across the African continent and its international network creates links to all major continents from South Africa through 10 direct routes. In the regional category, SAA has received the Skytrax ‘Best Airline in Africa’ Award for 11 consecutive years.                                               

Issued by SAA Communications

For more information, contact:

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

+27 82 333 3880  

SOUTH AFRICA – Jan, 2015 – After much anticipation LiveBids Auctions has been launched in South Africa. LiveBids offers a unique online buying and selling platform that incorporates different aspects of various social media.

This means that a choice of interests, following friend’s, search hundreds of products while buying items for a fraction of the cost and selling them to make real profits.

LiveBids aims to help buyers and sellers fully connect in trade with seamless transactions. It is an online marketplace that is simple, interactive and social. It allows users to experience a real-time marketplace, buy products lower than the market value and socially follow buyers and sellers.

Two formats are used, namely online auctions and pay-per-bid. The first of these is the traditional online auction model, where items are sold to the highest bidder. The second is a pay-per-bid model, where would-be buyers purchase credits to bid on items. These credits go to the seller, which is how it is possible to purchase big-ticket items for nominal amounts.

The founders of LiveBids, Rory Vollmer and Paul Hoft, explain that “the idea was to create an online marketplace that was simple, interactive and social, helping buyers and sellers connect and trade. The marketplace is completely people driven”.

Visit www.livebids.co.za to empower yourself by becoming an online buyer and seller today!

For further information regarding LiveBids Auctions, or to schedule an interview, please contact: 

Contact Rory Vollmer,

Co-Founder and Head of Marketing

Phone: +27 (0) 21 300 8446
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.livebids.co.za

Cape Town based StateoftheART, an innovator in the online art world, has been showcasing and selling affordable contemporary art by emerging artists since 2010. This month they launched their new website to support the keen interest in South African art, bringing their works to a global  audience with easy access via the web.

The recent boom in the online art trade, currently valued at around R28bn is forecast to more than double by 2018. At least 71% of art collectors have now purchased artwork online according to the 2014 Hiscox Online Trade Report , with that number expected to rise. StateoftheART founder Jennifer Reynolds says "We want to offer our visitors the personal touch and intimacy of a gallery setting, without the limited selection associated with a physical space. More than half of our customers use a mobile device to browse our online art gallery, perhaps because there is something particularly satisfying about viewing art on a tablet as the tactile experience of holding the device feels almost the same as picking up a painting to look at it more closely."

The great advantage of StateoftheART is that it affords visitors to the site the opportunity to discover and buy affordable fine art that would not otherwise be easily found.  The slick and easy to use website allows visitors to browse and buy high quality art in the comfort of their own home, making contemporary art even more accessible. Works can be bought directly from the website and delivered anywhere in the world. The site offers a 7 day money-back guarantee. To discover the world of StateoftheART, please visit www.stateoftheart-gallery.com

About

StateoftheART is South Africa's premier online gallery where you will discover an exclusive selection of carefully curated art by top emerging artists. Our virtual platform is complemented by the brick-and-mortar StateoftheART gallery in Cape Town; an intimate space in which we regularly host exhibitions and where art lovers can view a dynamic selection of works by our represented artists.

For images, information and interviews with Jennifer Reynolds, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Shopify users in South Africa will be pleased to know that eSolutions, by DPD Laser, one of the premier sponsors at our eCommerce Confex, has launched the first free Shopify Shipping App specifically for the South African eCommerce logistics market. 

The app provides Shopify store owners the functionality to integrate seamlessly with one of DPD Laser's operating businesses, Dawn Wing. After signing up with eSolutions and receiving your Dawn Wing account number, the store owner will be able to download and install the free application directly from the Shopify application store and start shipping parcels. 

Shopify is an industry leading commerce platform that allows anyone to easily sell online, at their retail location, and everywhere in between. Shopify offers a professional online storefront, a payment solution to accept credit cards, a point of sale system to power retail sales and a card reader to process credit card transactions through a mobile phone. Shopify currently powers over 120,000 retailers in 150 different countries, including: Tesla Motors, Gatorade, Google, Wikipedia, LA Lakers, CrossFit, and many more. Shopify was founded in 2006 and it has received US$122 million in funding from OMERS Ventures, Insight Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, FirstMark Capital, Felicis Ventures, and Georgian Partners.  

Learn more about eSolutions, by DPD Laser and their new Shopify App at their stand at the eCommerce Africa Confex. Advisory panel members, Jaco Jonker, CEO of BidorBuy, and Paul Galatis, Director of Yuppiechef, will both be presenting keynotes during the 2-day conference sessions. Other speakers include Simdul Shagaya, CEO and Founder of Konga.com, Colin Fleming, eCommerce Executive of Massmart and Paul Casarin, Operations and Strategy of gumtree.co.za and eBay.

Join the experts on the 3rd and 4th February 2015 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre for Africa's biggest eCommerce event. There are a limited number of delegate spaces still available, register for a VIP conference pass here or a general expo pass by contacting Greg Johnson on  021 180 4700 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

Website: www.ecommerce-africa.com

Mobile devices are more than mere communication tools today. Globally, smartphones and tablets are now contributing to roughly 25% of the user traffic on eCommerce and travel websites. Sales through smartphones and tablets contribute to around 15% of the total online sales. With the rapid adoption of smart phones and tablets across the globe, these numbers can only go north.

Online sales through mobile devices as a percentage of the total online sales globally Challenges in Mobile Web Marketing Mobile marketing is relatively new and advertisers face several challenges to run an effective mobile marketing campaign. Some of them are:
• Advertiser's and Publisher's mobile presence is fragmented between mobile web and mobile apps.
• Identification of a user across mobile web and mobile app and messaging across these two channels.
• Identification of users across multiple devices (such as mobile, desktop) and messaging across channels.
• Patchy support to cookie and other tracking mechanisms on mobile browsers and apps.

How does it work:

1. While the user is on the advertiser mobile website, products like Vizury MobiConvert, records anonymous user behaviour such as products viewed, duration of visit, drop off page etc.

2. This user behaviour data is then used to create and display customised ads for the mobile user across mobile internet.

3. However, unlike desktop, mobile uses a different technology for banners- HTML5, the one that works across mobile devices.

The need to go mobile is more imminent today more than ever. Mobile has taken centre stage in your users' purchase cycle and it's time to go mobile! More on 'Shades of Mobile Retargeting' coming soon.

Learn more about Vizury MobiConvert and other products by Vizury at their stand at the eCommerce Africa Confex. This exciting 2-day conference and exhibition takes place on the 3rd-4th February 2015 at the Cape Town International Centre.

Register as a delegate or find out more about sponsor and exhibitor opportunities by contacting Kirsten Pow Chong on 021 180 4700 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Kinetic is pleased to announce the latest additions to our speaker line up for the eCommerce Africa Confex. With just over 2 months to go, the agenda is jam-packed with the best that Africa's eCommerce industry has to offer as they address current topics and share valuable insight into establishing a successful eCommerce business.

Mike Cotterell, Head of Online for Pick n Pay, and Peter Allerstorfer, Founding Partner of Silvertree Capital, will be sitting on a panel that will discuss the trends for delivery of online orders. They will be joined by Business Development Executive of DPD Laser, Hilton Eachus, and Justin Drennan, CEO of wantitall.co.za, to elaborate on the importance of good infrastructure and the transnational cooperation of all companies involved to meet customer needs.

Want to know what the best consumer and business brands are doing to drive a greater user experience? The following eCommerce professionals have all reserved their seats for the panel discussion that will answer this very question:

• Lee Zuk, General Manager, justplay.co.za
• Gysbert Kappers, Co-Founder, Wyzetalk
• Clinton Arnot, Head of Online Distribution, Protea Hotels
• Amanda Cromhout, Founder and CEO, Truth
• Stephan Ekbergh, CEO, Travelstart
• Bryan Porter, eCommerce Manager, Comair

The 2-day conference sessions will wrap up with Mohammed Parker, Deputy Director: IT Strategy, eCommerce and Governance from Western Cape Government, and Andrew Dean, Managing Director of Calleo. They will discuss the security and regulation of data collection as well as online sales in Africa. Joining them will be Alastair Tempest, COO of Direct Marketing Association of South Africa (DMASA), and Craig Shapiro, Partner at WCIS Attorneys.

Africa's premier eCommerce conference and exhibition is taking place on the 3rd-4th February 2015 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and seats are filling up quickly. To avoid disappointment, register to become a delegate or find out more about sponsor and exhibitor opportunities by contacting Kirsten Pow Chong on 021 180 4700 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

www.ecommerce-africa.com For all the latest updates, follow us on Twitter: @eCommerceConfex and @KineticEventsSA or like our Facebook page: eCommerce Africa Confex

iconnix (Pty) Ltd. a South African based software development company, recently celebrated 18 years in the logistics industry – an outstanding achievement in this extremely competitive environment. Backed by a highly experienced and dedicated development and management team, iconnix (Pty) Ltd. has developed over 100 systems worldwide in the sectors of transport, banking, telecommunications , vault management , call centre and travel.

iconnix International’s flagship systems, WinFreight and Warehouse-IT, effectively streamline business processes. WinFreight, a freight management system, was designed to manage all operations within freight, courier or distribution companies. Whereas, Warehouse-IT, a warehousing and stock control system, controls all operations relating to stock control and asset management within the supply chain.

Director Mike Shraga had this to share, “We have recently instituted a unique online version of these systems to provide our clients with cost effective portability. Any company with multiple depots can use these systems with only one server, and can access information about their operations from anywhere, at any time.”

Visit the WinFreight stand at the eCommerce Africa Confex and have a chat with their team of experts to learn more about the freight management system. They will be joined on the expo floor by logistics experts CourierIT and digital marketers, Vizury. Premier sponsors Amazon Web Services and PayPal with FNB will both be showcasing their solutions in the tech demo area.

The eCommerce Africa Confex will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on the 3rd-4th February 2015. Should you wish to register as a delegate or want to know more about sponsor and exhibitor opportunities then contact Gregory on 021 180 4700 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Site: www.ecommerce-africa.com/index.php/pages/news

Right Click Online Marketing Pvt Ltd, one of the largest aggregators of online coupons and deals in the world, announced the launch of it's voucher site in South Africa with the domain name www.vouchercodes.za.com. 

RcM (Right Click Media) is an online venture of highly qualified digital marketers with a combined experience of 60 years in online shopping, having presence around the world with sites having TLD names (Top Level Domain) in 12 countries in APAC, Middle East, Europe, and now Africa. It is head quarteded in New Delhi, with support center located in Dehradun, India. To know more, visit www.rightclick.media.

Vouchercodes.za.com is a deal/discount codes website displaying latest coupons and deals from all top online shopping sites in South Africa across various categories. Over the years, online coupon and voucher sites have played a significant role in increasing the penetration of online transactions in countries such as UK, USA and China. Some of these sites are valued at a staggering USD 1 bn! With the launch of Vouchercodes.za.com in South Africa, the benefit of shopping online with the help of coupons is now going to be available to the users here, and will possibly be instrumental in becoming growth catalyst for the industry. To take benefit of discounts, user will need to visit Vouchercodes.za.com from their desktop or mobile browser, search for coupons from their favorite online shopping portal, and use the most lucrative one they find here. on the shopping site.

Interroll SA, partnering with company SICK Automation, for the largest e-tailer, Kalahari.com, recently commissioned a fully automated tote and parcel handling system for the picking, packing and sorting of goods.

The conveyor system manages the in-bound receiving of goods, the put-away and then onto order processing, to finally be automatically sorted to different destinations for the delivery process to follow. "By having such an integrated system, Kalahari.com has been able to meet the increasing demand with ease, build for the future capacity and have complete visibility through the entire processes", says Annes Schreuder, Supply Chain Director.

Hilton Campbell, Managing Director for Interroll SA comments, "Partnering with South Africa's largest eCommerce company and to be part of the build for the growing industry has been a fantastic experience. There were a number of parties involved to satisfy the complete integrated solution, from getting the go-ahead in November last year to having the system in complete operation in middle of August was a fantastic achievement by all parties."

Come to the eCommerce Africa Confex and visit Interroll's stand as they elaborate on conveyor automation in response to the courier express and parcel industries. You will also have the opportunity to receive specialist advice from teams of experts sent by payment solution providers, PayPal with FNB and PayFast, as well as logistics companies, eSolutions by DPD Laser and RAM, to name a few.

The eCommerce Africa Confex takes place on the 3-4 February 2015 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. For more information visit http://www.ecommerce-africa.com or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The eCommerce Africa Confex is proving to be Africa's most influential eCommerce gathering as we bring you face to face with the key individuals in the industry. The conference agenda will cover all things eCommerce, from how to expand your business into Africa to the survival and flourishing of SME's and small businesses. 

Raphael Afaedor, Co-Founder of Jumia and CEO/Co-Founder of Supermart, together with Simdul Shagaya, CEO and Founder of Konga.com will both be sitting on a panel discussing how to sell into Africa and grow your business beyond South Africa. 

Raphael is part of the advisory panel that has been consulted to tailor the event agenda. He co-founded one of Nigeria's largest online stores, Jumia, in 2012 and has since left to start Supermart, an online platform that allows the consumer to shop from over 18 000 grocery items. Simdul is the CEO and co-founder of recently Naspers-invested, Konga.com which is known as Africa's answer to Amazon.com. He was on Forbe's list of "The 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa 2014" and also won "Entrepreneur of the Year" at the 2013 All Africa Business Leaders Awards. 

SME's and startups can gather valuable insight during a panel that will discuss what small businesses, without the big corporate budgets, can do to build a business that will not only survive but thrive and flourish in the eCommerce industry. Panellists for this discussion include:

• David Muller, Managing Director of CyberCellar

• Phaedon Gourtsoyannis, Founder of Cape Coffee Beans

• Gary Hadfield, CEO of loot.co.za

• Olivier Chas, Managing Director and Co-Founder of CitySlicker

The eCommerce Africa Confex takes places on the 3rd and 4th February 2015 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Should you wish to register as a delegate or are interested in sponsor or exhibitor opportunities, please contact Greg Johnson on 021 180 4700 or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..