Flash Briefing: Prosus extends foothold in EdTech; de Ruyter faces death threats; vaccinated South Africans unwelcome in Mauritius

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  • Tencent investor Prosus NV has agreed to buy a majority stake in European online employee-training platform GoodHabitz for 212 million euros ($257 million), extending the e-commerce giant’s push into education, reports Bloomberg. The deal will be used to accelerate the expansion of GoodHabitz, Netherlands-based Prosus said in a statement on Tuesday. It follows the $1.8 billion acquisition of tech-knowledge sharing site Stack Overflow in the U.S. earlier this month. Prosus was an early investor in education technology and has committed more than $3 billion in the sector since 2016. The company says the pandemic has accelerated the shift to online learning, as people stuck at home look to improve their skill set. Other Prosus sites include Udemy and Skillsoft.
  • Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has been facing death threats and unfounded allegations after starting a clean-up operation at the power utility. This was revealed in a News24 interview where he discussed his work to turn around the company which has been gutted by corruption and mismanagement. The interview took place less than two weeks after senior counsel Ishmael Semenya found that allegations against De Ruyter were without substance. The allegations — made by former Eskom chief procurement officer Solly Tshitangano — included abuse of power, racial discrimination, poor governance, irregular recruitment, irregular staff appointments, and unlawful procurement. Tshitangano was dismissed for gross misconduct and breach of duties and responsibilities, among other charges. Commenting on the allegations and death threats against him, De Ruyter said it has a momentary impact. “But then, what ultimately motivates me is to prove my detractors and critics wrong — and then I carry on,” he told News24.
  • Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a four-week extension in pandemic restrictions beyond June 21 because of a surge in the delta variant. Meanwhile, Mauritius, which has been closed to international visitors throughout the pandemic, will reopen its borders to vaccinated tourists on 15 July. South Africans, however, are excluded from this reopening and will still be banned from entering Mauritius even if they have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. This is according to Business Insider. 
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