Discovery Health CEO Dr Ron Whelan unpacks the power of Personal Health Pathways
In this What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, Dr Ron Whelan highlights the benefits of Discovery Health’s Personal Health Pathways programme.
Dr Whelan is the CEO of Discovery Health and a veteran of corporate healthcare and health systems, with almost two decades of experience across various senior executive roles.
As CEO, Dr Whelan leads Discovery Health in its endeavour to help its clients become healthier while protecting and enhancing their lives.
In this What’s Next interview, Dr Whelan outlines Discovery Health’s Personal Health Pathways.
He highlights the AI technology and robust dataset that Discovery Health uses to power the service, and explains how Personal Health Pathways helps South Africans live healthier lifestyles.
Dr Whelan also explains how Discovery Health provides clients with financial incentives to ensure they make the right decisions.
He concludes the interview by highlighting the interest they have seen in the offering since its launch, and explains how Discovery Health members can get started on their Personal Health Pathway.
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32:35
Professor Anné Verhoef discusses the NWU AI Hub
In this What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, North-West University (NWU) Professor Anné Verhoef discusses the NWU AI Hub, of which he is the director.
The NWU AI Hub was launched at the beginning of 2025, with Verhoef at the helm, to provide groundbreaking solutions to South Africa’s biggest AI problems.
Verhoef is a professor in philosophy and the former director of the NWU School of Philosophy, which forms part of the university’s Humanities faculty.
He has a strong involvement in ethics, which has prepared him to head up the NWU AI Hub.
In this interview, Verhoef begins by discussing the reason for the NWU AI Hub and its biggest successes so far.
He highlights the measures NWU is taking to ensure the ethical and responsible use of AI within the university.
Verhoef then explains how NWU is prioritising student development to ensure its graduates remain competitive in the workforce of the future.
He concludes by sharing insights into NWU’s AI literacy courses and how students have responded to these initiatives.
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23:59
Nomvuyiso Batyi and Naveed Kashif discuss the challenge of expanding RAN infrastructure in Africa
In this What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, Nomvuyiso Batyi and Naveed Kashif discuss the evolution of the telecommunications market and how AI is reshaping RAN infrastructure in South Africa.
Batyi is the Chief Executive Officer of the recently established Association of Comms and Technology – a non-profit company dedicated to addressing ecosystem issues within the broader ICT sector.
Before this, she worked in roles at the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, ICASA, and Primedia Broadcasting.
Kashif is the Head of Nokia’s Southern African Market Unit for Mobile Networks at Nokia.
He boasts an impressive 27-year track record in the telecommunications industry, having held leadership roles at companies like Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent, and IBM.
He holds an MBA focused on International Management from Vlerick Leuven-Gent Management School.
In this What’s Next interview, Batyi explains what the Association of Comms and Technology does, and Kashif explains Nokia’s role in the African telecommunication industry.
Kashif then outlines how AI is changing how Radio Access Networks (RANs) operate, and Batyi unpacks the challenges in optimising RAN infrastructure in Africa.
She also discusses the role of policy-making in accelerating growth and change in the South African telecommunications industry.
They concluded the interview by outlining how they expect the South African telecommunications industry to evolve in the coming years.
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29:43
Discussing Vodacom Business being South Africa’s most trusted enterprise telecommunications provider
In this What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, Videsha Proothveerajh discusses how Vodacom Business is leveraging new technologies to offer superior services to its customers.
Proothveerajh is the Director of Vodacom Business at Vodacom South Africa and boasts over 25 years of experience in the technology and telecommunications industries.
She assumed her current role at Vodacom South Africa in 2024 and leverages her extensive experience and expertise to ensure Vodacom Business sits at the top of the enterprise telecommunications industry.
In this What’s Next interview, Proothveerajh explains the importance of Vodacom Business being crowned South Africa’s Most Trusted Enterprise Telecommunications Provider in the MyBroadband Awards.
She unpacks the key areas she believes Vodacom Business stands apart in the enterprise telecommunications industry, and highlights the company’s most significant achievements since she joined it.
Proothveerajh also discusses how Vodacom Business is leveraging new technologies like AI and machine learning to deliver improved value to its South African clients.
She concludes the interview by sharing Vodacom Business’s plans for the future.
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20:34
Sage’s Jordaan Burger on how the CFO role is evolving
In this What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, Jordaan Burger discusses the modern challenges facing CFOs.
Burger is the Sage Vice President of Finance for the Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific region, and has worked in the finance industry for over 20 years.
He joined Sage in 2019 as the Financial Director for the Africa and Middle East region, and was promoted to his current position in 2021.
In this What’s Next interview, Burger discusses how the CFO role is evolving in South Africa.
He unpacks the new challenges and responsibilities that have emerged, and explains how these changes have led to CFOs having a greater impact on the C-Suite.
Burger also outlines how CFOs can balance their organisations’ current finances with the need for growth.
He then notes the importance of automation for generating growth opportunities, and explains how Sage can assist with this.
Burger concludes the interview by sharing his vision for the future of finance, and the role Sage will play in this.
What’s Next with Aki Anastasiou is South Africa’s most popular technology show. The who’s who of South Africa’s technology and business world are interviewed on the show.
South Africa