Woza, the news portal founded five years ago, has shut down. The decision comes as a result of Bytes Technology Group (BTG), formerly Usko, withdrawing its support as an investor in the business.
The portal, which through its relationship with BTG played host to business news Web site Barney.co.za and computing news site Boot.co.za among others, had seen a staff cutback of seven, from 22 to 15.
Kevin Davie, Woza co-founder, says news of the shutdown has elicited a strong response from Woza`s readership community as well as a number of parties interested in coming to the Web site`s rescue.
"The deal`s never done until the cheque is in the bank, but we might have [an announcement] as early as next week," says Davie. The urgency in reaching a suitable course of action can`t be underestimated, he says.
Woza`s 15 staff members are on a 30-day notice effective immediately, says Davie, and are at the moment not actively generating any content. However, there are plans to set up a chat page in an effort to retain and promote activity among the site`s community.
BTG had a total 49% stake in Woza Internet. Its decision to pull investment from Woza Internet comes at an inopportune time, says Davie, as the bottom has fallen out of the Internet industry as a whole. But he says BTG`s decision is also the result of the conclusion of the original agreement, which had been to invest up to a certain level.
That level has since been reached, says Davie.
The network of sites has shown 37% growth to 5.5 million pages a month in the last quarter as measured by Internet standards body Abis. Figures supplied by site auditors suggest that over 400 000 individuals access the Woza network of sites every month.
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