Hi there,

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But first, it’s time for another great Fast-Five Friday — 5 things in startup and tech you should know, in 5 minutes. Let’s go…

1. SUPPORT YOU NEED

Connecting the payment dots

Africa’s $317.0 billion (2024) e-commerce market is projected to triple to $1 trillion by 2033 (a CAGR of 13.8%). And SA’s Top 5 e-commerce stores generate 51% of the net sales. Meaning by then, your smaller local e-commerce players will deliver half a trillion in e-commerce spend. 

Now, payments are super complex, and SA e-commerce is already losing R20 billion a year to cart abandonment (CX Report 2024), which is why big players like Takealot have entire payment ops teams ensuring everything runs smoothly.

In fact, where most would have maybe only one PSP (Peach, Paystack, etc.), the big guys might have ops teams running decision-making on which PSP route is most optimal for every type of transaction.

Your smaller e-commerce player can’t do that, which is where Njiapay comes in. 

They help small to medium-sized online businesses with a payment-as-a-service solution that does what the big guys do:

• gives them a single, UI/UX optimised and unified checkout that connects to all the payment service providers and methods their customers trust

• uses intelligence to route to the best-performing payment option

• and then consolidates reporting across the different channels

Plus: fraud, analytics, 3DS, pay-by-link, and so much more. 

Like giving the little guy the power of a big retailer – no wonder Njiapay closed A $1 million pre-seed funding round led by HAVAÍC earlier this year. And with Africa's e-commerce growing, we think they are onto something!

2. WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

Something nice, at half the price

South Africa wastes about 10 million tonnes of food each year – a third of our entire annual local production. 

And local start-up Refreshi is trying to change that by giving app users access to heavily discounted baked goods, sweet treats, fruits, veggies and even cheese from nearby bakeries and grocery stores.

Stores make up a mixed bag of items towards the end of the day, pop it on the app, and nearby users can lock in an order and collect it on their way home from work.

As a bonus, the app also shows you how much money, water, land usage and CO2 you’ve helped save and avoid with your purchases.

While it’s still early days (currently only going in Cape Town), we’re watching this space.

3. LACE UP

Wanna run into other founders?

Running is great for clearing your head – just 2 days a week significantly reduces stress.

Add in some fresh air, a bit of routine and the camaraderie of running with a few lekker founders and startup builders, and you could find yourself a little more zen, and a whole lot more motivated.

Founders Running Club is a great way to meet other peeps who are building, scaling, investing or just figuring things out in their local startup ecosystem. And SA has our very own chapter in the Mother City.

Every Saturday at 08:30 in winter (or Thursdays at 17:30 in summer), FRC-CT runs (or walks) along the Atlantic Seaboard with either a 5km jog or a 3km walk, if that’s more your speed, followed by some networking afterwards. 

So, whether you’re burning calories or discussing your burn rate, check out FRC Cape Town.

4. FROM THE OPEN COLLAB COMMUNITY

Addressing the unaddressed…

Some at the UN say as many as 4 billion people (phew, that’s half the globe!) do not have a formal address – the bulk of which are in Africa, Asia and South America.

And without an address, they’re literally off the map. 

They can't get a bank loan, or open an account, they can't legally run a business, have no voting rights or access to public utility services and in general struggle to participate in the economy (how is a courier going to find their house with no address?).

OkHi is an AI-powered smart address system providing a fully digital proof of address, using something a significant chunk of people do have access to, a smartphone...

Businesses can integrate OkHi’s mobile SDK (Software Development Kit) directly into their own app to collect and verify their customers’ addresses using movement and location data from their smartphones combined with custom AI models. Fancy stuff.

Come join other startup builders like Roger Norton, Chief Product Officer at OkHi, in The Open Collab. Let’s solve real problems together.

5. INTERESTING STARTUP ABROAD

The canary in your kitchen

Our buildings are designed to keep the weather out. Problem is they also keep the rebreathed air (your and others’ breath) locked in. Gross.

This not-so-fresh air can cause anything from nausea, dizziness and sinus congestion, to dry throat, fatigue, and headache.

Birdie is a fresh air monitor made from recycled plastic and equipped with a state-of-the-art, Swiss-made (so you know it’s good) CO2 sensor to help remind people to let fresh air in (should be 2 or 3 times a day).

And if you ever heard about the coalmines of old that took canaries in cages down the mineshaft to detect toxic gases (if it passed out, it was time to skeddaddle back up to the surface), Birdie works the same way.

When air quality is poor, Birdie drops down until you open up some windows and let the fresh air in, bringing Birdie back to life. Cute man.

IN SHORT

Well-timed headlines to carry a whole convo…

🐺 Wolfing it up. Local WhatsApp-based public safety platform Community Wolf has landed a cool R8.3 million investment led by Fuel Ventures. The investment is to boost the development and distribution of the platform, including expanded marketing efforts.

🇿🇦 Flying the flag. The Financial Times has released its list of Africa's Fastest-Growing Companies 2025. South Africa and Nigeria make up more than half the list, with South Africa adding 51 companies. Compiled with Statista, the list ranks businesses on their compound growth rate between 2020 and 2023. Lekker man.

🤳 Spar Enters the Chat. Spar Mobile is the latest addition to the South African MVNO landscape. The retailer will piggyback off the MTN network, giving customers “free data” every time they shop. Swipe to swipe — nice.

🕊️ Celebrate Good Times. Happy Tax Freedom Day, the day when the Average South African has worked their tax bill in full, and can start earning for themselves. It fell on the 16th of May last year, so who knows where it will fall this year? Check out the interesting table of when TFD was each year for the last 30 years.

😎 The Stack. Founders need tools and suppliers they can trust. Check out our Founder’s Stack with all your tech recruitment streamlined and automated by Offerzen, zero-monthly-fee bank accounts and business loans in 4 minutes from Lula, plus loads more vital startup tools & services.

CHECK THIS OUT

Still Doing Everything Manually? It’s Time to Change That

Is your team still spending time chasing numbers, juggling spreadsheets, and dealing with endless admin tasks? If this sounds familiar, you're not just wasting time, you’re missing opportunities.

When your systems aren’t connected, your business can feel like it’s operating in silos. Data isn’t flowing the way it should, and processes are fragmented. The solution? Automation.

Here’s the game-changer:

By automating your core business functions, you eliminate inefficiencies, reduce the risk of errors, and gain real-time visibility into what’s really happening across your operations.

So why should you make the switch?

✅ Less admin, more doing – Automate repetitive tasks and let your team focus on driving growth and innovation. No more wasting hours on manual data entry and reconciliation.
✅ Real-time clarity – Stop waiting for reports to catch up. With automated systems, you’ll have access to live data that allows you to make informed decisions – fast.
✅ Fewer mistakes – Automation removes the human error factor, helping your business stay on track with accurate, up-to-date numbers.

A Smarter Way to Run Your Business

By putting the right systems in place, you’re not just cutting down on admin, you’re building a scalable foundation for sustainable growth.

With the correct systems, integration and automation in place, your team can be more productive, your data more accurate, and your business more agile. When the functions of your business are connected and effectively automated, you get back the time you need to focus on what really matters: growing your business.

🚀 Ready to streamline your operations and boost efficiency? Book a free session with OCFO today.

DON’T MISS THIS

Coming Up in SA’s Most Vibrant Tech Founder Network

Next up in our members-only founder network — The Open Collab.

16 May 12:00 — The Path to Scale Masterclass, Pt. 2: The science of success: Discover the hidden pitfalls and proven growth tools for every stage with Jason Goldberg, Art of Scale author and co-founder of Edge Growth — join The Open Collab to attend.

22 May 18:000 — In-Person Event, Cape Town: Come meet everyone as we all get together at Innovation City for networking, refreshments and a fireside chat with two SA founders who raised over R1 billion each this year alone — get your tickets (use code OPENLETTER50 for a special reader discount).

23 May 12:000 — Business Value AMA: Using business valuation as a strategic growth tool: The secrets to leveraging growth no one tells you with Graham Stephan from bizval.

PLUS: When you join The Open Collab get access to expert sessions, more than 100 SA founders to network with and weekly online and offline network engagements.

JOBS IN TECH

Some of our friends are hiring. Noah person who fits the brief?

🚢 Product Lead for BOOST @ Sanlam

👨‍💻 Senior Network Engineer – Access & Last Mile (Team Lead) @ fibertime™

🎨 Head of Design @ Flood

🛰️ Engineering Manager @ CubeSpace ADCS

💰 Financial Manager @ MOYO

Hiring? Get in touch, and we will feature it here.

GAME TIME

Three ZA startup lies and a truth

Only one of these South African startups is real.

WHAT YOU SAID

Time to get paid…

On Tuesday, we asked about the most important AI tool for SMEs, and most favour automated collections…

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🧾 Automated invoicing & bookkeeping (32%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 🗂️ Document processing & data extraction (24%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💬 Customer support chatbots (15%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ 📈 Sales & lead scoring tools (27%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🐙 AI-powered mood tracker (2%)

Your 2 cents…

Phew, ja that’ll certainly turn SMEs into powerhouses, Grace 💪.

Unlocking better fin relations and trust with providers, lekker one, Nkadimeng 💸.

Oh, yes, we can all do with a little more proper pipeline, Jabud 🚀.

Ha ha, no for sure, William — fastest way to chase your customers away that ⛔.

HOW DID WE DO?

BEFORE YOU GO