Something to say? A Japanese team is trying to learn to talk to fungi, and so far they’ve deduced that fungi can recognise shapes. Why? They’re looking for ways to use “dumb” lifeforms to build biological computers.

In this Open Letter:

• Food to the cloud: Welcoming restaurants to the 21st century.

• Checkers’ Hyper60 play, no AI Getaway & it’s clicking for Clicks.

• See you there: 7 SA tech events you don’t want to miss.

• How SA homes are growing in value: The results are in.

• Lonely building your startup? Join SA’s only founder community dedicated to tech startups.

Together with:

TRENDING NOW

Welcoming SA’s Restaurants to the 21st Century

Years ago, restaurant operations were run with pen and paper – orders scribbled down, and cash counted out by hand.

Internationally, IBM introduced the first fully computerised Point-of-Sale (POS) system in 1973. And it took a few decades, but most people reading this will be familiar with restaurants having at least a Pilot or GAAP POS system.

You know, those static terminals your waitperson needs to run to every time you order a refill.

And for a time it went really well… they eventually added touchscreens and card machines (oh, we’re flying now!) in the mid-late 1990s, then other smarter payment solutions like SnapScan and such.

But turns out many restaurants are still pretty dumb…

Here’s the thing… as culinarily “avant-garde” as that posh eatery is, tech-wise restaurants haven’t evolved much in the last 20 (probably more like 30)-odd years.

It’s still basically a static POS terminal in a closed system (not connected to the net) – meaning online orders are tricky, table ordering impossible, and even your Uber Eats orders all need to be added entirely separately.

And switching out is a big mission. Hardware to buy and training on new systems often keep busy restaurants just moving along with what they’ve got.

Eateries are due for a cloud update

During Covid lockdowns, Uber Eats in South-Saharan Africa saw a 1860% increase in demand. And it never really returned to normal – much like grocery delivery, the food delivery market has been growing steadily Year-on-Year, expected to be in the R21bn range in 2024.

Online bookings have also skyrocketed, with bookings app Dineplan showing a 9.3% rise in web, a 50% rise in app bookings and steady declines in telephone bookings, noting that diners like to plan further and further in advance and prefer tech to help them do it.

And don’t even get us started on intelligence! What data-driven decisions can a restaurant make with a closed system that can’t pull big data from the cloud? Just look at the kind of menu-planning decisions a simple data extract like Uber Eats’ annual cravings report can deliver – and now imagine what a local restaurant can do with that level of insights on your palettes, in your neighbourhood.

Nah, it’s definitely time we welcomed the restaurant industry to the 21st century, and one SA startup is on the job…

The future of SA’s restaurants

Local cloud software platform Munch is developing a comprehensive suite of tools designed to streamline restaurant management, covering everything from POS and Inventory to Kitchen Management, Online Ordering, and Self-service Kiosks. Their cloud-based platform moves beyond the limitations of traditional POS systems, freeing restaurants from bulky, outdated setups.

Their suite of products include:

• Mobile POS: Enables waitstaff to take orders directly at the table, reducing errors and delays and allowing payments to be processed on the spot.

• Standard POS: Handles dine-in and takeout orders with a user-friendly tablet interface, eliminating the need for expensive, specialised hardware.

• A Customer-Facing Munch App: Lets diners browse the menu, order, and pay using their phones, all in one seamless process.

• Kitchen Display: Keeps the kitchen team in sync with real-time updates, streamlining meal prep and reducing wait times (no more lettuce and tomato sitting under the hot light while the burger patty is cooked to perfection…)

• Back Office: All the above (and more) are managed in Munch’s Cloud Portal (even remotely from your phone).

And with a 30% reduction in wait times, a 90% decrease in incorrect orders, and ordering happening 50% faster, the proof is in the pudding that Munch is eliminating inefficiencies in the restaurant space one table at a time. 

We recently chatted to Munch on the latest episode of the “How Would You Build It” podcast. And they’re frying up some pretty cool stuff all along the restaurant value chain building a consolidated Menu, Inventory, and Order Management system – processes that typically are run by separate disjointed systems.

Catch the full episode or jump to highlights:

• How to land that first customer in B2B SaaS — Munch’s early track record.

• How to know what features to build next.

• How to simplify complex problems when building.

IN SHORT

Say something interesting…

🍊 Code Orange. Jozi-based entrepreneurs are invited to apply for the 2025 cohort of the Orange Corners Designs (OCD) programme run by the Craft and Design Institute (CDI) and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The 12-month programme supports the 20 participants to grow their businesses and a chance to access R1 million in funding.

🤔 AI Cover Art? Local travel mag Getaway published an image of Mpumalanga’s Blyde River Canyon on the front cover of its October 2024 issue. But it would seem that it might be an AI-generated image from Shutterstock submitted by a Pakistan-based photographer who joined the site in August. Hmmm… Interesting…

🚚 Hyper Delivery. Checkers has updated its Sixty60 app by adding Checkers Hyper products including electronics, camping gear and more — making an e-commerce play to compete with Takealot and Amazon. Products vary from region to region though, are limited to specific time slots, but qualify for free delivery with R100 spend.

💊 Healthy Results. Local pharmacy retailer Clicks seems to be hitting it out of the park reporting on double-digit growth in its full-year results filing, and plans to open around 50 new stores and pharmacies to edge closer to reaching the 1’000 store mark.

😎 The Stack. Founders need tools and suppliers they can trust. Check out our Founder’s Stack with your own fractional CFO for less with OCFO, easy-apply R5M business funding with Lula and 11 more vital startup tools & services.

CHECK THIS OUT

Work more on the things that matter

A scaling business normally equals chaos. Staffing, operations, clients, finance and more all need attention and all seem equally important. But what if they aren’t?

Metavolve’s Scale programme has helped agriBORA double their customers with only a 25% increase in employees – in just 4 months.

If you want to grow with a mission, sign up for the Metavolve scale program and start focusing on the stuff that matters most!

Want to learn more about Metavolve’s framework that has helped more than 100 founders and business leaders develop sustainable scaling strategies?

HAPPENING SOON

Upcoming Events

25 October 2024 — Product Masterclass — Online : SA’s very own “product legend” Roger Norton is here for the first in a three-part product building series — The Open Collab community exclusive.

30-31 October 2024 — AI Expo Africa — JHB: Join over 2’000 industry insiders for Africa’s largest AI and automation trade show at the Sandton Convention Centre in JHB.

1 November 2024 — Sales Masterclass — Online: Keep your B2B sales pipeline filled with this Masterclass session with sales expert, Sebastian Chapman — The Open Collab community exclusive.

4-6 November 2024 — Iniji EdTech Week — Cape Town: This is where EdTech entrepreneurs, the broader ecosystem members, government and policy stakeholders come together in Cape Town — PS: entrance is free.

7 November 2024 — Cape Town: Tinder for Business: Meet 20 investors, corporates or potential customers at Innovation City. Sign up here.

7 November 2024 — JHB: TechSafar is hosting its first JHB mixer. Get tickets here.

8 November 2024 — Product Masterclass: Part 2: How to keep shipping truly great products, fast — The Open Collab community exclusive.

View all our upcoming events here.

BUILDING TOGETHER

Happening over at The Open Collab

It’s all happening at SA’s only founder community dedicated to tech startups and scale-ups. In the last 48 hours alone, in our online community, we…

• Helped Tiaan find a fast and simple, local card payment solution.

• Got such good feedback from the in-person check-ins with members.

• Helped Laurie connect with potential partners for his wife’s startup.

• Helped Erhard gain some traffic and traction for his new product.

• Tried to get Roger to pose more like Steve Jobs for his Product Masterclass cover shots.

• Celebrated Sabeeha’s four 🔥 new paying leads.

WHAT YOU SAID

In case of emergency…

We asked how happy you are with your home’s growth in value (as an investment), and ooops…

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Well, everything was fine, until I read that post… 😬 (31%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Nah, I keep a handle on these things, it’s growing lekke 😎 (8%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Dunno, better get Hoom for my sale 🏡 (13%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Not worried, I bought it for my family, no need to profit ❤️ (18%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Haven’t bought yet, dreaming of one day… 💒 (25%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Yeah, that’s why I choose to rather rent 💰 (5%)