Hi there,

Wish you were there? For those who missed Metallica’s M72 World Tour performances, you’ll be able to watch an ultra-high-resolution 180-degree video and Spatial Audio immersive recording on Apple Vision Pro from today. The first of many such experiences we don’t get often in SA? 🤘

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

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1. HOT (TOPIC) DESKS

The cool desk solution that’s got SA all bothered and hot

Schools (and learners) in underdeveloped areas are up against it…

Crumbling infrastructure, lack of teachers, the many kilometres to cover to and from school daily, etc.

MiDesk is a lightweight (2kg) schoolbag on wheels that converts into a sturdy desk and chair that learners can wheel around to ensure they have a place to do their schoolwork in the classroom, and back at home (many don’t have a place to sit and do homework at home)… 

Made from recyclable materials, MiDesk has several add-ons like a solar light, USB charging portal, reflective stickers and “ruggerised” wheels for rough terrain.

But it’s not been without criticism. 

Everything from why the government hasn't put proper desks in schools, to the bulky size of these wheely desks – too large for small kids, to the sponsors plakking their corporate colours and logos all over it.

Valid points. But if it gives kids one less learning obstacle to overcome, how bad is it really?

Hit reply and tell us what you think…

2. MAKING WAVES ABROAD

Stocks from your shops

Various finance and investment gurus have told us over the years: “If you’d bought stock in Company ABC for the same amount you spent/spend on their products, you’d become really wealthy…”

Grifin is a US-based adaptive investing platform that lets users automatically buy $1 of stock from the places they shop. 

Users connect their cards to the platform, and at the end of the week, the dollar spend amount is added up, and the investment is allocated to the relevant company as per the rules set by the user. Nifty for users, but no doubt a big data play with all that transaction monitoring.

Back home in SA, there just might be a lekker opportunity for a local startup to build something similar to buy shares from your JSE-listed bank, medical aid, local hospital group, cellphone provider or grocery store, and more…

3. THAT NAGGING FEELING

The local Panda breaking kneecaps (with email)

In a recent survey by QuickBooks, 61% of small businesses struggle with cash flow issues, making it harder for small business owners to pay suppliers, loans, employees, or themselves…

Not only that: a mere 42% of B2B payments in the US happened on time in 2024, with 50% of invoices being past due, and the remaining 8% becoming bad debt…

And the longer an invoice remains unpaid, the higher the likelihood of it becoming bad debt. 

So when we found out someone could do the invoice payments nagging for us (thanks to an Open Collab community member), we rushed to check out Nagging Panda, a local startup that automates your invoice, statement & quote follow-up workflows so your business can get paid in less time with less admin (nagging).

Nagging Panda integrates with Sage, QuickBooks and Xero and was an SA Xero App of the Year finalist for 2024.

4. MORE SPEED

Slinging properties on WhatsApp

Locking down business leads ASAP is of the essence…

Responding within the first 5 minutes sees 8x higher conversion rates. Even just being the first to respond sees 78% of people go with you.

But how do you reduce response times if your sales teams are on the road?

Local startup Sudonum is building mobile-first lead management solutions, leveraging WhatsApp.

Their real estate solution provides a better experience for both agents and clients, connecting them faster, slicker, and in a more automated way. While agency owners can see key performance metrics, which helps them know every lead is getting taken care of, in as short a time as possible.

They’re currently working on a new Seller Evaluation flow to help agents provide free property evaluations for prospective sellers using a WhatsApp bot flow, too.

Psst… Sudonum’s head of sales, Sebastian Chapman is part of our The Open Collab founder network and recently did a 3 part series on how to do B2B Sales. Join The Open Collab founder network today and get access to these sessions as well as all our other previous sessions + much more.

5. FLYING THE ZA STARTUP FLAG

Less red tape, more global growth

SA needs pro-startup legislation to create an environment for startups to flourish and become attractive to buyers (usually from overseas).

The African Union has already developed its “Start Up Model Legal Framework” for member countries.

Back home, the StartUp Act Movement is a collective of investors, incubators, accelerators, and founders working on policies that’ll build a local industry of startups that can achieve maximum value on an international scale.

And we really like their approach. Instead of spending years developing a single, comprehensive piece of legislation, they’re tackling three key themes including:

• Exchange control liberalisation so that offshore holding companies can own their SA operations and hold group intellectual property

• Tax incentives for investment to support startup growth

• Attract talent to SA shores

Our friends at Dommisse Attorneys are one of the entities leading the Startup Act charge, which, once implemented, will no doubt see a major uptick in local startup investment appetite. 

Until then, offshoring to raise funding will remain a reality for many. 

If you’d like to learn more about this, come join our LinkedIn Live event with Dommisse Attorneys and special guest Simon Ellis from Jem as he shares what he learned on their offshoring journey.

IN SHORT

If you know, you know…

🎓 Hitting the gas on EdTech. Local EdTech accelerator Injini has announced their 3rd cohort of 12 South African startups for the 2025 Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship. *Takes notes in EdTech…

📱Gimme a (Tax) break. In a bid to help connect more low-income South African households to the www, Treasury announced the 9% excise duty on smartphones will be cut for those ones that cost R2’500 or less. Very nice.

🗳️ X marks the spot. This week SA’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) held a three-day conference with speakers from Estonia, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to investigate the feasibility of using an electronic voting system. Interesting…

👩‍💻 SA Tech Poachers. More and more techies from SA are getting poached by international firms with Australia, the Netherlands, Mauritius and the US looking for our top tech talent. Ja, we knew it, hey.

😎 The Stack. Founders need trustworthy tools and suppliers. Our Founder’s Stack includes an easy-to-apply R5M business finance facility from Lula, next-level authority building and lead generation with Stream, and loads more vital startup tools and services.

DON’T MISS THIS

Coming Up in SA’s Most Vibrant Tech Founder Community

Coming up in our members-only, founder community — The Open Collab.

14 March 12:00 — Case Study: Come learn from Jem’s offshoring journey, supported by Dommisse Attorneys to help SA founders build overseas.

18 March 16:00 — Founder Social: Cape Town founders gather for a cold one!

27 March 18:000 — In-Person Event: Our first-ever JHB event is happening — see you there!

28 March 12:00 — Masterclass: How to growth hack in SA with Ben Blaine from Neurabuild.

PLUS: Access all the recordings of our previous sessions including Sales, Products, PR and more.

JOBS IN TECH

Tired already? A change is as good as a holiday…

💼 Product Owner @ Santam Insurance

🤖 Artificial Intelligence Engineer @ TaskFlow

🎨 Product Designer (UX/UI) @ Hey Guys

🔥 Fractional Intern: Content Creation and Social Media @ The Open Letter

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

GAME TIME

Three lies and a startup truth

Only one of these is a real South African startup…

WHAT YOU SAID

Good for business…

On Tuesday, we asked how much you’d pay a lawyer to support your SME’s progress, and most will trade up for AI…

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💸 R0 – My cousin knows a guy (17%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🧐 R5k – Just to say hi? 😭 (12%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ⚖️ R15k – But it better be gold-plated advice (14%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🚀 Nah, let AI, take the wheel (40%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💡 Wait, I have a better idea… (17%)

Your 2 cents…

Hmm, good idea, Leigh-Anne. Efficiency for the win 🦾.

Nice one, GL. Solid advice there 💡.

Indeed, Thalia, remember to consider all risks before committing 🔒.

Ooh, hope the peeps at Lawyered Up are paying attention, Herman. Awesome idea ✅.