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War games? For all you Halo fans out there, check out Japan’s working railgun to deter China’s hypersonic missiles. Using electromagnetism instead of conventional ballistics, the railgun can currently fire 2—3x faster than any traditional 40mm gun. See it in action here (don’t blink, or you’ll miss it). Plans are to scale that up by a factor of 4 in the coming years. 🧨

Before all-out Indo-Pacific war, though, let’s enjoy another Fast-Five Friday: 5 things in the startup space in 5 minutes. Let’s go…

Businesses around the world lose as many as 202 business days to admin and admin-related tasks per year. But it’s even worse for doctors, who definitely didn’t sign up for the paperwork.

Booking appointments, chasing payments, sending reminders, and filling out notes are so far from the whole thing of saving people’s lives, yet it's vital if you want a well-run, profitable, long-term, stable business.

Built in SA, Bookem is a full-service practice management platform primarily aimed at healthcare professionals, but can also be used by professionals needing automated bookings, reminders, invoicing, digital forms, even video calls, giving them a virtual front desk, assistant and bookkeeper, all in one.

It syncs with your calendar, can handle treatment-specific codes, and helps doctors run modern, professional practices with less effort.

Check out the walkthrough to see Bookem in action:

Chances are you (or someone you know) have been a victim of a scam, either buying or selling stuff online. Heck, there’s even a rising global trend in totally fake online stores…

But local escrow service provider TradeSafe is hoping to take the sting out of online shopping by providing a bank-backed escrow service to protect buyers and sellers (for both individuals and businesses).

How it works: The buyer and seller agree on terms, with either one registering with TradeSafe and quickly creating a transaction. The buyer then deposits funds into a secure TradeSafe escrow account, at which point TradeSafe issues a letter of comfort to the seller.

Knowing that the money is with TradeSafe, the seller delivers the goods or services and, once the buyer confirms the agreement has been fulfilled, TradeSafe releases the funds, completing the transaction.

You can even create milestone payments, when you don't just want to send a large amount of cash to someone upfront for a house build, or reno, etc.

In SA, there are around 20’000 plant species (roughly 10% of all plants on the planet), with the Cape Floral Kingdom (70% of which are found only here) making up about half of that. And more than a few of them are revered for their medicinal purposes – humans have been using plants to cure all sorts of ailments and diseases for millennia.

CureRoot is a South African BioTech startup that's exploring African medicinal plants for drug discovery using AI.

By combining the study of natural compounds and traditional knowledge of medicinal plants, they are building a chemical library focused on treatments for health challenges, including infectious diseases, oncology, cardiometabolic disease and autoimmune disorders. 

And while it’s still early days (CureRoot started in 2023), and less than 1% of all African plant metabolites (the natural chemicals that plants produce) have been studied, we’re watching this space…

Most landlords in SA self-manage their properties (about 75% of them, according to PropTech founder Ross Fitzcharles), because rental agents cut into already squeezed margins. 

Yet most don’t have the right tools, safety net, or backup to do this properly, exposing them to all sorts of high-stakes risks like missed rent, bad tenants and long, drawn-out legal battles.

Preferental is a local PropTech platform giving landlords the ability to self-manage their properties with a bunch of helpful tools. From AI-driven tenant screening, rental guarantees (even if tenants don’t pay) with built-in insurance, as well as expertly drafted lease agreements and, if needed, legal letters of demand. 

Their newly launched “Deposit Plus” feature lets tenants pay deposits over 10 instalments (making new rentals more accessible), and the landlord’s deposit is guaranteed from day one.

Want in? Connect with more ZA startup founders and builders like Ross Fitzcharles, Founder & CEO of Preferental, in our Founder community: The Open Collab.

In Africa, thousands of kids are not in school, and major contributing factors are building costs, remote locations and lack of infrastructure (like electricity & even an internet connection).

BloomBox Design Labs is a non-profit that transforms shipping containers into solar-powered computer classrooms​ in Malawi. Their low-profile roof sits on top of upcycled containers and can retract or expand as needed for transport or to keep safe at night, via a handcrank system.

The solar system is purpose-built for each installation, with energy needs calculated (and exceeded) depending on the number of computers and other resources that need to be powered.

Recently, Starlink has come on board to provide high-speed satellite internet at each BloomBox, making it a very cool option for remote parts of Africa, or even as a school solution for refugee camps.

🌍 African AI Acceleration. Applications are open for the 3-month Google for Startups Accelerator Africa programme aimed at seed to Series A startups based in Africa, preferably building AI-first solutions. Apply here.

🤖 Another one. Meta has launched a separate app for its AI assistant, but it will still be available as per usual on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Messenger. Add that to your growing folder of “AI apps”…

🛸 Found you. The Border Management Authority (BMA) prevented over 6’200 attempted illegal crossings into SA over the Easter period, fuelled by night-vision drones with AI and advanced body cams. Could also come in handy finding Easter eggs…

💰 Investment Boom Incoming? South Africa and Kenya have emerged as the top investment destinations over the next three years by 65% of general partners at private equity firms surveyed by the African Private Capital Association. We here for it…

😎 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.

Cape Town. 7–8 May 2025. Free Expo Pass Inside.

Online success isn’t just about having a good idea — it’s about who you meet, what you learn, and how fast you adapt.

That’s why Converge Africa 2025 is the unmissable destination for founders, e-commerce operators, and digital pros ready to scale smarter. And this year, The Open Letter’s own Renier Kriel is hosting the Startup Pitch Stage — showcasing the boldest new ventures on the continent.

Want in? 🎯 Use code 0PV1S to grab your FREE expo pass.

Here’s what’s waiting for you:

✅ 30+ speakers on conversion, logistics, marketing & payments — real, usable insights
✅ Live startup pitches hosted by Renier — fresh ideas, fast
✅ 2 full days of networking with brands like Microsoft, Takealot, Shoprite & Paystack

If you're scaling an online business in Africa, this is where the momentum lives.

💼 Want the full experience? Book a Corporate Pass for 3 days of VIP workshops, food and high-level networking in Cape Town from 7—8 May 2025.

Very few people manage to raise any amount of money in SA, let alone a R1 billion+, but both Lula co-founder Trevor Gosling and Stitch co-founder Kiaan Pillay have done this. On 22 May 2025, we are getting both of them on stage at Innovation City Cape Town to talk about:

— Raising substantial amounts of capital in South Africa
— Deploying that capital efficiently as they scale
— Exclusive learnings from their journeys

This is an event you don’t want to miss! Get your tickets now and use OPENLETTER50 to get R50 off, exclusive to readers of The Open Letter.

📋 Product Manager @ Ignition Group

👩‍💻 Senior Frontend Engineer @ Cue

🤖 Artificial Intelligence Lead @ Health Collective

🎨 Senior Designer @ Ogilvy South Africa

💰 Head of Finance and Operations @ Old Mutual South Africa

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

There’s a South African startup providing solar power and smart energy management for township homes, helping families save money and stay connected, even during load shedding.

On Tuesday, we asked how often you go to the doctor, and it‘s a case of “as needed” for most…

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🗓️ Once a year (13%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🤒 Only when I’m sick (60%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 📋 Frequently – currently managing a long-term condition (10%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 😖 When my partner tells me to go (11%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ⛑️ Never. Got my first aid badge in Scouts (and a Dischem Benefit card) (6%)

Your 2 cents…

Well, Gogga, judging from the poll results, if you’re healthy and living well, that’s about the standard approach for most of us here 🧘‍♀️🥗🍎🌱🔆.