Cooling off {{ FIRSTNAME | there }}? One Russian city has seen so much snow that people are jumping out of apartment windows and landing safely. Only probs is you can’t find your car in the morning. ☃️

In Today’s Open Letter

SA’s 13.4 million school learners and 454k teachers have the same problem: overcrowded classrooms – but this startup wants to bridge the gap with WhatsApp…

Most schools in South Africa are properly back and in the swing of educating after a somewhat rough start to the 2026 school year… But now that we’ve got most of SA’s learners into classrooms, the real work begins.

See, 81% of South African learners cannot read for meaning by the time they are 10 (typically Grade 4). And it’s not surprising when you consider that more than half of SA’s primary school classrooms only have 1 teacher responsible for educating 40+ learners.

Time and time again, research has pointed to 18 learners being the magic number to ensure peak academic performance, prevent learners from dropping out and ensure equitable access for all students.

So, how we gonna give our kids a better education?

Putting extra lessons at every learner’s fingertips

Luma is a CAPS-aligned AI-powered educational assistant leveraging WhatsApp to provide a personalised, 24/7 tutor, bypassing the need for high-end hardware, expensive data or even the need to download yet another app.

Pretty nifty considering how 93.8% of SA internet users use WhatsApp…

Luma can assist students from Grade 1 to 12, across all SA school subjects, in all 11 of SA’s official languages. Wow! Yes, that’s Luma’s secret sauce: Using a concept called translanguaging, a pedagogical approach that encourages students to draw on all their languages to understand complex material and express ideas.

It stems from the understanding that most learners are taught in their second or third language, so Luma allows students to engage in any of the 11 official languages, helping them master complex concepts in their mother tongue before bridging it back to the English required for CAPS-aligned exams. Mega.

Potential impact

The impact extends beyond students alone. Teachers can use it as a teaching assistant to automate lesson planning and marking, easing the burden of overcrowded classes. Wait, what?

And worried about getting caught out helping your kid complete their science homework? No sweat. Luma helps parents who may feel ill-equipped to help with homework to support their children confidently in their home language. #ParentofTheYear coffee mug loading…

Listen, we love AI as much as the next person, hey…

But it’s platforms like Luma that are leveraging the tech to democratise learning for all students, and using something like WhatsApp for scale, that have us watching this space.

Who still books a space by email or phone?

SA startup Berth might have a dedicated app for marina managers, but when it comes to letting yacht and boat owners book a berth, you know they built it on WhatsApp.

But here’s what’s really clever:

✅ Boaters submit arrival dates, vessel size and service needs
✅ Marinas approve or decline in minutes, not days
✅ Managers get a live berth map, calendars and vessel history

Instead of forcing busy sailors to download another app, Berth meets them where they already are — on WhatsApp — turning days of back-and-forth into a simple chat.

What would you build on WhatsApp today?

Here’s how to know where they’re coming from, who to target and how much they’re spending on what…

SA tourism was up 6.7% in 2025 and spending rose 23% to set a new record for international spending in SA.

But how do local businesses capitalise?

Yoco (SA's largest independent payment provider) analysed the transaction data of over 200’000 local merchants over the holiday season to tell us exactly: Where tourists are from, how many, what they’re spending on and how much.

And it’s all in this new seasonal spending report.

Unprecedented tourist spending insights

For example, did you know that most of our tourists come from Europe (about 13%), yet Americans (around 5%) spend more than four times what Europeans do?

Or that any international tourist spends almost triple what locals spend at SA shops and restaurants?

Also find out: Who the biggest tippers are, where most tourists spend their holiday dollars and Yoco’s top 5 data-backed ways to max your income from tourists.

🚗 GP’s 10-Min License Q. Gauteng is speeding up its Smart Driver Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs) across the province. These centres boast, among other things, licence renewals in around 10 minutes. Very cool.

🌍 Africa (Funding) Rising. Despite global funding into the African startup ecosystem decreasing, local investment is on the up, from 25% to nearly 40% of total funding. Very nice.

⚖️ Tech on Trial. Meta Platforms, TikTok and YouTube are under the microscope as a trial in California gets underway with a 19-year-old plaintiff alleging she got addicted to these platforms at a young age, causing her to develop mental health issues. Puts phone down and goes outside to touch grass…

🛒 Buy What Amazon Sees. Amazon Lens just got rolled out to SA customers’ Amazon shopping apps, letting users search for products using photos, screenshots or barcodes instead of text. Pretty kewl.

🚀 Global Reach Built. World-class futurist John Sanei has the insight but needs consistent global visibility. So FDC turned LinkedIn into a positioning engine that’s driven 6.7 million impressions, 31k+ profile views and steady inbound demand from global audiences.*

* From our partners. Find all the best service providers for your business in our Founder Stack.

Yesterday, we showed you Certus AI’s restaurant phone agent, asking what you do when no one answers the restaurant phone. And most will give them a second try…

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 📞 Call back in 10 minutes (42%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ 🗺️ Immediately click the next result on Google Maps (37%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💬 Send a message and hope for the best (7%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🚶 Walk in on the night and risk it (14%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🔥 I have my regular table at my favourite spot (0)

Your 2 cents…

Lekker! Happy to have you here, Karen. 💚

Early-stage SA tech founders: Get R40k+ business-building tools, including data, cloud architecture support, legal and hiring vetting, 1-on-1 strategy and coaching sessions, plus free event tickets, Microsoft Marketplace access and more when you join The Founder Collab.

Artisan entrepreneurs (18–35): Allan Gray Makers StartUp Academy offers an 8-month incubation for bricklayers, carpenters, electricians and plumbers. Apply by 30 Jan.

Eastern Cape innovators: TIA Industry Seed Fund supports prototype development (TRL 5–6) for SMEs and researchers — extended deadline: 31 Jan.

TVET youth innovators: Students, StartUpAfrica Innovation Olympiads land in SA on 26 May 2026 — showcase solutions in key economic sectors. Register by 31 Jan.

Want to promote your programme here? Let us know.

🎬 Tool to Try: Web2Labs Studio turns one recording into edited videos and shorts with captions, thumbnails and metadata; ready to post everywhere.

☕ That’s Interesting: A scientific study once accidentally gave participants 30g of caffeine instead of 0.3g, nearly killing them. Apparently, anything more than 18g is lethal to humans.

🧗 Next Level: The first woman to complete one of the world’s most challenging vertical climbs, El Capitan’s Platinum Wall, spent 10 days trapped on a cliff due to weather, taking 23 days total — the longest ascent ever.

🏅 Hack: A visual guide showing which countries have won the most Nobel Prizes.

☄️ Wow Site: Asteroid Launcher lets you smash different space rocks into Earth and see the damage unfold.