Remember Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses {{ FIRSTNAME | there }}? Turns out the devices were recording every second of the day, sending review teams hours of footage of naked people, on the toilet and doing all kinds of things we can’t mention here. 🤭

In Today’s Open Letter

Companies are planning team retreats backwards – this venture shows the right way + how to unlock Africa’s golden spots… 

Globally, companies spent around R521 billion on corporate retreats in 2024 – a lot of money being thrown at getting the team out of the office and hoping something good happens.

But that figure’s set to more than double by 2034 as hybrid work makes it trickier to get everyone on the same page. Which is why nearly 68% of companies book off-site retreats to build their team.

But most retreats get planned backwards 

More often than not, venue selection comes first: A lodge, a hotel, maybe somewhere near the bush or the coast. 

Then, as an afterthought, someone tries to figure out the actual purpose of the retreat, adds a facilitator, maybe a workshop and a yoga session and BOOM – generic-ville, here we come!

If you’re lucky, an itinerary eventually emerges, vaguely gesturing toward “culture”. At which point no one realises the real question has already been skipped: What problem was the team actually trying to solve?

The place to be retreating to

South Africa, with all of our natural beauty, wide open spaces, incredible food and warm hospitality, is almost purpose-built for company retreats. And the world agrees: Our travel and tourism sector contributes around R618.7 billion to the economy, supporting roughly 1.8 million jobs.

And there’s even more across the African continent. But to lure more global teams here, the opportunity might be in better connecting all that our countries have to offer with what those companies actually need.

The local venture adding meaning to your next corporate adventure

Bantu Stall is a platform that helps companies design team experiences before they book the retreat itself.

Using AI-powered diagnostics, it starts with the team problem (maybe it’s misalignment after rapid growth, founder burnout or a newly merged leadership?) and then maps those needs to curated experiences and facilitators across Africa. Think cultural immersion, guided reflection, wellness work, strategy sessions and local experiences you might not find on Google.

With 100+ vetted venues and verified vendors and service providers, Bantu Stall is able to save teams 30+ hours in retreat research, sending a custom proposal in under 24 hours.

We love that it gets the goal isn’t simply to organise the travel, but that the whole exercise works to actually solve something operationally important.

We’re watching this space…

And if you're an early-stage SA founder dealing with the kind of growing pains Bantu Stall helps teams solve (misalignment, burnout, scaling chaos), The Founder Collab gives you R40k+ in tools, coaching and community to tackle them head-on.

Who still sends a long email just to log an IT help-desk ticket?

South African startup Haibot is flipping that idea completely with an AI-powered IT support agent that runs inside WhatsApp, guiding employees from problem report to resolution in a single conversation.

But here’s what’s really clever:

✅ Guides users through structured questions so every ticket arrives complete
✅ Automatically logs the request in help-desk systems like Freshservice
✅ Instantly resolves common issues like password resets without an IT agent

Instead of messy inbox threads and phone calls, employees just message WhatsApp — attach screenshots, track ticket progress and even submit satisfaction feedback in chat.

What would you build on WhatsApp today?

This guide from Deel breaks down how to build one global hiring system. You’ll learn about assessment frameworks that scale, how to do headcount planning across regions, and even intake processes that work everywhere. As HR pros know, hiring in one country is hard enough. So let this free global hiring guide give you the tools you need to avoid global hiring headaches.

Download the free guide today

🇿🇦 Coming Up SA. The latest GDP numbers are out, and South Africa’s economy grew more than double that of 2024. See the sectors that are doing really well and who’s building interesting things there in our post on South Africa’s GDP performance.

🐳 Making A Splash. South African FinTech Orca Fraud has raised a $2.35 million seed round led by Norrsken22. The round goes towards scaling its real-time defence for emerging market payments.

👋 Whatcha Doin? Capitec just launched Pulse, an AI tool built to know what a customer’s problem is before they’ve even said hello. See how it’s helping Capitec Pulse is already reducing call handling times.

🚕 To The Skies. The US’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved eight pilot programs to start testing their electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in a bid to ensure U.S. companies lead the way in next-gen personal aircraft.

☕ Bok Breakfast Shot? Springbok legends Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Trevor Nyakane have just launched Bomalumz Coffee, a single-origin coffee bean grown right here in Eshowe, KZN and roasted in collaboration with Bootlegger. Very cool.

💼 Global Structure, Less Drag. Finance Isle of Man supports SA founders moving offshore with 0% corporate tax, UK VAT access and easier access to international capital — a smart base for global growth.*

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

Yesterday, we showed you the AirSynQ AI air quality monitor, asking how clean your office air is. Most reckon air quality’s not as dangerous as some other things…

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 😎 I WFH, so it's perfect (28%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 😷 I can literally see the dirty air (26%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🫁 Now that you mention it, my lungs do feel scratchy (6%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🤷 I reckon something else will get me before the air does (37%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🧑‍🔬 The air quality is tested and monitored frequently (3%)

Win $1m? Startup World Cup Johannesburg finale takes place 26 June — pitch your startup for a shot at the global finals. Applications are now open.

3+ years revenue? Africa’s Business Heroes Prize offers up to $300k from a $1.5m grant pool plus global exposure. Apply from 3 Mar.

Growth-stage startup? Google for Startups Accelerator Africa is a 3-month hybrid with equity-free support, AI access and expert mentorship. Apply by 18 Mar.

Want to win $1m? The Pitch by Deel is a global startup competition with a $1 million investment prize — apply from SA now.

📦 Tool to Try: Binferno helps you declutter your home or office.

🥤 That’s Interesting: A 92-year-old woman, known as the “can lady,” collected 1 million aluminium cans over 30 years, raising $75'000 for charity — then followed it up by collecting 1 million cold drink can tabs for a McDonald's charity.

🥊 Next Level: Someone recreated the classic Mike Tyson boxing video game using stop motion.

♟️ Hack: A quick visual guide to the rules of chess.

📱 Wow Site: Scroll Speedometer measures how fast you can scroll.