Good idea {{ FIRSTNAME | there }}? New research found that popular AIs (Chat, Claude, Gemini) in war-game simulations resorted to using nuclear weapons 95% of the time. Err, yeah, let’s not give them the launch codes yet. 🫣

In Today’s Open Letter

Giants like Checkers Sixty60 and Takealot don’t have a monopoly on fast deliveries anymore – now every SA mom and pop shop can deliver fast-fast…

SA e-commerce grew from R30bn in 2020 to R130bn in 2025, now accounting for 10% of all retail sales. And, as consumers get used to buying online, it creates many tantalising new opportunities for SA businesses.

But there’s a hiccup: Getting your product to your customer.

See, the last mile of delivery is expensive, eating up to 60% of total logistics costs. Traditional couriers’ 3-day delivery windows don’t work for customers used to same-day. And on-demand bikes require a full-time hire, and it only really works if you have enough deliveries in one area, putting it out of reach for most.

The concentration gap

SA has drivers, just not the density (geographic concentration of deliveries). And the unit economics of a driver stuck in traffic and only doing a handful of deliveries around town can be devastating to a small business’s growth.

So, could the opportunity lie in moving away from the bike-to-merchant model and toward a hyper-local hub system?

The local last-mile using hyperlocal creates same-day delivery for all

Breaze is a last-mile logistics platform that specialises in high-density, same-day delivery for local e-commerce brands.

Instead of one driver per order, Breaze mass-collects deliveries from e-commerce customers before 11:00 to a central hub, sorting them into hyper-optimised geofences, to do same-day deliveries even for the smallest niche stores.

They even offer live-tracking via WhatsApp, integrate natively with Shopify and WooCommerce and let you keep your branding for deliveries.

We caught up with Breaze Delivery’s Braden Snyman, who was building field-service routing software with co-founder Avi Maja when they spotted the e-commerce gap and side-hustled Breaze from 2019, before going full-time in 2021, doing just 17 deliveries a month.

The secret sauce they created is their hyper-optimised, hyper-localised approach. They optimise so well, one driver completed over 100 deliveries in a single day – four times the 15–25 average of drivers of Checkers Sixty60, Mr D, Uber Eats, etc.

And it’s competitive: Unlike some route-based operators, Breaze charges a flat fee per sending, giving merchants cost certainty instead of variable courier roulette.

Today, Breaze handles thousands of deliveries across Cape Town and Gauteng (with Paarl and Durban coming soon) every day, delivering everything from high-end lipsticks to crocodile meat (no jokes).

We’re watching this space…

Who doesn’t want their domestic worker to have financial access?

AskMandla is helping turn households into compliant micro-employers, using WhatsApp to handle contracts, UIF, payroll and payslips.

But here’s what’s really clever:

✅ Generates compliant contracts and handles UIF registration
✅ Automates payroll, leave tracking and monthly payslips
✅ Creates formal proof of income — unlocking access to credit and insurance

In a country where over a million people work in private households, and most arrangements remain informal, this turns WhatsApp into an HR department for the suburbs, giving domestic workers something powerful: a financial identity.

What would you build on WhatsApp today?

6 Signs your side hustle is about to blow up…

The gap between SA’s formal and informal sectors is widening: 15’000 informal businesses were shut down in Gauteng alone this year – 800k more are in Gov’s sights.

But how do you know when it’s time to make it official and register a company?

Govchain created this super-easy guide, including:

Plus: What to expect when registering, how long it takes and how little it actually costs.

🚀 SA Startup Boost Loading. One of SA’s OG VCs, Hlayisani Capital, has launched a new R500 Million fund, HVF II. Backed by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and the SA SME Fund, this signals growing confidence in SA innovation. Learn more about what the fund means for SA’s startup scene.

🍔 Operator Insights: SA’s recovering from 2024’s devastating 23% drop in summer crop and 794k hectares less winter food as climate change & land degradation hamper agri growth. See how smart farm-management software gives SA farmers a fighting chance.

🛵 Sixty60 in Overdrive. Checkers Sixty60 has continued its meteoric rise with on-demand digital commerce sales rising 34.6% in the 2nd half of 2025, growing five times faster than other Shoprite businesses.

🥗 On Track. MyFitnessPal has just concluded a deal to acquire one of its rivals, Cal AI. The AI calorie-counting app was built by a couple of teenagers in school, hitting over 15 million downloads and over $30 million in annual revenue in under two years. Crazy.

🏆 Engagement That Converts. Studio 88 used WhatsApp competitions to turn attention into action. Chat Inc drove 83% read rates, 23% button clicks and converted nearly 6% of clickers into competition entries. Want that kind of engagement?*

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

Yesterday, we showed you how Adebt's bringing small business debt collection to SA, asking how you handle a bad payer after the 90-day mark. Most switched to cash upfront, baby…

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 👼 I keep sending polite emails and hope for a miracle. (25%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤦 I cut my losses to save my sanity; it's the cost of doing business. (16%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 🏏 I hand it over to a professional and accept the fee to get my cash. (22%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🧑‍⚖️ I've actually taken a client to court (and have the scars to prove it). (6%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 😎 Been burned too many times: Cash upfront baby. (31%)

Your 2 cents…

Undefeated in court, Bryan; that's a superpower. (Remind us never to pay you late.) 🏆⚖️

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.

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: Bustem helps e-commerce sellers find brand and product copycats.

🏎️ That’s Interesting: The two biggest toy car rival companies, Hot Wheels and Matchbox, are actually both owned by the same parent company, Mattel.

🐙 Next Level: Watch this guy teach an octopus to play the piano.

🌙 Hack: A simple visual guide to the phases of the moon.

📺 Wow Site: Cut The Stream shows how your streaming services overlap, what’s exclusive and which ones you can cancel without losing access to your fave shows.