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To the waves? Ultimate motorsport brand Ferrari recently announced it’s building the world’s first fully self-sufficient racing yacht. With deep pockets, top-tier engineers, one of the world’s most acclaimed sailors advising the team and access to advanced flight control systems (from its cars), the Hypersail will run on solar, wind and kinetic energy. Splash. 🌊
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TRENDING NOW
Turning WhatsApp Groups into Neighbourhood Watch Towers
Crime’s pretty crazy in SA, with multiple house break-ins every minute — but these guys are using WhatsApp to crowd-source our safety…
South Africa has a crime reporting problem… Just over half of housebreakings (over 1 million per year, roughly 2 every minute!) and robberies never even make it to a police docket.
Unsurprising, given that 66% of South Africans have little to no trust in the police. Neighbourhood WhatsApp groups, on the other hand, get flooded with warnings, voice notes, images and other local crime-related info every single day. WhatsApp is where this data lives!
It’s the right kind of real-time safety intel to make our communities safer.
The opportunity
In South Africa, 99.3% of internet users own smartphones, with 93.8% of them using WhatsApp and spending an average of 23 hours and 42 minutes on the app every month.
It’s the unofficial frontline of public safety, especially in areas where official response units are stretched thin (there’s 1 policeman tasked with keeping about 427 of us in check). But without a way to harness and structure that firehose of messages, it’s not usable for large-scale crime prevention.
So what if there was a way to meet citizens where they already are, on WhatsApp, to help surface crime data that would otherwise get lost in the noise, then use AI to turn it into action?
The group chat got real after this guy joined.
Who’s solving the problem
Community Wolf is building the connective tissue for smarter, community-driven public safety by using WhatsApp to create a simple way to share reports and bolster a growing intelligence layer. One that predicts threats, optimises armed response patrol routes and provides live insights for both communities and enterprises. That’s right, they are even building tools for security companies on WhatsApp: access control, guard check-ins, and scanning license discs — all via WhatsApp.
No apps to download or extra steps to jump through – meaning it’s accessible to basically all South Africans.
From citizens on the street to security ops on the ground, Wolf is making it easy to report, respond and prevent – all from your pocket in English, Afrikaans, Zulu and even Spanish. ¡Qué bueno!
And big things are coming for Community Wolf, with recent investments from Baobab and Fuel Ventures to grow, scale and expand reach.
There’s a Wolf on The Pod
Community Wolf Co-Founders Nick Mills and Michael Houghton joined us on the latest episode of the How Would You Build It podcast to share surprising and powerful real insights into the crime situation in SA, how to make data work as a business model, building on WhatsApp (and using AI) and how to build to gain traction and attract seed funding.
Pro Tip: If you enter your email on the How Would You Build It website, you’ll get instant notifications when a new podcast drops.
WHATSAPP’S HOT
No App, No Queue — Flying’s never been this smooth
Who has time to download airline apps, log in and hunt for a PDF boarding pass?
When it comes to pioneering on WhatsApp, FlySafair lead the way. Their first trick? Send your boarding pass to WhatsApp when you need it…genius!
No more “where is my boarding pass again?”, open Search for FlySafair on WhatsApp and get it.
It’s then natural to pique one’s interest to go “What else can this thing do?” and that’s where the convenience flex happens: check-in, change your seat, pay for bags, cancel your flight, or even make a new booking for yourself — all inside a simple chat window.
They are also working on Lindi, a new language-based bot that’s currently in beta. The experience feels like messaging a helpful friend, and it’s setting the bar for what customer service could look like in other industries, too. Insurance, banks, doctors’ offices — if airlines can pull this off, why can’t they? I
What everyday service would you upgrade with WhatsApp? Are you building on WhatsApp? Let us know…
Chat Inc proudly sponsors WhatsApp’s Hot
The trusted team powering WhatsApp and Chat Commerce experiences for some of SA's largest and most respected brands, from Lead Acquisition, Outbound Direct Marketing and enterprise-grade transactional chatbot platforms.
Chat Inc started locally, and today it is trusted by brands globally.
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IN SHORT
What’s happening in SA tech and business…
🎨 Cape Town's Creative Playground. The Timbuktoo Creative Hub just swung open its doors in District Six, offering Cape Town's creatives a cost-free playground with unlimited WiFi, tech mentorship, and digital upskilling. Backed by the UN and a host of local partners, the hub promises to supercharge South Africa's creative economy. Love to see the support for small businesses and solopreneurs to get going...
📦 Uber Team-Up. SPAR is shaking things up with its Uber Eats partnership, letting you order groceries and alcohol right from the app. They’re kicking off this service in select locations to reach 400 stores, backed by a hefty 52’000 drivers ready to zoom. With plans to add pharmacy and building supplies soon, their digital basket is just getting started. Perfect for that last-minute meat, wood, and drinks order before the game kicks off.
📈 Mobile Healthcare Leap. Samsung is boldly venturing deeper into the healthcare sector with its acquisition of Xealth, a digital health tool and care program provider integrated with over 500 US hospitals. This move strengthens Samsung's vision of seamless healthcare experiences powered by its wearable technologies. Anticipate a boost to Samsung Health by 2026. How much more do we want our devices to know about us…
🚀 Export Pains. South Africa braces for a potential reduction in the US's proposed 30% tariff, as President Ramaphosa challenges the calculation behind this levy. With Washington open to negotiations until August, things might just get spicy. The rand took a hit, but by Tuesday, it was back up, 0.3% stronger. South Africa is keen to keep $8.8 billion in exports flowing stateside. Hmm… sounds like a tariff tango with a touch of strategy.
🧵 Sitchin together fintechs. Stitch announced the acquisition of digital payments company Efficacy, allowing it to become one of the first fintechs in South Africa to offer direct card clearing both online and in-person. Stitch claims this will offer faster product access, better conversion, real-time reporting, and cost savings by streamlining payment flows, reducing third-party dependencies, and consolidating reconciliation under one provider.
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WHAT YOU SAID
Smart money…
Yesterday, we showed you a healthcare remittance opportunity to build in SA before asking how you’d use money earned overseas, and it’s a tie between investing in a business and sending cash to granny…
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🩺 Keeping Ouma healthy (6%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🛒 Covering the basics like food, rent and electricity (18%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🧱 Building something bigger (35%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🤷 Just send cash and hope for the best (35%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 📲 Dunno, but I’ve got to be able to track every cent (6%)
Your 2 cents…
“Just send cash: Usually, they have the best idea of what's going on day-to-day and what's needed. But also, if there's tricky financial stuff happening, it's probably better to ringfence it for specific things.”
Sounds good, Jason. Play it by ear and hedge your bets. 🌳
“As always, an interesting read and I enjoy finding out what's 'cooking' in SA and more.”
Lekker, CM. Glad you enjoy it. 🇿🇦
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