🦁 Sending R27 Billion Back Into The Wild...
Game on? We’re another step closer to having full-on energy weapons like in Destiny and Halo — scientists have learnt how to steer sparks and energy streams through the air using ultrasound pulses. Soon. Real soon. ⚡︎
In this Open Letter:
- Riches in the niches: Releasing R27bn back into the wild.
- Super Bowl startups, SA’s most reviewed & our speed test results.
- Cloud accounting: How to get your financial year-end sorted, no stress.
- Who knew that Spoon Money thang? The results are in.
- Short on ideas? Share this and get 100+ SA startup ideas.
Together with:
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TRENDING NOW
Sending R27bn Back into the Wild
The usual old swarm of travel apps aren’t that good at finding those truly niche experiences you’re really looking for – a shame, ‘cos SA’s eco-tourism’s got some gems no one’s discovering.
In this Tuesday's Deep Dive, we unpack a startup that’s changing up this space with a lekker eco-friendly hyper-local solution…
Tourism is a major driver of our economy—and beyond that, it directly supports conservation efforts in the destinations travellers explore.
Back in 2019 (just before Covid), eco-tourism (or biodiversity-based tourism) chipped in a respectable R27.7 billion to SA’s GDP, with R13 out of every R100 tourism spend going toward eco-tourism.
And South Africans love themselves a bit of local nature, with a whopping 70.4% of total biodiversity-based tourism expenditure coming from domestic visitors…
Good for the Economy, Great for the Environment…
But one thing Covid highlighted was eco-tourism’s reliance on tourists – cancelled flights and accommodation plans in late 2021 resulted in more than R200 million per day in lost revenue in Cape Town alone.
This revenue drop slashed conservation budgets, leading to increased poaching, wildlife trafficking, deforestation and all kinds of negative environmental consequences as people tried to make a living.
Fast-forward to 2025 and, while there haven't been any travel restrictions and growth looks promising (a 5.1% increase in arrivals from 2023 to 2024), we have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels – 10.2 million tourists in 2019.
The rise in flight ticket costs in the last few years hasn't made it easy on local travellers’ pockets, either, with flights from Jozi to Cape Town and Durban jumping 43.4% and 31.7% respectively between 2022 and 2024. Goodness, gracious…
Go Local in Nature…
Few of the mainstream booking platforms offer nature-specific getaways.
Understandable, since when these platforms launch (or even an e-commerce platform like Takealot), the limited supply makes discoverability easy. But as they try to expand to cater for the growing market and supply increases, it becomes harder to serve niche interests.
Of course, in the world of startup, that just means there’s a gap for someone to come shake things up – and maybe have a positive effect on the surrounding environment while they’re at it…
The Local Booking Platform Adding More Cash for Conservation...
Conservio is a local accommodation booking platform specifically aimed at nature lovers to discover and book getaways in nature.
With just under 500 listings across South Africa and around 70 in Namibia and Mozambique, Conservio is quite careful about the places they select for their platform, picking those with a shared commitment to conservation, community development, and ethical business practices.
This makes for great UX—you’re not overwhelmed with choices, just truly spectacular nature getaways. It also helps you get really specific with different search criteria (like the 16 places in SA with a pizza oven) and accurate information about what you can actually do there: bird-watching, hiking, nature photography, etc.
We recently caught up with Conservio Co-Founders Lara and Justin to hear that most of the accommodations listed with them are small businesses run by the owners (and their families). So they’re simultaneously supporting conservation efforts and the SMEs that employ and buy locally. Nice,
Enhancing discoverability and customer service for niche interests in a market that has expanded sufficiently to support a niche subset is a common local strategy (as seen with Wanatu creating an Afrikaans driver “Uber” clone). There are bound to be numerous opportunities for local players to develop platforms that address niche demands.
We are watching this space…
CHECK THIS OUT
Feeling the Year-End Squeeze? Let Cloud Accounting Experts Lighten the Load
It’s that time of year — tax deadlines are looming, reports are piling up, and your finance team is running on coffee and sheer willpower. Sound familiar?
The fiscal year-end isn’t just stressful — it’s a recipe for burnout. A Deloitte study found that 73% of finance professionals feel overwhelmed during peak periods. Accuracy drops, inefficiencies rise, and manual processes make everything harder than it needs to be.
“At this time of year, it’s not just about surviving the crunch,” says Damian Baker, Head of Cloud Accounting at Outsourced CFO. “It’s about simplifying processes, automating where you can, and giving your team the tools they need to thrive.”
Ready to Thrive?
Cloud accounting is the game-changer your team needs. With real-time data, automated reports, and seamless integrations, you can replace chaos with clarity and free up your team to focus on what matters most.
Why let spreadsheets rule your year-end? Make 2025 the year you ditch the stress — and embrace efficiency.
Learn How
On Friday 21 February at 12 PM, we’re hosting a LinkedIn Live session where Damian’s gonna show you practical, easy-to-implement financial strategies to stay in control, avoid last-minute surprises at year-end, and set up your business for growth in 2025.
Plus: How CFO tools can help take your business to the next level.
IN SHORT
Strike up a conversation…
🏆 Ladies in Tech. Only a few days left to submit your nomination for the 2nd edition of the Wired4Women Awards to honour the outstanding achievements of women in the South African IT industry. Nominations close on 14 Feb 2024. Categories include CIO of the Year, Rising Star in Emerging Tech, Top Tech Innovator and more, with the winner of the Tech4Good Award walking away with a cash prize of R30 000 towards her initiative. We love to see it…
🗺️ Putting SA on the Map. Google Maps turned 20 and revealed SA’s most reviewed places including most reviewed restaurant and cafe: RoccoMamas Mall of Africa, Jozi, and Truth Coffee Roasting, Cape Town, respectively. Gandhi Square Precinct is the most reviewed visitor attraction, while Maropeng – Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site — is the most reviewed museum. Table Mountain National Park is the most reviewed park in SA. *Saves spots on Google Maps.
🤑 Super AdSpend. ICYMI: this year’s Super Bowl ads included 5 startups that coughed up the millions required for a coveted Super Bowl ad slot. One is spend-management platform Ramp (replete with its investor Philadelphia Eagles running back, Saquon Barkley). OpenAI also ran its first-ever TV Ad, telehealth company Hims and Hers, Prebiotic soda brand Poppi, and Papaya Global, a workforce payment platform. Oh ja — the Philadelphia Eagles beat defending Champs Kansas City Chiefs 40-22.
🚄 Clash of the (Mobile) Titans. In a bid to quench SA’s internet users’ need for speed, MTN is leading the pack as the fastest mobile provider hitting 77.13 Mbps median download speed, followed by Vodacom at 55.95 Mbps, and Cell C with 44.07 Mbps (Gaining ground, but still well below the global average of 113.25 Mbps). Vodacom’s median 5G download speed however beat MTN’s with 227.92 Mbps against MTN’s 172.51 Mbps. Not bad.
🚀 Your Startup on the Global Stage. If you think you have what it takes, the Isle of Man is hosting its 3rd annual Innovation Challenge and inviting SA startups to apply for access to their world-class mentors, potential investors and more. Successful applicants will be invited into their ecosystem to build real solutions in FinTech, CleanTech, Data & AI in the world’s only UNESCO-designated Biosphere. The winners unlock everything you need to propel your startup onto the global stage — apply here.
BUILDING TOGETHER
Happening over at The Open Collab
In the last few days alone, in our online community, we…
- Helped Gustav with some great options for international payment providers 💸.
- All learned how to avoid the most insidious “founder trap” — Thanks, Cam!
- Helped Carlos track down some payment gateway options for Zim.
- Discovered a wave of the most insanely innovative new FinTechs coming out of SA.
- Got a super-sweet list of unbelievably good AI Agents that’ll build your app in seconds 🔥😎.
- Helped Richard with some killer South African WhatsApp Business service providers.
- Helped Christian get some powerful subscription and payment collection tools for a friend in agri-HR.
- Connected Sona with some serious builder-founders for a potential new startup. 🚀
Thinking about joining The Open Collab?
- Supercharge your network in the SA startup landscape — get that introduction, get that customer, or meet that partner.
- Get feedback on your products, services and/or offers from others who have built and are building their own products right now.
- Join all our online and in-person events for free!
- Exclusive 1-on-1 sessions with startup consultants.
SA’s only dedicated tech startup and scale-up founder community.
HAPPENING SOON
Upcoming Events
13 February 2025 — Cape Town Coffee Meetup: Come hang out with the Open Collab community, meet new faces, and chat about what you’re working on — exclusive to members of The Open Collab community.
14 February 2025 — LinkedIn Ad Hacks: Cracking the code: How you can make LinkedIn ads work for you on any budget — exclusive to members of The Open Collab community.
View all our upcoming events here.
WHAT YOU SAID
Guessing games…
Last Friday we asked if you could spot the real SA startup, and you guys were right on the (cutlery) money…
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🥘 ChowBuddy: A smart fridge system that lets restaurants donate excess food to charities. (24%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🌿 GreenFleet: A rideshare company where all vehicles are electric. (16%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 📦 StackBox: A self-storage startup that delivers your storage box to your door. (20%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🥄 Spoon Money: A fintech platform providing group savings and micro-loans to informal women entrepreneurs. (40%)
Your 2 cents…
Oh no, Danei, now you’re disqualified for our super-secret extra-special mystery prize… 🧐
Nice one, Sharon — and lucky it was 🍀.