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Profitable choice? Uber drivers have started using third-party apps to help them pick the most profitable rides. Why? Ride-share apps have long been lashed by drivers who say they can’t see all the details before accepting a trip. Uber’s not having it and suing the app makers. ⚖️👩🏻‍⚖️

In this Open Letter:

Employee training is a multi-billion-Rand industry plagued by inefficiencies – this SA startup’s building the tech enterprises really want…

In South Africa alone, around 75% of employees (nearly 19 million people) in retail, hospitality and logistics are deskless. Problem is, people don’t stay long in those kinds of roles – the average tenure is barely: 

So large organisations are faced with a dilemma: How do you train your staff well enough to perform without breaking the bank?

The cost of training (or not training)

The target spend for Skills Development as an element of a company’s B-BBEE scorecard is 6% of its annual payroll, which can run into the R hundreds of millions for corporates with over 10k employees. But here’s the kicker: 45% of employees are more likely to stay in their role if they receive more training. 

So, for big companies, it’s a case of training more effectively and affordably. 

With global attention spans shrinking (it’s around 40 seconds) thanks to constant digital distractions and rapid-fire multitasking, staying focused has become a full-time job, so the age-old way of training is becoming obsolete.

Why now’s the moment to fix it

Duolingo, although already 13 years old, pioneered a new era of micro-learning. Just a few minutes a day learning a new language, and you could be speaking it in less than a year. 

Take those learnings and couple them with AI, and you can build personalised learning pathways for deskless workers in a way they can access and actually complete.

Meet the startup making it stick

We caught up with Beeline co-founders James Mallett and Peter Turner, who are building a “personal trainer in every pocket that makes people excellent at their jobs” in Cape Town to fit seamlessly into teams’ working day.

Think: WhatsApp-based nudges that quiz you on your company’s latest product update, a learning engine that converts internal sales scripts, FAQs into tailored micro-lessons housed in a bespoke LMS for your company, and a baked-in gamified component that keeps teams on their toes, working to get to the top of the learnerboard.

They’ve integrated a full feedback loop that allows teams to learn, measure and adapt faster. And, with clients like Bootlegger, FARO and HURU already reporting great results, the product is proving especially powerful for franchises and fast-scaling teams with distributed staff.

In a world where performance gaps often come down to missed context, Beeline’s betting that training isn’t just about content, but also how the training is delivered. We’re watching this space…

Have your say…

From growing startups to ambitious scale-ups — there’s a package designed for your next step

When finance starts slowing things down, it’s time to upgrade how you work at the top. But that doesn’t mean you need a full-time CFO.

OCFO offers three scalable CFO service packages that move with your business:

🧱 Performance — 8 hours/month
For growing startups laying financial foundations: light reporting, compliance, and cash flow basics handled by a top-tier finance pro.

📈 Growth — 16 hours/month
For expanding businesses with evolving requirements (10 - 25 people): more advanced forecasting, reporting, and fractional CFO input to reduce complexity and drive smarter decisions.

🚀 Eminence — 32 hours/month
For ambitious scale-ups needing board-level strategy and oversight: deep financial leadership, risk management, and expert advisory services delivered by a CFO one day per week.

Each package is designed to deliver the right firepower at the right time, so you can build with clarity, not guesswork.

Are you ready for a CFO?

📈 Maziv Movez. Vodacom is set to shake up the telecom scene with its move to acquire a 30% stake in Maziv (a company that owns Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa), propelling the company's valuation to a whopping R36-billion. With revised terms approved by the Competition Commission, Vodacom’s blend of fibre assets and cash sweetens the pot in this high-stakes game. Nice one.

✈️ Grounded. FlySafair's pilots are set to extend their strike to two weeks in response to a seven-day lockout by the airline. With 88% of pilots backing the action over concerns like work conditions and a 5.7% wage hike offer, travellers should brace for turbulence. Jinne…

🎮 Netflix's Creed Quest. Netflix is diving into the Assassin’s Creed universe, stepping up with a live-action adaptation. Whether it’ll be a treasure or just another chase is anyone’s guess. Interestingly, Netflix and Ubisoft put pen to paper 5 years ago already.

📜 Oui! Oui! Oui! South Africans are spicing up French rural life, snapping up old châteaux and homes in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the Southwest of France. From Tardes to Aubusson, they've not only settled in but are thriving with businesses infused with South African flair. NGL — we’re concerned about the "South African-style braai mixed with French cuisine" welcoming visitors part...

✅ The Stack. Founders need tools and suppliers they can trust. Check out our Founder’s Stack with full-funnel tech performance marketing by Stream, hardware, software, acceleration and funding for remarkable builds with Octoco and loads more vital startup tools & services.

Stories of Building SA’s Top Startups — Stellenbosch 7 August 16:00-22:00 — What do SnapScan, Luno and OfferZen have in common? Well, in their founding teams was a group of venture builders called FireID. The Open Letter is hosting FireID co-founder Malan Joubert at our upcoming fireside chat event in Stellenbosch. Tickets almost sold out, grab yours here… Psssst use TOL50 to get R50 off at checkout.

Funding Access for SMEs — CPT 24 July, 9:00—12:00 — Be first to see the trends in MSME funding supply and demand in SA and how it affects you as Experian releases its latest small business funding report at Innovation City. See how to attend for free.

Christian Businesses — Stellenbosch 25—27 July — Triga’s founder Academy hosts a 3-day event (incl. all meals and beverages) at STIAS Stellenbosch. Expect keynote speakers, industry-related panel discussions, group reflections and brainstorming sessions to navigate the intersection between work and faith. Explore here.

Shadow Algorithms — JHB: 26 July, 18:00 — Learn how unseen algorithms bend our perception of reality — and how it impacts cybersecurity today. Deep technical insights on digital security for corporates, SMEs and students. Dig deeper here.

Hosting a demo day, panel, founder meetup or tech event? Let us know, and we’ll feature it for FREE.

Last Friday, we explored the potential of Robotaxis on SA roads, asking if you’d switch to one if the fare was 30% cheaper. And most are willing to give it a go…

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💸 Yes – cheaper is better (25%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🧠 Maybe – if it's safe and reliable (52%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🚗 No – I prefer human drivers (15%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤷 Depends on where I’m going (4%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💀 If I were in a RoboTaxi, there'd be no one else on the roads (4%)

Your 2 cents…

Ja, true, Chris. Conjures up images of burning AVs during LA protests. 😬

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