Big plans {{ FIRSTNAME | there }}? A startup called Exlabs will become the first private company to land on an asteroid when it swings close to the Earth in 2029. Started in 2023? They must have some serious runway. 🛰

In This Open Letter

Some 27 million South Africans actively track calorie intake, but app friction causes massive drop-off rates – so this venture’s bringing it straight into your daily chats…

Consistent calorie tracking isn’t just about habit and willpower – we have new fitness and nutrition apps launching every single day, but up to 70% of them become obsolete within the first 100 days, and another 12% drop over the remaining year.

Why? In those studies, 90% of app abandonment was due to user friction: yet another app, increased privacy concerns, time spent entering data, etc.

And, for us South Africans, there’s an added element of how to log our native cuisines: Ever tried logging a bunny chow, pap and wors, bobotie or boerie roll on an international food-tracking app? Yeah, and we don’t track things in pounds and ounces, either, so it’s a battle.

The rising trend

But it’s not something SA businesses should ignore: Recent surveys show as much as 92% of South Africans believe diet is the most important part of living healthily, and 46% are actively tracking their calorie intake (that’s 26.7 million people!), with SA’s weight-management spend estimated at around R3–R17bn a year.

We need a local-context-aware way to do that, without the app friction…

The local food tracker you’re already using daily

FitSorted is an early-stage calorie tracker that runs entirely inside SA’s most used app, WhatsApp, built for South Africans, cause it knows our local food.

You simply WhatsApp FitSorted what you ate, and it gives you a daily summary with progress bars.

We caught up with FitSorted founder Brandon Katz, who says the choice to build on WhatsApp is not an accident – some 93.9% of South African internet users are on WhatsApp (30+ million installs), making it the place where South Africans actually live (and work), so zero installation barrier and no app to uninstall when motivation dips.

Brandon’s got a list of ideas for additional features (he’d already added a Drunk-O-Meter that’ll tell you how to run off a few beer calories or how long till you’re sober), but for now, he’s battle-testing the core solution.

It’s still early days. Brandon only launched a handful of weeks ago, but already has ~100 active users. And, like any B2C product, the big trial will be distribution and adoption.

We’re watching this space…

Any financial advisor will tell you that a good portfolio needs diversification across asset classes, geographies and sectors. SA investors know this, but we’re stuck when it comes to US equities.

Getting exposure to those means navigating offshore allowances, forex conversions and separate brokerage accounts. Adding crypto to the mix means yet another platform, another set of credentials, another dashboard to check. 

The result? Most people in SA either over-concentrate in one asset class or give up on building a truly diversified portfolio altogether.

It’s not like that overseas

The world’s most sophisticated investors (from family offices to sovereign wealth funds) are already blending digital assets with blue-chip equity exposure. They see Bitcoin and big tech not as competing bets, but as complementary positions in a modern portfolio.

The question for South African investors is, how do we get that diversification without the friction?

* Investing in crypto assets may result in capital loss. Luno (Pty) Ltd is an authorised financial services provider (FSP No. 53314) and registered credit provider (NCRCP22123). This information is not intended to be nor does it constitute financial, tax, legal, investment or other advice; nor is it a call to trade. The information is intended as general market commentary for information purposes only. Before making any decision or taking any action regarding your finances, you should consult a qualified Financial Advisor.

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

🏏 Bowling Them Over. Legendary Proteas fast bowler Dale Steyn has joined fan engagement app Wunderfan as its newest shareholder and global advisor, as the platform expands its reach into the cricket world. Nice one.

✈️ Taking Learning To The Skies. The University of South Africa (UNISA) has become the first university on the continent to own an airport. The 20-hectare facility will offer specialised programmes in aviation, drone technology and advanced digital systems.

🏃‍♂️ A Poor Run Of Form. A French naval officer deployed on an aircraft carrier on its way to the Middle East gave up the carrier's location to potential enemies, thanks to logging their 35-minute run on Strava. LOL. Kudos indeed.

🤖 All-in-One AI. OpenAI has announced it’ll combine all of its tools across AI chat, coding and image/video creation into a single desktop super-app, cause apparently “juggling multiple platforms is slowing down its progress”. Interesting.

📊 Brand Clarity Secured. Stellenbosch’s Sonic Fund and Sonic Trader needed to serve very different audiences without brand dilution. So DoubleShift built two distinct brand systems, giving both the clarity to scale globally with sharper investor and customer traction.*

The latest security insights show a shift in how people lose money: Technical breaches (hacking) are becoming rarer, but scams like fake support agents, lookalike websites and urgent “investment” offers that push users to approve transfers themselves are the rising threats.

Binance is responding with early alerts to flag suspicious transfers before they happen, alongside simple tools like passkeys, biometrics and anti-phishing codes to add layers of protection.

As crypto grows, the system is becoming stronger — you’ll want to ensure that you, the human element, can keep up, too.

See how to keep your account secure in 2026.

Disclaimer: Digital asset prices can be volatile. The value of your investment may go down or up and you may not get back the amount invested. You are solely responsible for your investment decisions and Binance is not liable for any losses you may incur. Not financial advice. For more information, see our Terms of Use and Risk Warning.

Last Friday, we showed you Gooi organic waste removal, a hyper-local Cape Town app bringing composting collection to your door, asking how you're getting rid of organic waste. Most send it straight to the trash…

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🚮 Straight to the trash (56%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 🐛 I'm a regular composter (42%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤷 I don't have organic waste (0%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🐔 Feed it to my chickens (1%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🔥 Makes a pretty cool fire, not gonna lie (1%)

Your 2 cents…

Taking composting to the next level, David — that's the kind of upgrade the planet deserves. 🌍♻️

BigFive Summit 2026 – 24–26 Mar, Cape Town: Africa’s leading B2B tech summit brings together founders, corporates and investors to unpack the business of African tech. Get tickets.

George AgriTech Solutions Mini-Expo – 24 Mar, George: A practical agri-tech expo for farmers and managers looking to save time, boost productivity and farm smarter. Register free.

Founder-Led Sales – 27 Mar, Online: Heinrich Swanepoel shares how to qualify, handle objections and close deals confidently without feeling pushy. Live role-play included. More information here.

How AI Is Shaping Fintech Across Africa – 16 Apr, JHB: Shola Akinlade joins a high-signal Open Letter event exploring scaling fintech and the role of AI across African markets. Get your tickets.

🧪 Tool to Try: OpenMark lets you benchmark 100+ LLMs on your specific use cases.

🍷 That’s Interesting: Astronomers have detected a massive alcohol cloud near the centre of our galaxy containing an estimated 400 quintillion litres — thought to taste like raspberry rum.

⛳ Next Level: Watch pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau chip straight into the cup for a hole-in-one.

🐺 Hack: A guide to 24 different wolf species alive today.

🐦 Wow Site: Beleef de Lente lets you watch live webcams in and around bird nests across the Netherlands (where it’s spring now).