Jive time {{ FIRSTNAME | there }}? During China’s biggest TV event, peeps were blown away by dancing kung fu robots, asking “uhh, should we be worried…?” Only if you can’t dance. 🤷‍♀️

In This Open Letter

No-shows are crippling SA’s hospitality sector – but this venture’s bringing pros to the table…

South Africa’s hospitality market is an absolute monster worth around R230 billion in 2026. 

But human capital remains a huge point of contention, with 77% of local hoteliers struggling to find good help and restaurant managers battling as staff simply don’t show up for work – 15% of SA employees skip work on any given day (costing our economy R12–R16 billion a year, btw.).

Everything from missed transport (or no fare money) to poor health and family responsibility leads to absenteeism. And businesses feel the pinch.

The per-shift equation

In hospitality, no-shows aren’t inconveniences; they stiffle the business’s ability to operate. And traditional staffing agencies can’t help: Their 24-to-48-hour lead times don’t fly with right now, per shift emergencies.

So when we met a local founder tackling this on our recent Cape Town Founder Coffee & Walk, we just knew we wanted to find out more…

SA’s hospitality bomb squad

HirePro is an on-demand marketplace that connects businesses with vetted hospitality professionals in real-time.

Waiters, chefs, bartenders, kitchen staff – whatchu need? Managers send requests via a dashboard, listing their specific requirements, and they go out to HirePro’s network of vetted pros. Requests with less than 24 hours' notice are flagged as an emergency and get a R150 premium as a transport and urgency incentive.

All staff arrive in standardised uniforms, ensuring seamless, professional integration, and HirePro is already filling roles on Stellenbosch wine farms in under an hour.

Behind the build

HirePro founder Daniel Nel spotted the gap while working as a chef. Using his computer science background, his initial steps to solve the paradox of managers desperate for reliable hands VS skilled professionals sitting at home and ready to work, is a masterclass in lean validation. 

Rather than over-engineering a complex platform from day one, he started with R500, a Pep phone and SIM card, running the entire business on WhatsApp for months to prove the market wanted speed over shiny features.

The team also built out a separate entity: the HirePro Hospitality Training Centre, a high-demand revenue stream, training everyone from Michelin-star pop-up teams to luxury lodge staff.

By combining high-speed tech and high-touch human vetting, HirePro is filling shifts while also professionalising the side hustle.

We’re watching this space…

SA retailer Cape Union Mart’s system was battling ongoing payroll and leave issues, requiring constant fixes, repeated updates and regular consultant support just to keep things running. The payroll team spent most of their time putting out fires instead of improving processes.

That’s why they moved to Deel Local Payroll, powered by Payspace, a fully cloud-based solution that the team could easily manage internally. 

The result? Payroll processing that used to take four days now only takes half a day. Downtime disappeared, audits became easier, and store staff gained mobile access. Most importantly, the payroll team finally had time to focus on improving how the business runs.

Less admin. More impact.

🌍 Google’s African Boost. Applications are open for the Google for Startups Accelerator: Africa, with a 3-month programme aimed at bringing Google's programs, products, people and technology to startups across the continent. Lekker man.

🦁 Now Boarding: Safari. The Pilanesberg Airport in the North West Province is set to be rebuilt after a 2023 fire. The airport will give travellers flights directly into Sun City and the neighbouring Pilanesberg Game Reserve. Let’s go.

🧭 Mars GPS. NASA’s Mars Global Localisation has just helped the Perseverance Rover know its exact location, with an algorithm that compares images from the onboard cameras with orbital terrain maps. Sure those 2030 Earthlings will find it helpful.

☕ Fancy A Cuppa? Cape Town coffee shop, Espressolab, has just clinched 40th spot in the 2026 World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops list, high praise considering over 15,000 coffee shops around the world were evaluated. Coffee up…

🛠️ Less Talking, More Building. The Founder Collab is a working room for 120+ South African founders serious about progress. With 30+ masterclasses from real operators, weekly live sessions, structured accountability and a curated network that actually builds. Join it here.*

⏰ Avoid February Tax Chaos. From provisional tax to ITR14, VAT and payroll, this guide shows exactly what SA private companies need to file and when, so you can plan instead of scrambling in February.*

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

Kids are getting crypto wallets with parental controls. Binance has added new features to Binance Junior, its family-focused platform for ages 6–17, including Red Packet gifting, merchant payments and a built-in ABCs of Crypto learning guide. Parents keep full control while kids learn to save and spend digitally — a sign that crypto education is moving into everyday family finance. Explore Binance Junior.

Africa is leading global demand for stablecoins. A new Stablecoin Utility Report shows Nigeria and South Africa are driving some of the fastest growth worldwide, with nearly 80% of respondents already holding stablecoins and most planning to increase their usage. For many users, they’re becoming a faster and cheaper way to move money where traditional payments fall short. Read the full story.

Crypto prices are down, but the money hasn’t left. Binance Research says Bitcoin is still roughly 50% below its peak, yet stablecoin supply remains near record highs at over $305 billion, meaning capital is sitting on the sidelines rather than exiting. The biggest signal this week? Even BlackRock is now settling tokenised funds through blockchain infrastructure. Read the full commentary.

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 how AskMandla brings HR for domestic workers to promote financial inclusion, asking how you handle compliance for your domestic workers. Most here do their own cleaning…

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🫣 It’s been on the to-do list for a while now (20%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🧹 I do my own domestic work (43%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🚚 I use a company to clean my place, that’s their problem (11%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 👍 All sorted on that front (15%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤔 Guess I’m asking Mandla this weekend (11%)

Your 2 cents…

Sounds like you’ve got it waxed, lekker, Duane! 🧺

Search Is Changing – 27 Feb, Online: Chantelle Bowyer breaks down what AI-powered search means for SEO in 2026 and how to stay visible. More info here.

Digital Mastery Summit 2026 – 27 Feb, Cape Town: A full-day marketing summit focused on the attention economy, practical workshops, and real-world strategies for digital teams and creators. Secure your seat.

Building Global Tech From SA – 5 Mar, Stellenbosch: Adii Pienaar shares hard-earned lessons from building and exiting WooCommerce, Conversio and Cogsy. Sadly, sold out.

Lekker Network Summit – 11–12 Mar, Somerset West: Two days of talks, connection and community with The Lekker Network’s global members at Lourensford. View details.

How AI Is Shaping FinTech Across Africa – 16 Apr, Johannesburg: 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: Guest2Host turns your Airbnb listing into a commission-free direct booking site.

🧠 That's Interesting: In the US, 75% of all restaurant orders are now takeout and delivery.

🏎️ Next Level: What it looks like when you’re tiny and driving an RC car.

🧩 Hack: A cool guide to safety checks when going on holiday.

🌐 Wow Site: Attention Worth calculates how much marketers spend on targeting you.