Need a ride {{ FIRSTNAME | there }}? The US army is testing a series of rugged autonomous vehicles called Hunter Wolves that can carry all kinds of things in and out of battle zones, no human needed. And now we want one. ⚙️
In Today's Open Letter
Free HR: Every HR tool you need, at zero cost.
Local: VAT overhaul delayed & 10-year licences.
Global: Starlink phones go live in this African country.
Growth Desk: Unemployment up, domains cost more.
Work Smarter: Make VCs come to you instead.
Networking: Three events, one free ticket.
Our padel events are epic! 🎾
And we’re coming to Joburg next…
Step off the pitch deck and onto the court on 18 September at Discovery Padel Park, Sandton. Courts, paddles, drinks and snacks included, with Cell C Business. Limited to 24 founders.
TRENDING NOW
Every HR tool you always needed (but couldn't afford) for free
Only 2% of SA companies can afford your standard HR software, so this local scale-up built out a workforce management system that does it all at no cost to employers (no jokes)…
SA's always had a weird gap between the economics and people numbers inside our companies and how much traditional software platforms actually cost. We have:
66% micro enterprises that can just run off a spreadsheet
32% small and medium with enough people to feel the pain
And only 2% of our large companies can afford your SAP, Oracle, Sage and Workday
Why? Well, most software tools are priced based on implementation and usage. And it gets costly:
Multiply any of those figures by your employee count if you want to break out into a cold sweat real quick…
SA obvs has alt options like Payspace (Deel), SimplePay, Simplify HR, BambooHR, Zoho People, etc., all doing parts (but not all-in-one) of the jobs, but all charging for usage of the software. Which is why you should sit up and take note that there's now a solution that does it all, for free…
The full-suite system that costs you nothing and runs on WhatsApp
We wrote about Jem building greater financial inclusion with earned wage access (payday advance, a type of financial service) quite often when we first started The Open Letter, and again last December to show how they'd evolved their business model by building HR tools (and offering them at no charge to the employer) on WhatsApp after their seed round.
This week, you probably also heard that they closed a Series A of R136.5 million ($8.4m), led by Quona Capital. The real story is the build that happened alongside it: Jem 2.0, a platform that combines payslips, onboarding, leave, time and attendance, workforce comms, credit scores, an EAP and earned wage access, with rostering and learning management in beta.
For companies with 200+ people. All at no cost to the employer.
How? The secret lies in the business model…
The future of embedded finance
Instead of pricing per usage of the software, Jem built a model that makes the employer a distribution channel for financial services.
They build valuable software employers use, don’t charge them for the usage, but layer in financial services like data, airtime, credit, earned-wage access and mobile phones.
Jem earns off the service fees on those financial services.
It benefits the employee because they get access to financial services at 10x cheaper than FSP or bank rates.
And it benefits the employer because they get the valuable software at no cost (plus the ability to offer the financial services, which is proven to boost employee morale and loyalty).
And it's a full product: Time and attendance, for example, works with clocking in over WhatsApp, validated by geo-fencing, so a guard on a site in Boksburg needs no biometric reader and no access card. An AI agent is sitting in the Hub that answers questions against a company's own workforce data and prepares the draft for a human to approve.
Employers can even plug in over MCP and approve leave or send payslips from inside whatever AI tool their HR team already uses. And the fact that it's built on WhatsApp is smart, too; South Africa has high usage, so it's a great way to reach employees at any level. No wonder they have a 95% adoption rate already.
For SA FinTech founders, the larger story is the next-gen embedded finance trend: Jem backer Quona Capital believes that the first generation of African fintech digitised payments and accounts, and the next embeds financial services inside software people already use.
For SA companies, right now, it's basically all your HR tools, minus the monthly cost and implementation. Bargain.
And we’ve heard rumours they’re launching something soon for companies with fewer than 200 employees… Jem Mini?
We're watching this space…
CHECK THIS OUT
The tap-to-checkout tool that saves the clicks you paid for
You know where retail revenue leaks: the friction between your marketing and your checkout. Here's how the smart money is closing it:
Chat Inc. built gloss to delete the steps in between: Instead of dropping a customer on a homepage, gloss launches an instant, app-like storefront straight from the message, ad, QR code or even a printed pamphlet they tapped, and checkout happens right there, inside that experience.
The buyer sees a personalised, shoppable module, adds to cart, and pays without ever leaving the flow.
For you, it plugs into the store you already run: Products and checkout sync through Shopify, WooCommerce, API or a simple file drop, and every experience is trackable, with built-in reporting, QR generation and a customer data store.
It's the shortest distance between a recommendation and a sale.
THE GROWTH DESK
3 things to help you build business better
Formal jobs shrank, informal work grew. Stats SA's Q2 release put unemployment back at 33.6%, with formal sector employment down 41k and informal up 34k. Trade and construction added jobs, while mining, manufacturing and agriculture shed them. If you're hiring out of those sectors, there are more skilled people available than there were in March. See the release.
Your .ZA domain renewal gets 6.2% more expensive on 1 October. ZADNA has confirmed the registry fee increase across co., org., net. and web., comfortably ahead of the 4.5% CPI print in May. Multi-year renewals of up to five years are allowed, so locking in before October is the cheap move. Read the detail.
Three months on a card machine can qualify you for credit. Capitec Business card machines come with free next-day settlements and low commission on transactions, and after three months of trading on one, you can qualify for credit without a stack of paperwork. See the card machines.
Capitec proudly sponsors The Growth Desk
Whether you're starting out or scaling up, Capitec Business offers simple, accessible banking solutions designed to support your business journey.
IN SHORT
Hot off the press in business and tech…
🧾 New VAT Rules Can Wait. SARS published its VAT modernisation paper, a five-corner e-invoicing model that pre-fills your VAT returns. The detail vendors have been quiet about: nothing is mandatory until the 2030s, with full rollout near 2033. Comments close 16 October, though.
⚖️ Your Exit Just Got A Filing Risk. The Competition Commission wants to hear about small tech mergers valued above R280m, even where the target holds no assets and the price is really buying a team and a codebase. Signed is no longer settled.
📡 Congo Gets Starlink Mobile. Airtel switched on Starlink Mobile in the DRC on 14 August, Africa's first direct-to-phone satellite service, no dish, just a compatible Android and a clear sky. SA has no Starlink licence because SpaceX won't file over the 30% ownership requirement. ECA Bill submissions close Friday.
🪪 10-Year Licenses Gazetted. Government gazetted 10-year driving licence cards for codes A, A1, B and EB. All thanks to a printing machine that broke for three months last year. You have 30 days to comment on this one, too.
🚀 Build Faster Together. The best founder advice comes from other operators in the trenches. The Founder Collab curates events, resources and a peer network specifically for SA founders navigating the pressure of building locally.*
* From our partners. Find all the best service providers for your business in our Founder Stack.
WHAT YOU SAID
Doctor, doctor…
We featured Lorraine's platform for SA doctors and asked how your career path compared. And most here say they'll stay in their lane, thanks…
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🩺 Six years of study for that? I'll stay in my lane, thanks (54%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 😤 I once complained about a 45-hour week. I take it all back (31%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 📱 Mine involved zero exams and one very good Google search (15%)
WORK SMARTER
Stop chasing VCs and make them come to you…
Fundraising isn't a pitch-follow-up-and-hope sales process. Founders who actually raise learn to build momentum to attract VCs to them. We asked the co-founder of one of SA's most active venture firms how founders should really go about raising.
These are his 5 specific steps to raise VC funding in South Africa on your own terms.
STARTUP OPPORTUNITIES
Need a lil' bit of help?
SA startup building with AI? Google's 2026 Startups Accelerator: South Africa offers 15 growth-stage ventures up to R1m in equity-free funding, Gemini access, cloud credits and 1-on-1 mentorship. Closes 28 Aug. Apply now.
Young entrepreneur with a business plan? Business Partners' SME Toolkit SA Competition puts R100'000 behind the national winner, R50'000 cash plus a R50'000 mentorship voucher. Closes 31 Aug. See details.
Need more than just advice? The Founder Collab bundles R40k+ in tools, cloud credits, legal sessions and a curated founder community into one membership for SA tech builders. Join now.
Want free AI skills training? Google Hustle Academy 2026 offers one-day bootcamps and 60-min webinars for SA entrepreneurs and SME owners. Register for free.
SA small business ready for the national stage? NSBC Small Business Awards are open, free entry for NSBC Platinum Members across 4 categories including Startup Champion of the Year. Gala on 12 November. See details.
Want to promote your event/programme here? Let us know.
AROUND THE WEB
Let it go…
🧩 Tool to Try: MajlisDesk unifies WhatsApp and email into one shared team inbox.
🥁 That's Interesting: Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham was so homesick, manager Peter Grant had to bribe him with expensive gifts and alcohol to keep him touring. The drink sadly killed him at age 32.
