Boring humans? While recording demos of their AI taking over an entire computer (a new feature they’re working on), Anthropic’s Claude stopped in the middle of the recording, opened Google and started browsing pretty pictures of Yellowstone Park instead.
Moral of the story? Even AIs find work boring enough to wanna go climb a tree. 🤷♀️
In this Open Letter:
Double bill: A two-pronged approach to this R200bn+ market.
Apples for health, AI watchdogs and PDF podcasts.
Worth a shot: Win R300k back in business expenses.
Time to network: 7 SA tech events you don’t want to miss.
What makes you walk out of a restaurant: The results are in.
Lonely building your startup? Join SA’s only tech founder community.
Together with:
Did someone forward you this email? Join {{active_subscriber_count}} South Africans reading The Open Letter by signing up here.
TRENDING NOW
Selling Direct to this R200bn+ SA Market
SA’s townships are alive with opportunity…
Unsurprising given that around 12 million of SA’s people reside in townships, with the bustling township economy worth nearly R200 billion – though in the past we said it could be worth over R400bn.
Opportunity. And challenges…
Now, if you’re thinking about the phenomenal rise in grocery delivery in SA – we wrote about this earlier this year – your big retailers and corporates recognise the opportunity to serve township communities but haven't been able to solve last-mile delivery yet.
And, in some ways, their need is more dire than us in the suburbs…
In the township, the local spaza shop is only really suited for small purchases – snacks, beverages, data and such.
Your basic monthly household shopping is a massive shlep – catching a taxi into “town” and lugging 3’000 bags back with you.
You might even need to pay for a second seat for your bag on the trip home…
So, why haven’t Checkers Sixty60 and Woolworths Dash jumped on these?
Well, they have, kinda.
They’ve just run into some more uniquely South African challenges…
Challenge 1: Criminals have started targeting last-mile
We knew it would only be a matter of time right? Attacks on delivery vehicles have tripled from 2023 to 2024, with as many as 65 attacks per day in June this year alone. (And this month it’s around 20-25 hijackings per day – sheez!)
Also this month, Woolies Dash suspended its services in Hout Bay due to driver safety concerns. Not to mention retailers’ worrying trend of hiring mainly foreign drivers, further eroding trust in townships who would want to see local drivers benefit more from Checkers and Woolworths.
Hmm, OK so if you can’t send armies of little bikes to every home, what about using the existing spaza shops as distribution centres or something?
Ah, and therein lies the next problem…
Challenge 2: Manufacturers lack basic market data
See, when you create a product in SA and distribute it to retail chains and wholesalers, the stores typically can give you sales data, so you can plan your plays in the market.
But the spaza owner who buys straight from wholesale doesn’t report back on what happens to your goods on their shelves, making it super hard for the producer to get a handle on the buying patterns in those markets and plan logistics accordingly to ensure healthy margins and reduce risk.
All of this leads to a bit of stagnation in solving the last-mile-to-Kasi conundrum.
Except, of course, for this one local startup that’s klapping both at once…
When Elon starts building in SA, things gonna get wild.
A two-pronged approach to township deliveries
Taxi Connect connects spaza shops and households with suppliers using – you guessed it! – minibus taxis for last-mile logistics.
They’ve got time to fill: Peak passenger times are 4–8 AM, with a money-wasting 8-hour break in between and a mad rush again 4–8 PM. So Taxi Connect lets drivers use those 8 hours to earn extra income from product deliveries.
And they know the township game: Drivers already know the safest and best way to drive through the township, to get to the specific spaza shop with maximum efficiency – and criminals know better than to try target taxis in the township.
But the magic really starts when you combine it with shelfline. This unique platform empowers (mostly unemployed) youth to become traders supplying their local spaza shops (within a 10km radius).
If you’re an entrepreneurial young person looking to make some cash, you can register on shelflife and become an agent who orders products from wholesale (the platform connects you to some really good ones) and supplies them to you using TaxiConnect after which you hop on your bike and deliver to whoever is ordering.
This goes a long way to creating opportunities for the youth, but the platform also sends much-needed trading data back to the wholesaler, retailers and ultimately producers, closing the data loop nicely.
With companies like Taxi Connect and shelfline creating unique opportunities in townships alongside established role-players, we’re watching this space…
IN SHORT
The latest SA and tech gossip…
👁️ Keeping an (A)I on it. Local artificial intelligence and computer vision solution provider visionAI has raised an undisclosed funding round from Kalon Venture Partners to continue its growth of innovative AI solutions that integrate with existing CCTV feeds in the manufacturing and supply chain sectors to increase operational efficiency.
🍏 Keeping the Dr away. Apple is continuing with its healthcare play with an app that helps pre-diabetic patients manage their food intake and make lifestyle changes. Apple tested the app on select employees earlier this year, and while it may not be released, reports suggest it could form part of Apple’s future healthcare products including the non-invasive glucose tracker that’s been in the works for years.
🎙️ RoboPod. Hot off the heels of Google’s NotebookLM “generate-a-podcast” feature, Meta has released an open implementation called NotebookLlama using Meta’s Llama models for processing. The project can generate a podcast-style delivery of text files uploaded to it using the guide for the PDF to Podcast workflow.
🤑 Healthy Funding. Absa has secured a R2.6 billion trade financing facility from British International Investment (BII) to help the SA lender provide liquidity to small- and medium-sized businesses in Africa, particularly in the agriculture and healthcare sectors.
😎 The Stack. Founders need tools and suppliers they can trust. Check out our Founder’s Stack with your own fractional CFO for less with OCFO, expert offshoring, company structure and legal advice from Dommisse Attorneys and 12 more vital startup tools & services.
CHECK THIS OUT
Earn Rewards for Doing Business
Not many banks really get the small business game. None, in fact, until the likes of Lula came along…
They know it takes more than most people have to build something from scratch… and that’s why they’ve decided to reward you a little for doing business…
For the next few weeks, Lula will distribute R300k simply for trading using a Lula business account.
Every payment you make is one entry — and you can rack up entries and increase your share of the rewards.
So, in case you don’t know yet, Lula lets you:
Open a business account for free with no monthly fees
Earn interest on your positive balance
The fastest way to access a credit facility — money becomes available within 2 hours of a successful application.
And now, for every transaction, you get a chance at a slice of R300k in rewards.
A better startup banking solution, anyone?
HAPPENING SOON
Upcoming Events
Join us this Friday for the first in a 3-part series with The Open Collab exclusive B2B Sales Series. Want to learn what it’s about? Watch the video on IG below…
30-31 October 2024 — AI Expo Africa — JHB: Join over 2’000 industry insiders for Africa’s largest AI and automation trade show at the Sandton Convention Centre in JHB.
1 November 2024 — Sales Masterclass — Online: Keep your B2B sales pipeline filled with this Masterclass session with sales expert, Sebastian Chapman — Join The Open Collab community to attend for free.
4-6 November 2024 — Injini EdTech Week — Cape Town: This is where EdTech entrepreneurs, the broader ecosystem members, government and policy stakeholders come together in Cape Town — PS: entrance is free.
7 November 2024 — Cape Town: Tinder for Business: Meet 20 investors, corporates or potential customers at Innovation City. Sign up here.
7 November 2024 — JHB: TechSafari is hosting its first JHB mixer. Get tickets here and use OL20% code to get a sweet 20% off!
8 November 2024 — Product Masterclass: Part 2: How to keep shipping truly great products, fast — Join The Open Collab community to attend for free.
14 November 2024 — TechSafari is coming to Cape Town! Join Caleb and team for a memorable night at Yoco to talk all things Tech and Startup in Africa. Get tickets here. Use OL20% code to get a sweet 20% off!
View all our upcoming events here.
BUILDING TOGETHER
Happening over at The Open Collab
In the last few days alone, in our online community, we…
Had the most powerful product masterclass with Roger Norton.
Discovered the most remarkable use case for the Vision Pro 🤩.
Discussed big new blockchain moves by Stripe looking ready to replace traditional finance.
Developed a game plan for when potential big corporate clients want you to tweak your code.
Got a sneak peek at Friday’s upcoming sales masterclass — it’s gonna be 🔥.
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.
WHAT YOU SAID
Food for thought…
We asked about your most unforgivable restaurant faux pas, and it’s all about food hygiene…
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 💅 Something gross in your food. (48%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🥜 Not removing something you’re allergic to. (8%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🍽️ Forgetting to order one of the meals. (10%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🙉 Loud/stupid music. (15%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤑 Charging extra for sauces and sides. (19%)
Your 2 cents…
“If a restaurant plays loud stupid music, it doesn't get the opportunity from me for any of the other faux pas. I go somewhere else, and take my chances on finding something gross in my food.”
Ha ha, ja William, some places just hit the wrong notes. 📯
“Not removing something you’re allergic to. They're all annoying but only one can potentially kill you....”
Yeh, no that’s serious business. 💉
