Tech Aways Podcast

When most companies think about market research, they think of email surveys, focus groups, and online questionnaires. For Tim Treagus, co-founder and CEO of Yazi, the answer was hiding in plain sight: WhatsApp.On this episode of the Tech Aways Podcast, Treagus shared how Yazi has built a research platform that allows businesses to conduct surveys, AI-moderated interviews, and longitudinal studies entirely through WhatsApp. The idea emerged while he was working on innovation projects aimed at South Africa’s informal sector and realised traditional research tools struggled to reach large segments of the population. WhatsApp, however, was already in almost everyone’s pocket.Founded in 2022, Yazi has since grown into a global research platform with a panel of 1.8 million profiled participants across multiple markets. The company enables brands to gather customer insights through a familiar messaging interface, improving accessibility and response rates while supporting richer forms of feedback such as voice notes, images, and videos.Treagus’s entrepreneurial journey began much earlier during his time at the University of Cape Town, where he co-founded an e-commerce startup selling waterproof beach pillows. While the venture itself wasn’t destined to become a long-term pursuit, it taught him valuable lessons about building businesses, solving operational challenges, and developing the confidence to create something from scratch.Today, Yazi operates both as a software platform and as a research partner. Some clients use the platform independently, while others rely on Yazi’s team to design studies, recruit participants, analyse findings, and generate reports. Its customer roster includes major brands such as Capitec, Discovery, Old Mutual, Pick n Pay, Uber, and leading research agencies. Notably, more than half of the company’s revenue now comes from outside South Africa.One of the company’s biggest differentiators is its use of artificial intelligence. Yazi’s AI-moderated interview capability can conduct thousands of conversations simultaneously, dynamically asking follow-up questions based on participant responses. The company has also introduced AI-powered analysis tools, including automated classification of responses and the ability to generate highlight reels from participant voice notes.Treagus believes WhatsApp will become a standard research channel for companies operating in emerging markets. That conviction helped underpin Yazi’s recent funding round, alongside strong growth metrics and growing enterprise adoption. The company has tripled in size over the past year and is targeting another year of similar growth as it expands further into international markets, particularly the United Kingdom.The conversation also explored startup fundraising, enterprise sales, AI-assisted product development, and the realities of building a venture-backed company from Africa. Treagus emphasised the importance of developing a compelling narrative, demonstrating traction, and positioning startups as solutions to urgent business challenges rather than simply offering incremental improvements.Looking ahead, Yazi plans to deepen its AI capabilities, including voice-based interviews conducted directly through WhatsApp calls. The broader ambition is to become synonymous with WhatsApp-based research globally, creating a category-defining business that reshapes how companies understand and engage with their customers. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

South Africa’s startup ecosystem often talks about funding as its biggest challenge, but according to Renier Kriel, founder of The Open Letter, visibility may be just as important.Kriel reflected on how a personal frustration with the lack of meaningful local technology and business coverage led him to launch The Open Letter nearly four years ago. Having previously built and exited a technology agency, he wanted a platform that went beyond funding announcements to explain why businesses matter, what problems they are solving, and where opportunities exist.That philosophy has helped transform The Open Letter from a niche startup newsletter into one of South Africa’s most engaged business and technology media platforms. Today, the publication reaches more than 40,000 readers, including startup founders, corporate executives, investors and decision-makers across some of the country’s largest companies.Kriel believes media can play a direct role in helping startups grow by connecting them with customers, partners and investors. He shared examples of founders receiving business inquiries and partnership opportunities shortly after being featured in the newsletter, reinforcing his belief that better media can help unlock growth across the ecosystem.Unlike traditional publishers, The Open Letter has built its business around long-term partnerships rather than relying heavily on advertising or subscriptions. Kriel argues that competing with technology giants such as Google and Meta for advertising revenue is increasingly difficult, while subscription models remain challenging in many African markets. Instead, the company focuses on creating value for both its audience and commercial partners through newsletters, events and community initiatives.Looking ahead, Kriel sees a future where technology and business journalism become increasingly intertwined. As technology-native generations move into leadership positions, he believes business news will need to be viewed through a technology lens, reflecting the reality that almost every company is becoming a technology company in one way or another.For The Open Letter, that future extends beyond newsletters. The company is investing in communities, events and new content verticals while exploring opportunities to feature more stories from neighbouring markets, including Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. But at its core, the mission remains unchanged: helping founders and innovators tell their stories and get the attention they deserve. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

When Yoco processed its first transaction more than a decade ago, the startup had a simple mission: help South African small businesses accept card payments.Today, that mission has expanded far beyond payments.According to Yoco Chief Product Officer Lungisa Matshoba, the company now sees itself less as a payments provider and more as a technology platform designed to help small businesses run, grow and understand their businesses better.“The first product we launched was actually two products,” Matshoba said. “We launched payments, but we also launched a point-of-sale system. From day one, businesses didn’t engage with us as just a payments company. They engaged with us as a solution provider.”That early insight fundamentally changed how Yoco approached product development.Rather than focusing solely on payment acceptance, the company began building tools aimed at solving a wider range of challenges facing small businesses. Over the years, this has included products such as Yoco Capital, online payments, invoicing, customer management tools and cloud-based point-of-sale systems.For Matshoba, the long-term opportunity lies in helping entrepreneurs reclaim time and grow their businesses more effectively.Many small businesses still spend hours manually reconciling payments, inventory and sales data across disconnected systems. Yoco’s strategy is to eliminate these inefficiencies by creating a unified platform where everything works together.“You don’t reconcile between the same system,” he explained. “The system knows the data. It’s fundamentally there. This takes away the burden of time from the business owner.”The next step is helping businesses grow.Yoco has increasingly focused on products that help merchants bring customers back, increase spending and improve customer experiences. Even seemingly simple features, such as integrated tipping functionality, are designed with growth in mind.According to Matshoba, happier employees often lead to better customer experiences and ultimately stronger business performance.The company’s ambition is clear: become the digital infrastructure layer that powers small-business commerce. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

Jesaya Hano-Oshike: How this $10 million fund plans to back Southern Africa’s innovatorsFor years, Southern Africa’s startup ecosystem has found itself stuck in an uncomfortable position. The region has no shortage of entrepreneurs building interesting businesses, yet very little venture capital flows into markets outside South Africa.Jesaya Hano-Oshike, Managing Director of Bellatrix Investment Managers, believes that the gap represents an opportunity.Bellatrix recently launched the Ndjaba Seed Fund, a $10 million venture capital vehicle focused on backing early-stage startups across Southern Africa. The fund will invest in between 35 and 50 startups over a 10-year period, targeting sectors such as fintech, healthcare, agriculture value chains, cleantech, e-commerce, and enterprise software.Speaking on the Tech Aways Podcast, Hano-Oshike said the idea behind the fund emerged from observing how African startup funding continues concentrating in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa, while founders in countries like Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe struggle to access capital.“Most of the funding that comes to Africa goes into the big four markets,” he said. “Very little then trickles down to the rest of the countries.”Rather than seeing Southern Africa’s fragmented markets as a weakness, Bellatrix sees them as an overlooked regional opportunity. Hano-Oshike argues that investors often underestimate the scale of the broader SADC market because they evaluate countries individually instead of as a connected economic bloc.“People look at Namibia or Botswana individually and say the markets are small,” he said. “But if you look at SADC as a whole, it is a 400 million population market.”The fund itself will operate across two layers of investment.At the pre-seed stage, Bellatrix plans to back startups that have moved beyond the idea stage and already have an MVP, early users, or limited traction. These startups will typically receive between $25,000 and $150,000 to help them refine products and build early revenue streams.The majority of the capital, however, will go toward seed-stage businesses already showing meaningful traction or generating revenue. Bellatrix wants those startups to use the capital to scale into neighbouring Southern African markets before eventually raising larger rounds from international investors or private equity firms.Importantly, Hano-Oshike says the fund is not trying to become a controlling shareholder in startups. Bellatrix intends to take minority positions, generally below 30%, while remaining flexible on structures depending on the maturity of the business.While equity will remain the preferred structure, the firm is also open to convertible debt and SAFEs in specific situations.“We’re looking at equity first,” Hano-Oshike said, noting that alternative financing structures would mostly be used on a case-by-case basis for more mature businesses with predictable cash flows.What also differentiates the Ndjaba Seed Fund from many traditional VC firms is its emphasis on operational support.Bellatrix says it does not want to function purely as a provider of capital. Instead, the firm plans to work closely with founders on governance, operations, marketing, finance, and regional expansion strategy.Part of that support system already exists through Basecamp Business Incubator, a Namibian incubator Bellatrix helps operate. According to Hano-Oshike, the incubator has already worked with more than 3,000 entrepreneurs over the past three and a half years, giving the firm an established founder pipeline and ecosystem network.The fund also plans to collaborate with incubators and accelerators across Botswana, Zambia, South Africa, and other Southern African countries to source startups and support founders after investment.When evaluating startups, Bellatrix says it will prioritise both market potential and founder quality.“It can be a great idea, but if the team is not great, the likelihood of success is not that high,” Hano-Oshike said.Beyond venture capital itself, the launch of the Ndjaba Seed Fund reflects a broader ambition around Southern Africa’s role in technology development.Hano-Oshike believes the region needs to move beyond simply consuming technology developed elsewhere and begin building more locally relevant innovation ecosystems — particularly around emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.“We should not only be followers,” he said. “We should also try to be leaders in technology.”Application form: https://mulastream.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

For years, most African venture capital has flowed into the continent’s biggest startup ecosystems — Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa. Southern Africa’s smaller markets have largely been overlooked.But according to Florence Bavanandan, general partner of the Botswana Tech Fund, that is exactly where the opportunity lies.Bavanandan described the fund’s strategy as a “contrarian thesis” focused on backing startups in Botswana and neighbouring countries like Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.“Where everyone is not looking, that’s where the opportunity is,” she said.The fund plans to invest in tech-first B2B startups solving infrastructure challenges around payments, ecommerce, logistics, and digitisation. Rather than competing directly in saturated markets, the thesis is built around helping startups scale across Southern Africa’s underserved economies.One of the fund’s more unusual features is its dual strategy. Alongside a pre-seed accelerator programme, the fund will also deploy growth capital from seed to Series C, allowing it to continue backing its best-performing startups as they scale.At the accelerator stage, startups will initially receive $25,000 to cover operating costs, with the potential to unlock another $75,000 after completing the programme and agreed milestones. The fund is targeting roughly 10% ownership in accelerator-stage companies.Unlike many accelerators that focus heavily on training, Bavanandan said the Botswana Tech Fund wants to position itself as “investing first and accelerating second.”Importantly, the fund says it is backing founders as much as products.“At this super early stage, it’s all about the founder,” Bavanandan said, arguing that resilience, adaptability, and the ability to pivot matter more than perfect products.The fund is also leaning heavily into AI-native businesses and infrastructure-focused startups. Bavanandan pointed to payments infrastructure and wallet-based financial systems as examples of the types of scalable businesses the fund hopes to support.Beyond venture returns, the Botswana Tech Fund also has a conservation component. A portion of the fund’s carried interest will go toward the Tuli Conservation Trust, linking entrepreneurship and job creation to anti-poaching and tourism sustainability efforts in Botswana.For Bavanandan, the broader goal is not simply to back startups, but to help build a regional innovation ecosystem capable of attracting more capital into Southern Africa over time.“Africa doesn’t need another failed VC fund,” she said.Startups can apply for the fund here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

Africa’s push toward deeper regional trade integration continues to run into a stubborn obstacle: moving money across the continent remains slow, fragmented, and expensive.Despite years of fintech innovation and billions of dollars flowing into African startups, cross-border payments across Africa are still heavily dependent on foreign currencies, fragmented regulatory systems, and infrastructure that was never designed primarily for intra-African trade.According to Naco Bolote, the continent’s biggest payments challenge is ultimately fragmentation, not just of payment rails, but also of policy, governance, and financial systems.“Africa is crying out for unity,” Bolote says, arguing that the continent still lacks the seamless financial infrastructure needed to support meaningful intra-African trade. He notes that sending money between African countries often still requires routing transactions through international financial hubs such as London or New York because local systems remain poorly interconnected.The problem becomes even more complex because much of Africa’s trade still depends on the US dollar as an intermediary currency.That reliance creates multiple pressures simultaneously. Dollar liquidity remains scarce in many African markets, foreign exchange controls differ significantly between countries, and transaction costs remain high. Bolote says these realities continue to slow both business payments and remittances across the continent.At the same time, geopolitical shifts are beginning to reshape how African policymakers and financial institutions think about financial sovereignty.Bolote argues that relying on payment rails and currencies controlled outside Africa creates vulnerabilities for the continent’s economies, especially at a time when countries globally are becoming increasingly sensitive about control over financial infrastructure.“It means you can easily be cut off the rails,” he says, referring to the global payment systems many African transactions still depend on.These challenges have helped fuel growing interest in alternative payment technologies such as stablecoins.Dollar-backed stablecoins are increasingly being explored as a way to reduce transfer costs, improve settlement times, and ease liquidity shortages in African markets. But Bolote believes they only partially solve the continent’s long-term problem because they remain tied to foreign currencies.Still, he sees major opportunities for innovation.Botswana, he argues, could potentially position itself as a regional hub for stablecoin innovation because of its relatively liberal regulatory environment around currency management.Longer term, Bolote believes Africa could eventually develop digital currencies backed by African commodities and designed specifically for regional trade.“My vision is really how do we create a stablecoin that is fundamentally African, designed for Africa, and backed by assets that we find in Africa,” he says.The conversation around cross-border payments also increasingly overlaps with the rise of African fintech startups.Over the last decade, fintech has attracted the largest share of venture capital funding on the continent, with startups attempting to solve problems ranging from remittances and settlement to liquidity management and compliance. But Bolote believes many of these companies are still building on top of global infrastructure that Africa does not fully control.Rather than replacing banks, he sees the future of African payments being driven by collaboration between banks, fintechs, mobile money operators, and regulators.“The entire problem is going to be solved by even banks themselves collaborating, fintechs collaborating with fintechs, fintechs collaborating with banks,” he says.That collaboration is becoming increasingly important as remittances continue to play a larger role in African economies.Africa received more than $100 billion in remittance inflows in 2024, with diaspora transfers contributing significantly to household income and foreign currency inflows across several economies. Yet sending money into Africa remains among the most expensive remittance corridors globally.Bolote believes the next phase of innovation will focus on making transfers more seamless by connecting banks, mobile wallets, fintech platforms, and payment providers into integrated systems that allow funds to move instantly across borders.He also expects the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to accelerate pressure for cheaper and faster payment infrastructure as trade volumes between African countries increase.For Bolote, however, the continent’s payments problem ultimately comes back to a deeper issue: trust.“Why don’t we trust each other’s currencies?” he asks. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

For years, journalism has had a love-hate relationship with technology. First came social media, then podcasts, and now AI, each wave bringing both opportunity and disruption.The rise of content creators and independent publishers has broken traditional media monopolies, giving audiences more voices and perspectives than ever before. But it has also created misinformation, audience fragmentation, and what Tshepo Tshabalala, manager & team lead at JournalismAI, described as “bubble consumption”, where people only follow creators who reinforce their beliefs. At the same time, journalism continues to struggle financially. Despite billions flowing into African tech startups over the past decade, media innovation has attracted relatively little venture capital because news businesses are difficult to scale like software companies.“What we’re struggling to do as journalism platforms is sell the value that is journalism,” Tshabalala said. On AI, Tshabalala warned that Africa risks becoming dependent on systems built elsewhere, especially since many African languages remain poorly represented in global AI models. He argued that African newsrooms need to help build local datasets and AI tools that understand regional contexts. Still, he rejected the idea that AI will replace journalists entirely.“AI won’t replace journalists, but it will replace the journalists who refuse to use AI,” he said. According to Tshabalala, routine newsroom tasks may become automated, but human skills like investigative reporting, source-building, and editorial judgement will remain essential.You can connect to Tshepo on LinkedIn hereCheck out some cool use cases of AI from the JournalismAI library here This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

What synergies can 87 startups, scaleups, VCs and corporates explore when housed under the same roof?That is exactly the kind of sandbox experiment that is going on at 8 Darter Road, Gardens, Cape Town, the home of Innovation City.Founded by Stephan Ekbergh and Kieno Kammies in November 2021, the hub’s business enablement model has proved to be a hit, as shown by the tenants who currently call Innovation City home. These include Yellowcard, Smile Identity, Lauch Africa Venture, Norrsken 22, and MTN Digital.In this conversation, Kammies, who also has an extensive career in broadcasting and journalism, shares how the COVID-19 pandemic showed the need for a hub that was more than just a co-working space, but a microcosm of an ecosystem in itself.You can connect to Kieno on LinkedIn here.Read the full story behind Innovation City here: https://techcabal.com/2024/06/01/innovation-city/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

In computer network design, a supernode refers to a highly capable node in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network that acts as a central hub, relay, or proxy server for ordinary, less-capable nodes.If there is one analogy to describe Will Green’s role in South Africa’s tech startup ecosystem, it would be exactly that—a supernode. From running one of the country’s most efficient accelerators and helping wet-behind-the-ear founders figure out their business models to driving M&A strategies for exiting founders, Will's impact stretches across the entire ecosystem. But restricting his impact to the South African ecosystem would do an injustice to his work. Will has also been a mentor for Google for Startups, assisting African startups with their teething problems to build the next big thing. He is also an advisor, a board member, a venture studio builder, and and and.In this episode, Will shares his take on how to improve the acceleration model, bridging the funding gap from early-stage to growth-stage, the importance of exit planning for founders, and his view on the role of policy in driving innovation.You can connect with Will on LinkedIn here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

There is a convergence that is happening in Africa’s banking ecosystem. Banks, which were originally seen as the subjects of disruption driven by the emergence of digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenised assets, are embracing them.Traditional finance and decentralised finance, once thought to be sworn enemies, are forming new use cases which are addressing some longstanding pain points in Africa’s banking ecosystem.For example, over the last half-decade, stablecoin adoption at the retail level has seen explosive growth, with Africans using them for facilitation of remittance payments and hedging against volatile local currency movements.And now Absa, one of the largest banks on the continent, is expanding its stablecoin offering to its corporate and investment banking clients, with services including treasury management and cross-border payments facilitation. Beyond stablecoins, the bank also offers tokenisation services, including token origination and asset tokenisation, with further use cases, including an Absa stablecoin, a future possibility.In this episode, Nkahiseng describes the various elements of Absa’s stablecoin and tokenisation plays, the rate and state of adoption, and his thoughts on the growth of digital assets on the continent.You can follow Nkahiseng on LinkedIn here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

Zachariah George is a lot of things. He is a guitarist, pianist and vocalist, has been to over a hundred countries, holds a Stanford MBA and is a member of MENSA, meaning he has an IQ score at or above the 98th percentile.In Africa’s tech startup ecosystem, Zach is known as the managing founder of Launch Africa Ventures, one of the most prolific early-stage VC investment firms on the continent. He is also a prominent angel investor and was part of the formation of some of Africa’s revered accelerators, including Startup Bootcamp.The story of how he got into Africa’s tech ecosystem is as interesting as his profile. After concluding his career on Wall Street, which included a stint at Lehman Brothers, the first domino piece to fall in the 2008 financial crisis, he wanted to spend his life making a difference instead of just closing deals in Lower Manhattan.A trip to the 2010 World Cup proved to be the puzzle piece that would set Zach on a path to backing some of Africa’s most innovative startups. Realising that Africa’s ecosystem had the potential to undergo a growth spurt similar to that in India and Latin America, he packed his bags and headed south, settling in Cape Town.The rest, as they say, is history. In this episode, Zach reflects on the early days of VC in Africa, including the important role of accelerators and support from corporates, his investment strategy across his angel investments and at Launch Africa, the current state of early stage VC in Africa and what the future holds! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

What does it take to take the leap from a manager role at one of the biggest technology companies in the world to founding an AI startup? According to Kevin Kissi, it takes a belief that what starts as just an idea can change the world.Hailing from Ghana, Kevin has pivoted his career from mechanical engineering to software engineering, swapping CAD-rendered designs for writing code. Through Zof AI, he is taking it up a notch, enabling mid-market businesses to ship code that has been tested to ensure its quality.In this conversation, Kevin shares his early days in his journey, including stints at a tractor company, a window company and one of the top 5 banks in the US. He shares his motivation for switching careers early on and how always doing more than is required landed him at Microsoft.We also touch on the current state of AI in Africa and how to enable the continent to catch up with the rest of the world.You can connect with Kevin on LinkedIn here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

A fortnight ago, Showmax, which for the last ten-plus years had been pan-African broadcaster Multichoice’s answer to the arrival of global streaming platforms on the continent, shut down.Canal+, Multichoice’s parent company, pointed to the streaming platform’s not-so-pretty financials as the reason for pulling the plug. With Showmax gone, which was the closest Africa-born competitor to Netflix at least from the POV of budget spend, what will become of the continent’s streaming landscape?While Showmax has always grabbed the headlines as Africa’s forefront streaming platform, several other streamers have amassed millions of users by telling African stories. One of those is Wi-flix, founded in December 2020 by Ghananians Louis Manu and Bright Yeboah.Now boasting over 4 million users and a goal to reach 10 million in the next three years, Wi-flix’s focus on an African and mobile-native audience seems to be paying dividends.In this conversation, Manu reflects on the early days of Wi-flix, which included trying to convince telcos that the soft bundling strategy would drive data sales while also convincing content creators that the revenue-sharing model was the right approach. He also comments on the current state of streaming on the continent, including the implications of Showmax's exit and the insatiable appetite for African stories globally. On the future of streaming, he touches on what business models are going to look like as well as the competitive environment.You can connect to Louis on LinkedIn here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

As Africa tries to catch up to the world in adopting emerging technologies such as AI, the importance of digital infrastructure cannot be overstated enough.Data centres are at the forefront of this infrastructure, providing the requisite environment to build out application layers, resources such as fintech apps and e-commerce platforms.In this episode, Hlumelo Fungile, Chief Commercial Officer at PAIX Data Centres, breaks down the challenges facing Africa’s data centres ecosystem, including limited capital investment and energy constraints.He also touches on the opportunities on the continent, including a growing population, which will create demand for data centres, increasing participation, an active role played by hyperscalers, and increasing investment by governments.It is conversation which provides much-needed context on the role that digital infrastructure plays in Africa’s digital transformation ambitions and how to tackle the current challenges.You can reach out to Hlumelo on LinkedIn here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

Why did TymeBank rebrand to GoTyme? A few weeks ago, South African digital bank TymeBank announced a rebrand from its widely recognised yellow-and-black brand to “GoTyme”, featuring a Tiffany blue and charcoal black colour palette.But beyond the change in logos and colours is a much broader view of the bank’s service provision, which is now more globally oriented for a natively South African bank.To shed some insights on the rebrand, head of marketing Lucia Malapane stopped by the Tech Aways podcast to expound on the rationale for the process.She touches on the internal processes which formed the initial rebrand conversation, ensuring that the rebrand aligns with compliance requirements and how the rebrand aligns with GoTyme’s vision of a 2028 IPO. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

How has South Africa’s venture capital landscape changed from the time Mark Shuttleworth sold Thawte to Verisign, up to now?One person who is well placed to answer this question is Keet van Zyl, co-founder and managing partner at Knife Capital. Having cut his teeth in VC at Shuttleworth’s family office, Here Be Dragons, Keet went on to found Knife Capital, which has since evolved into one of the continent’s foremost VC firms.In this conversation, Keet chronicles his early days in VC, including Knife Capital’s early exit successes, the role Section 12J played in catalysing the country’s VC ecosystem, and the importance of the firm’s “Knowledge, Network and Fund” mantra in those early successes.He also shares the recipe behind Knife Capital’s revered exit strategy, which has seen the firm’s portfolio companies exit to global tech companies including UberEats, Garmin and Ticketmaster.If you are a startup founder and are looking to understand the thought process that drives a successful VC’s decision-making, this is the episode for you. If you are a VC and looking to learn from the best in the business, this is also the episode for you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

Early-stage startup founders in South Africa face various challenges, including a lack of capital, struggling to achieve product-market fit, and even loneliness.In 2022, after he himself faced similar challenges when building his early-stage venture, Mathew Marsden founded Startup Club ZA. The community, which comprises in-person events, awards, and now a platform to enable ecosystem stakeholders to share press releases, job listings, etc, has grown substantially.In this episode, Mathew shares about the early days of Startup Club ZA, what is currently missing in SA’s VC ecosystem, the impact AI will have on early-stage builders, and much more.Connect with Mathew on LinkedIn and check out the Startup Club ZA website. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

Why do black tech startup founders get disproportionately less funding than their white counterparts in South Africa?It is a question that has faced the ecosystem for years, but one that is yet to be addressed or even discussed in the mainstream via LinkedIn or at ecosystem events. But Ntsako Mgiba, founder and CEO of the Darkies in Tech community, is actively working to change that.Founded in February 2021, Darkies in Tech was founded out of the frustration that Ntsako experienced as a black founder when navigating the ecosystem. Realising that there was a lack of representation of people like him, he took it upon himself to create a safe space and community for black founders like him.In this episode, he discusses the early days of navigating the white-dominated SA tech startup space, the role that communities like Darkies in Tech play in advocating for equity in the ecosystem, and the challenges faced in that mission.He also touches on the wins that Darkies in Tech has achieved and what the future holds!You can visit the Darkies in Tech website to learn more and connect with Ntsako on LinkedIn. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

For most companies, cybersecurity is not something that is discussed at the board level, but is often relegated to underfunded and underequipped IT teams.This is even though a serious cyberbreach could have detrimental financial and operational consequences. In this conversation with Tony, he outlines the findings from ESET’s latest H2 2025 Threat Report, which flagged phishing as the most prominent cybersecurity concern.He also dives into several issues, including the impact of AI and crypto on cybersecurity, why there is a lack of talent in the sector, some tips to avoid the most common risks and the role that regulation can play in tackling cybersecurity challenges. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

How do you run a business when you are under investigation by South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) for two years?This was the predicament faced by South African agritech startup Livestock Wealth when it became the subject of an investigation by the FSCA in January 2024.Two years later, according to Livestock Wealth CEO Ntuthuko Shezi, the investigation has completed with a positive outcome for the company, and he is ready to chart the next wave of growth for the company.Shezi also shares more on the investigation process, the lessons he learnt, and much more! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

How much equity should you allocate to a co-founder and first hires? Is it easier to build a B2B or B2C startup in South Africa? Should you be trying raise from local or international investors? Is an IPO a realistic path to exit in South Africa?There are some of the questions that founders ask themselves every day as they navigate the complexities of building a venture-scalable company in South Africa. Answers to these questions play a large part in who becomes a successful company or joins the 90% stat of startups which fizzle out within three years of operations.This week’s guest is well placed to answer these questions. Clive Butkow boast almost four decades of experience across corporate South Africa, as COO of Accenture, and then as a VC, first at Kalon Venture Partners and then at Conducive Capital. As an angel investor, Clive has invested in numerous companies which have collectively seen more than $100 million in revenue.You can connect with Clive on LinkedIn and check out more of Tech Aways here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

As we get 2026 fully underway, which startups in South Africa should you have an eye on as an ecosystem stakeholder? Stephen Timm wrote about six startups he will be keeping an eye on and joins the podcast to explain his selection.Some of what we discussed:* The rationale for picking the startups* Which SA tech startup hub is the most exciting* Why SA startups looking at external markets for growth avenues* How to address SA’s regulatory hurdlesCheck out Stephen’s musings here and connect with him on LinkedIn. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

What were some of the biggest tech stories in South Africa in 2025, and what does 2026 have in store? The brilliant Lindsey Schutters breaks it all down.What you can expect:* Starlink’s licensing fiasco in South Africa* The digital bank battle royale and how it will evolve* The scramble for stablecoinsRead Lindsey’s reporting here and connect with him on Linkedin. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

The first episode (or is it the pilot?) of the Tech Aways podcast explores the latest in the Starlink vs South Africa saga.What you can expect:* Overview of how we got here* Why the licensing issue has dragged on* What do Elon’s politics have to do with the delay* What will likely happen nextReferences:Daily Maverick: “Why Malatsi believes bypassing BEE rules for Starlink is good for SA”Tech Aways: “Starlink’s Mzansi Entry Has Long Been Coming” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com