Most people in tech start a career as interns and ultimately they become CEOs and if they start a business they also become tech founders. It’s rare for anyone to start as a founder and to later become an intern. This has been the case with Lunga Momoza, which makes him probably one of the most expensive interns in South Africa.
When I first met Momoza I was deeply impressed by how he had spotted an opportunity in assisting township traders to stock for goods.
His business story partly began in 2019 when Momoza enrolled at Stellenbosch University. Although he did not really know what studies to pursue when he came to the institution, he ended up enrolling for studies in philosophy, politics and economics.
Momoza grew up in a township environment and got exposed to local people who had to become entrepreneurs to survive. One of them was his aunt who was a street vendor. The entrepreneurship bug also got to him as a result while pursuing his studies he had a “side hustle”. He was selling muffins to fellow students in the residences.
Unfortunately Covid-19 killed his side hustle and he had to find other ways of pursuing his business interests. During this period he was struck by how small businesses (including his own) were affected by the pandemic. To him the fact that street vendors, like his aunt, could not access Covid-19 relief due to the fact that they were not registered was very strange and it did not make sense. This partly inspired him to get an understanding of other challenges that are faced by similar type businesses in townships. He was surprised by how broken the system was leading to many disadvantages faced by township based entrepreneurs.
As a result, when the Stellenbosch Network (an organisation formed by Stellenbosch University, Municipality and businesses) called for ideas as part of its Business Ideas Challenge Momoza entered his idea. It was a business, Basket, that was aimed at solving some of the challenges faced by township businesses by providing a logistics solution using technology. Basket, an idea submitted by Momoza won the 2020 Stellenbosch Ideas Challenge.
He did not just win, he used his prize that included cash and business support to start Basket. In piloting this company, he treated Kayamandi township as a research and innovation environment by working with local businesses who were in need of his services.
It turned out that many street vendors, spaza shops were in desperate need of the Basket solution. The company took fresh produce orders from businesses in the township and provided a transportation solution that delivered goods on behalf of the business, cutting away the need for the township entrepreneur to close shop due to stocking for goods.
It turned out that this solution was enabling these businesses to cut costs and save time.
When I last spoke with Momoza, Basket was serving hundreds of township-based businesses using a chatbot that orders goods and facilitates a delivery system that keeps township-based businesses running. Momoza together with his co-founder had plans to use other innovative solutions to serve township based businesses.
It was, therefore, surprising for me to note via his LinkedIn page he had become an intern at a fintech company and technically became an ex founder.
I have no doubt that to work as an intern in a technology corporate environment has its advantages that include learning more about tech and business. At the same time I could not help but wonder. What more was he supposed to learn in addition to intensive experience of the township economy, developing a technology solution for a real business need, getting a degree and starting a business with paying clients? Was his experience not enough for him to be absorbed into a company to play a role that could have taken his business further or starting a similar business within a company. I’m also still wondering, where were funders to fund a promising startup with almost all the necessary credentials for support.
Lastly, I do wonder how many other young people from townships whose technology ideas and tech startups get buried in corporates as interns due to lack of funding and support. I do hope his experience within a corporate environment will one day enable him to rebuild his startup.
I have no doubt the African continent has missed an opportunity in not investing in the business of this young bright mind. His business could revolutionise the township economy. Sadly, investors in tech are not ready fund tech founders from township environments.
Wesley Diphoko is a technology analyst and the Editor-In-Chief of FastCompany (SA) magazine.
*** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or .
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