Africa’s Silicon Valley

GQ Men of the Year 2020 Innovator of the Year and tech entrepreneur Ahren Posthumus is passionate about bringing prosperity and innovation to local people and elevating our tech industry

AHREN posthumus

describes himself as a ‘real-time hustler and circadian struggler’, a phrase that, he explains, his sister attributed to him when she helped him write his Instagram bio. ‘It’s apt because my business partners and I are usually busy, always executing opportunities and working hard to create value, much like hustlers do.

‘The “circadian struggler” portion of that phrase stems from my lifelong battle with sleep (circadian rhythms are 24-hour cycles that are part of the human body’s internal clock – one of the most crucial and well-known circadian rhythms is the sleep-wake cycle). My friends and family know I have an abnormal sleeping pattern

– I snooze for an average of five hours per night during the workweek. But I use that to my advantage by working into the early hours of the morning and doing more with less time.

Posthumus believes he inherited his entrepreneurial streak from his mother and is most proud of the moment he signed the papers to buy her a house. ‘I was raised by a single mother of three, of which I’m the youngest and the only boy. I tried, from a young age, to step up as the man of the house – living in a home with finite resources made me strive towards entrepreneurship in an attempt to provide financially. I started selling things in grade three and never stopped.

I think I’m a simple person to understand. I have some fundamental stances but am very open-minded beyond that. I’m passionately patriotic; I love my mother, my family and my fiancé. I think all businesses should benefit the community and country it resides in as well as its employees. Everyone has value to add and should be allowed to explore their talents.’

At 24, Posthumus became well-known when he cofounded two tech apps: Jobmatcher, an app that matches job seekers with ad-hoc work, and Lockdown Bozza, which helped people find out what they could and couldn’t do during the Covid-19 lockdowns in South Africa and the UK. While he’s since moved on from both these ventures, he tells us how they came about.

‘With Jobmatcher, my partners and I sought to address youth unemployment in South Africa with a microgig platform, which evolved into a staff recruitment and training platform to address educational needs – we’ve since white labelled and sold it. We’d like to re-address the issue of unemployment when we’re in a stronger position to do so.

‘Lockdown Bozza was a weekend project I cofounded with Adam Romyn at the start of lockdown. We simplified and indexed lockdown regulations to make them easier to understand. The app blew up overnight to over 1.5 million users (to date, it’s surpassed 8 million). We’ve since exited this venture, as we initially designed the platform to assist South Africans in a time of crisis, but it’s now been turned into a financially driven business by other stakeholders, so we’re no longer passionate about driving the platform forward.’

Currently, he’s working with close friends and business partners Adam Romyn and Joshua Misk on building a social media marketplace on the Blockchain. The technology will mark a fundamental shift away from the collection and sale of data, giving individuals back their privacy and creatives a newywoauyrtonmewonbemtiswe thiseir

‘South Africa shouldn’t be overlooked. We can compete with Western tech’

content without being held hostage by sponsors. It’ll also drastically change the way digital ownership of assets works.

‘Momint is the world’s first social media marketplace for non-fungible tokens

(NFTS), which are unique crypto tokens that are managed on a Blockchain. Thus, Blockchain acts as the decentralised ledger that traces the ownership and transaction history of each NFT, which has a code and a unique ID, and other metadata that no other token can duplicate. We’ve already launched a closed beta (a testing arrangement in which a beta test version of software is distributed to a small group of testers), selling three original Bryan Habana NFTS.WE donated all proceeds from the auction to his foundation, and all buyers received a pair of signed Rugby World Cup boots. We also auctioned limited edition coins and contributed the proceeds to the SPCA Wildlife Department to help in the aftermath of the recent fires in Cape Town. These sales totalled over R300 000 in just one weekend.

‘We’ve raised significant investment from international investors and are in the process of securing partnerships with several influencers including

Post Malone, Graham Smith, Black Coffee, Euphonic and

The Kiffness.’

In 2020, South African tech start-ups continued to innovate and launch solutions in response to a myriad of challenges, including Covid-19. Despite that, Posthumus doesn’t believe they can thrive in the current environment.

‘It’s one of the things we’re trying to address in our networking and engagements. Venture Capital (VC) culture here is different to that of the US, where crazy ideas are funded daily. It appears investors simply don’t have enough confidence in our economy to fund ours. But that puts us in a good position because we’re the underdogs, we have world-class talent at a fraction of the cost (due to exchange rates), and our people are more resilient due to the challenges we face.

‘Fortunately, a shift in funding has begun, as many large VCS have started to see the opportunity Africa presents, particularly in alternative staffing, Blockchain and agri-tech.’

He believes that if our government can come to the table to support our local tech sector by creating and enabling a regulated environment and helping to attract foreign investment, South Africa could fast become the Silicon Valley of Africa.

‘South Africa, in particular, has an extremely good basis for development. We have wellestablished trade routes, a highly resilient and multi-cultural populace and the opportunity for extensive economic growth and further development.

‘If this country rallied behind its tech companies, we could launch multiple global companies that bring a wealth of foreign direct investment, which is essentially an economic injection. Additionally, we could export these products globally with no shipping, import tax or border restrictions. The world is shifting to digital, and the longer we choose to ignore that, the faster we get left behind.’

Aside from money, Posthumus says the single most important element of a successful start-up is having great cofounders. ‘I’m incredibly privileged to have extremely hardworking, honest, trustworthy partners in Adam, Joshua, Roy Clarke and Rob Hersov. I would’ve achieved nothing without them.’

Some individuals have described him as being on course to change the world, which he says is an incredible honour, but it feels premature, as there’s still so much to do before he’s earned that reputation.

‘In the long run, I’d love to build businesses that explore renewable energy and recyclable materials, and I’m currently involved in the launch of South Africa’s Heroes Academy. The program feeds and educates young boys living in lowincome and underprivileged communities, with a particular focus on positive masculinity in the fight to end gender-based violence. Right now, my primary focus is to build a tech unicorn in Momint, attracting foreign direct investment and reminding the world that South Africa shouldn’t be overlooked – we can compete with Western tech.’

Posthumus says he’s always felt he was meant to do something great and has realised that every individual has that potential. He adds that his experience of Covid-19 has made him hyper-aware of his mortality. ‘Am I going to get to do everything I feel I’m supposed to?’ he asks.

‘That plays very much into being a workaholic. There’s this constant feeling that life is short. If you’re not productive during every waking hour, then it’s a waste. That’s, of course, not exactly a healthy, balanced mentality, so I often have to remind myself to take a step back and remember that sometimes it’s crucial to rest, build relationships and spend time with your family.

‘I’m the kind of person who could make some money and put it in a locked five-year interestbearing account. That said,

I never try to map out specifics in terms of what I’ll be doing or where I’ll be. I feel like that’ll only close me off to opportunities in the future. I try to think about how each present action changes my future trajectory, but just like building a business is an iterative process, so is life. I’m well suited to rapid change and thrive outside my comfort zone.’