AI Technology platform aims to help entrepreneurs before crisis point
Reading Time: 5 minutesA new AI Technology platform called Rinku aims to connect South African entrepreneurs with the right mentors, programmes and funding before business challenges become a crisis.
Rinku Director Gift Lubele is pictured speaking to former chairperson of the JSE, Geoffrey Rothschild in Sandton, yesterday. Image Credit: Express Yourself SA
More than 1,600 South African businesses were formally liquidated during the first seven months of 2026. Now, a new AI Technology platform wants to help entrepreneurs identify weaknesses in their businesses earlier and connect with the right support before it is too late.
Called Rinku, the platform was launched in Sandton, Johannesburg, this week before an audience of business, technology and entrepreneurship leaders. The liquidation figures from Statistics South Africa highlight the pressure under which many businesses operate.
For Rinku’s founders, they also raise an important question: could some struggling businesses have survived if their challenges had been identified earlier, and the right support had reached them in time?
This is one of the gaps Rinku aims to address.
How the AI Technology works
Meaning “link” or “connect”, Rinku brings entrepreneurs, mentors, development programmes and funders into one connected ecosystem. Its AI engine assesses the health of a business, identifies possible gaps and recommends practical next steps based on the individual needs and stage of the business. The platform is designed to support businesses ranging from entry-level solopreneurs to more established SMMEs.
10 things to know about Rinku and its AI Technology
- Rinku means “link” or “connect” and is designed to bring different parts of the entrepreneurship support system together.
- The platform uses AI Technology to assess the health of a business and identify possible gaps.
- Rinku recommends practical next steps based on the individual needs and stage of a business.
- It creates a continuous record of an entrepreneur’s development journey, including support received, progress made and interventions still needed.
- The platform aims to reduce repeated training, particularly when entrepreneurs move between different development programmes.
- Mentors and programme operators can use business data and diagnostics to better understand an entrepreneur’s needs.
- Funders can potentially gain a clearer picture of a business’s development and support history.
- Rinku could identify broader patterns as more businesses use the platform, including where entrepreneurs are struggling and which interventions are producing results.
- The technology does not replace people. Mentors and programme partners still decide which interventions to provide, investors make funding decisions and entrepreneurs remain responsible for their businesses.
- The bigger goal is continuity: helping entrepreneurs avoid repeatedly returning to the starting line when they should be building on what they have already learned.
When support ends, momentum can disappear
Rinku Director Gift Lubele said many entrepreneurs lose momentum when a development programme ends. “Programmes often run for three to six months. During that time, entrepreneurs receive training, develop relationships with mentors and gain access to useful networks. Once the programme is over, however, it may be difficult to reconnect with those mentors or continue receiving support,” he says.
He says when entrepreneurs move into another programme, the new organisation may have no record of the training, assessments or interventions they have already received. As a result, entrepreneurs can find themselves learning content they have engaged with before, instead of moving on to the next stage of their development.
“Rinku is long overdue”
Paseka Lesolang, CEO of water-efficiency management company WHC Solutions, understands that frustration firsthand. Lesolang has benefited from several entrepreneurship programmes during his journey. While the support has helped him grow, he says streamlining the process would have been beneficial.
“Rinku is long overdue. I have participated in programmes where I had to repeat training I had already completed elsewhere. If those programmes had access to my development history, they could have built on what I already knew and saved me valuable time.”
Rinku aims to solve this problem by creating a continuous record of an entrepreneur’s journey. It tracks where the business started, the support it has received, the progress it has made and the interventions it may still need. This could allow future mentors, programme operators and funders to make decisions based on data and diagnostics.
AI Technology could help measure progress
Rinku was developed with the support of YIEDI, an organization specializing in entrepreneurship and supplier development. YIEDI CEO Jayshree Naidoo says the platform could change how the industry measures the success of funded programmes.
“Rinku can significantly accelerate the impact of funded programmes on the journey of entrepreneurs,” Naidoo said.
“SMME programmes often measure participation rather than progress over the long term. Entrepreneurs need support that aligns to their growth objective as well as the gaps they are experiencing.”
As more businesses use the platform, it could also help identify patterns: where entrepreneurs are struggling, which interventions are producing results and where further support is required. The AI Technology is intended to support rather than replace human decision-making. Mentors and programme partners still decide which interventions to provide, investors make funding decisions and entrepreneurs remain responsible for the direction of their businesses.
Courage, people and the right attitude
Former chairperson of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Geoffrey Rothschild, joined Lubele in conversation at the launch and shared lessons from his experience in business and leadership.
Rothschild said entrepreneurship requires courage, the right attitude and the ability to identify an opportunity that other people may have overlooked. However, he said a good idea alone is not enough.
Entrepreneurs need trustworthy people around them, support from those closest to them and an awareness of market and global developments that could affect their businesses. Rothschild said young founders need people who understand their vision but also bring to the table knowledge, skills and perspectives they may not possess themselves.
Do not become yesterday’s story
Rothschild also encouraged entrepreneurs to continue learning and adapting as the world changes.
“Do not reach a stage where you become yesterday’s story,” he said. He stressed that leadership is reflected in everyday behaviour, including being accessible, treating people with respect and valuing their time.
During his tenure at the JSE, Rothschild made a point of walking through the building and engaging with employees. He believes leaders cannot understand an organization if they remain disconnected from the people working within it. He also described reliability as a valuable but increasingly uncommon quality.
“If you are late, you are disrespecting that person,” he said.
“You are saying that your time is more important than theirs. Time is your greatest asset.”
What Rinku could mean for young entrepreneurs
Technology cannot guarantee that a business will succeed. Entrepreneurs still need viable ideas, discipline, courage, reliable teams and the willingness to adapt. But better information could help ensure that a young founder receives support based on what the business actually needs, rather than simply what the next programme happens to offer.
For some entrepreneurs, that may be funding. For others, it could be compliance assistance, access to markets, operational support, specialist mentorship or help strengthening the business model.
If Rinku works as intended, fewer entrepreneurs may have to keep going back to the starting line.
Crucially, struggling businesses could receive the right support early enough to give their businesses a stronger chance of survival. For South Africa’s entrepreneurs, that is where AI Technology could become more than just another piece of technology . . . it could become a way of connecting people, knowledge and opportunity when they need it most.
Who is Rinku for? The founders answer that question here in this page on their site.
