Two South African tech companies which are growing during the lockdown

The prolonged lockdown in South Africa is having a negative impact on the economy, with a large number of businesses facing headwinds.

19% of businesses recently polled by Sakeliga expect to go bankrupt within the next month.

There are, however, businesses which are showing strong growth during the lockdown and COVID-19 pandemic.

Two of these businesses are Payspace and Africonology, which said they are seeing increased demand during this period.

Payspace MD Sandra Crous told MyBroadband they have experienced good growth amidst the lockdown.

Payspace provides easy-to-use cloud-based payroll software, which is a key component of managing staff payments in a work-from-home environment.

“Employing a cloud-based payroll system means that the human resources department can stay on top of HR and payroll management even when they are not in the office,” Crous said.

She said one of their biggest challenges is making sure that their customers have a full understanding of how the new relief measures will affect their businesses.

“We need to assist customers by supporting the changes in our call centre, by answering any questions they have and offering clarity on what the changes mean for their businesses in practical terms,” Crous said.

Increase in demand

To meet this increased demand, Payspace expects to employ between 10-15 new staff members – ranging from junior support consultants, compliance specialists, and software engineers.

Africonology, which provides strategic quality assurance and software testing, has also experienced strong demand for its services.

Africonology CEO Mandla Mbonambi told MyBroadband they have many opportunities in the pipeline and demand has increased for their services.

He said they are looking forward to growth brought about by the changes in the way the economy and business operate amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I expect to see an increase in the demand for our services in the market and which we will reciprocate,” he said.