Small businesses are one of the backbones of South Africa’s economy, powering GDP growth and providing critical jobs.
Yet many of them struggle, hampered by challenges like limited access to funding and, perhaps most critically, a lack of online visibility.
If customers can’t find you, they can’t buy from you.
For Nonhlanhla Shembe, that invisibility wasn’t just a frustration—it was a call to action. So Rizepreneur was born: a digital ecosystem built to help small businesses get seen, to be online, and to be profitable.
With tools ranging from marketplaces and gig listings to business directories and practical resources, she is on a mission to prove that visibility is currency—and every entrepreneur deserves to be discovered.
In this conversation with Today Africa, Nonhlanhla Shembe opens up about why she started Rizepreneur, and how she’s methodically building a platform to help South African entrepreneurs rise.
Tell us more about yourself
“My name is Nonhlanhla Shembe and I’m the founder of Rizepreneur,” she begins, her tone equal parts pride and resolve. “Rizepreneur is a digital ecosystem built to help small businesses get seen, to be online, and to be profitable.”
She remembers noticing how talented South African entrepreneurs produced “beautiful products, beautiful services,” yet remained largely absent from the internet.
“I believe visibility is a currency,” she insists. “Because if people cannot find you, they cannot buy from you.”
What was the pain point that you saw that made you start your business?
For Nonhlanhla, the answer was deceptively simple. “Visibility,” she repeats. “There are businesses that can easily be found because they are big, established, and they have money.
But small businesses at grassroots levels—they are trying to be seen and they cannot be found because they don’t have platforms that are affordable.”
Rizepreneur was born from this gap, designed to make “platforms easily accessible and affordable” for those who might otherwise remain unseen.
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You’ve built marketplaces, gig platforms, and business directories. Was it one big vision or did the need evolve step by step?
“It was step by step,” Shembe explains. “It didn’t start as all these platforms.” The marketplace came first. Then she noticed service providers who weren’t selling products but still needed clients.
“How do we also help those people?” she asked herself. The gig platform and directories followed. The guiding vision remained unwavering: “
Solve the visibility issue and create the complete digital ecosystem for small businesses,” even if the construction is gradual.
Tell us more about Rizepreneur and how it helps small business owners grow.
She paints a simple scene. “A business, let’s say they’re making candles in their kitchen—no one really sees you. If they cannot see you, they cannot buy from you.”
Rizepreneur steps in, building an online storefront and positioning the business “where people are searching.” Growth, for Shembe, begins the moment a product becomes discoverable.
“Many people are looking for products and services online,” she explains. “If I’m looking for a plumber, I don’t go on social media. I go on Google.
Google shows me a plumber near me. That’s the problem we are trying to solve.” Rizepreneur also curates resources: information on funding, training, and programs to “help you move further.”
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How does your business help these small businesses get funding?
“At the moment, we are just putting the information for them,” she says plainly.
“If you are looking for funding, go to this organization. We look for all these organizations that are providing funding, and we put it in one place.”
Rizepreneur isn’t an application agent—yet. “Maybe as we grow, we don’t know what the future holds, but for now it’s just information.”
What is the most underrated tool in the Rizepreneur suite that entrepreneurs should be using more?
Nonhlanhla barely hesitates. “The business directory is very underrated. I know it’s not new—business directories have been there for years—but I’ve noticed that most small businesses don’t take those things seriously.”
She calls it “the most important” because it “puts your business exactly where people are searching,” requiring little ongoing effort.
“You just list your business once, and you’re in places where people can search and find you.”
How do you make them understand the importance of the business directory?
Education, conversation, presence. “We create content to educate small businesses about the importance of these platforms. We speak to businesses where we can find them—business events, one-on-one conversations,” she says. It is slow, deliberate work.
How do they find you to know the importance of your brand?
“Social media and search engine optimization,” Shembe answers. Rizepreneur also “goes to small business events to introduce ourselves.” In her world, outreach is as important as the product.
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How did you raise capital to start up your business?
She smiles. “Personal funds. I haven’t received any investment. It’s been bootstrapping from the beginning until now,” she admits, still applying for funding to grow. “But as it is now, it’s purely bootstrapping.”
What’s one mistake entrepreneurs keep repeating?
“Undervaluing themselves,” Shembe says firmly. Pricing by gut feeling or copying competitors undermines sustainability. “They don’t really know how to calculate the cost that goes into making that product,” she explains, leaving many entrepreneurs trapped in cycles of slim margins and late realizations.
How do you help them value themselves?
Rizepreneur’s solution is practical. “We developed an e-book that gives you a guide. It has examples on how to price a product, like a muffin.
How to calculate everything that goes into that muffin for you to come up with the amount you charge.” The tool is “very affordable” and paired with real-time conversations.
“Some entrepreneurs call us and ask us to help them come up with a price,” she says.
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How do you measure your success – revenue, businesses onboarded, or lives changed?
“For me, success is not only about money but the lives changed,” Nonhlanhla reflects. “Some would say their sales increased, some would say that since my business was listed, I get more calls.” Impact, she believes, is its own success.
How does your business generate revenue?
Rizepreneur’s streams are diverse: “We charge commission fees for sales made on our marketplace, a training fee if products are over twenty, a fee for listing in the directory.”
The company also runs a publication with free features but paid advertisements, offers website design, and sells e-books. “We have different types of revenue-generating streams,” she says.
What strategies did you use to attract the first 50 users, and how did you retain them?
“Social media was the first, and cold emailing,” she says with a laugh. “It’s such a difficult strategy, but it worked. We sent out emails, made phone calls, introduced ourselves.
Luckily, most of them bought into our idea.” Gratitude colors her voice. “They stayed because we try by all means to give them value and trust.”
How do you ensure that fraud doesn’t take place on your platforms?
“When a customer buys, the money doesn’t go straight to the seller,” Shembe explains. “The seller must send the product, and only after the customer confirms receipt do we transfer the funds.” Refunds are straightforward if there’s a complaint. “We haven’t had problems with customers complaining of being scammed.”
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What are the trends shaping your industry in South Africa?
She lists them with precision: “Mobile, digital commerce, e-payments. South Africa’s digital economy is expected to double. Most businesses are really moving online, commerce is booming, e-payments evolving rapidly. And now with the introduction of AI, that is shaping the industry too. If you don’t jump into these things, we’ll be left out.”
What was the toughest failure that you had, and how did it redirect you to something better?
Monetization. “It took me a while to get to a point where I can really monetize this and make money out of it,” she confesses. Early skepticism made it harder:
“In the beginning, it was difficult for many people to trust and believe that this would work. Some would just try it for free and then move on.” Persistence carried her through.
“Now we are at a point where people really believe in the vision—and believe with their money as well.”
How do you design your products around the harsh realities facing these small businesses?
“We design with the reality of these businesses in mind, not the Silicon Valley mindset,” Nonhlanhla insists. Affordability, accessibility, and personal support guide every feature.
“Some struggle to create a store on our platform, but we are available to do that. We assist, we support, and make sure the store is up and products are uploaded. We understand these realities because they affect us too.”
Do you see Rizepreneur as South Africa’s go-to small business platform or African Shopify?
“Definitely,” she says without hesitation. “I don’t believe I will just end up in South Africa. I see us going beyond South African borders, being the African one-stop shop for small business solutions when it comes to digital visibility.”
How do you plan to achieve this?
“The plan now is to grow and find our base here in South Africa. Once we are comfortable, we move to other African countries by partnerships with like-minded businesses. That will be a safe strategy.”
How did you build your team, including systems and processes that help in smooth running of your business?
“We have a very lean team,” Shembe admits. Freelancers bridge the gaps. “I didn’t want to build a big team yet because of the instability with revenue. I don’t want to have people working for me and me not paying them.” Systems evolve alongside revenue. “We’re still building. We don’t have all the systems yet, but hopefully in a few years, we’ll have them in place.”
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What lessons have you learned in your journey as an entrepreneur?
“Patience. Resilience. Entrepreneurship is a messy business, but it’s worth it,” she says, candid about her unfinished journey.
“Consistency—you show up even when you are not making money. Stay true to yourself, your vision, and your why.”
What is your advice to others who want to start their own business?
“Start. Don’t wait till everything seems perfect,” Nonhlanhla counsels. “Everything else will be figured out as you go.
Build a community of people who believe in your vision and support you when things get tough—because entrepreneurship can be very lonely.
And know why you are starting your business. And stick to it.”
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