- Albert Manamela, 23, from Limpopo, built MyServicePro to help service providers like plumbers and hairstylists reach more customers online.
- Soweto plumber Hawuesi Mdoka hasn’t used the platform yet, but hopes it will grow his client base beyond word of mouth.
Albert Manamela believes South Africa is full of skilled people nobody can find. So he built an app to help fix that.
“The talent has always been there, we are just switching on the lights,” Manamela said.
Manamela, 23, from Limpopo, holds a BSc Honours in Computer Science with AI. He started building MyServicePro in November 2025, an online platform that helps service providers such as plumbers, electricians, cleaners, hairstylists, nail technicians and web developers reach more customers.
The idea came from watching people in his own community miss out on work simply because they didn’t have formal certificates.
“Every time I went back in Limpopo, I was reminded of the people those systems never reach,” Manamela said.
His time at Amazon Web Services, where he worked as a software development engineer, showed him how much technology could change people’s lives, and he decided to build something for the people he grew up around.
Manamela funded the platform himself, spending between R9,000 and R10,000 from his savings. He built it while working full time, using his nights and weekends.
The website is now live, and service providers have started signing up. The platform lets them advertise their work using photos and videos. The Android app is still waiting for approval.
Hawuesi Mdoka, from Soweto, has done plumbing and electrical work for 13 years. He currently finds most of his clients through word of mouth, and said there are times he goes two days without a single customer.
Mdoka has not yet started using MyServicePro, but hopes it will help him reach more people than word of mouth alone.
“I usually get around five or more clients every week, so I would expect the number to increase,” he said.
For Manamela, the platform is about judging people by their work, not their paperwork.
“I don’t want people to be judged by whether they have certificates but by the actual work they do,” he said.
