• Rinku checks a business’s finances, compliance, operations, market presence and risks before recommending support suited to its needs.
• The platform keeps a continuous record of a business’s progress so mentors, programme operators and funders can make better informed decisions.
South African small businesses can spend years moving between support programmes without getting the help they actually need.
A new platform called Rinku wants to change that.
Launched in Johannesburg, Rinku uses artificial intelligence to assess businesses and identify problems holding them back.
It then helps connect entrepreneurs with suitable mentors, development programmes, funding and other opportunities.
Rinku means link or connect.
South Africa has about three million small businesses and many organisations offering support to entrepreneurs.
But the 2026 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor National Expert Survey special report ranked South Africa as the seventh weakest entrepreneurial environment among 56 economies assessed.
The country scored just 3.9 out of 10 for its environment supporting entrepreneurship.
Research cited by Rinku indicates that between 70% and 80% of South African small businesses fail within their first five years.
Rinku Director Gift Lubele said the problem was not only about finding money.
“Too many entrepreneurs move from one programme to another without anyone developing a complete picture of the business journey,” he said.
When entrepreneurs join Rinku, the platform looks at areas including finance, compliance, operations, market presence and risk.
Its artificial intelligence system identifies gaps and recommends practical next steps.
Entrepreneurs can then be matched with support suited to their business sector, stage and needs.
“A struggling business does not necessarily need another generic entrepreneurship programme,” Lubele said.
“It needs the right intervention, delivered at the right time, based on a clear diagnosis of what is holding it back.”
The technology does not make all the decisions.
Programme partners decide what support to provide, investors make funding decisions and entrepreneurs remain responsible for their businesses.
Rinku also creates a continuous record of each business’s journey.
It tracks where the business started, what support it received, its progress and what help it may still need.
This means entrepreneurs who join another programme do not necessarily have to start the assessment process from scratch.
The system can also identify signs that a business is beginning to struggle, allowing support to be considered before its problems become critical.
Rinku was developed with support from YIEDI, an organisation specialising in entrepreneurship and supplier development.
YIEDI Chief Executive Officer Jayshree Naidoo said the platform could help funded programmes have a greater impact on entrepreneurs.
“SMME programmes often measure participation rather than progress over the long term,” Naidoo said.
“Entrepreneurs need support that aligns to their growth objective as well as the gaps they are experiencing.”
Rinku hopes that as more businesses and organisations use the platform, it will provide a clearer picture of the problems entrepreneurs face and which forms of support produce results.
“The bigger goal is to create an ecosystem where information, funding and support is readily available, which means businesses are less likely to fall through the cracks,” Lubele said.
