Creativity, innovation, and digital acumen are the order of the day at SME South Africa. As a digital platform that continuously strives to serve its audience, solve the problems of South African SMEs, and highlight the solutions that brands offer, the company understands how vital it is to have a strong team driving success. It’s this combination of skilled individuals and the inventive use of digital tools that the platform proudly champions.
Identifying human creativity and digital advancement
To build a resilient and high-performing business, it is crucial to have a team aligned with the company’s values and goals. SME South Africa’s parent brand, Oak Ventures, regularly reinforces the importance of building with “the ideal team member” and the frameworks that support consistent growth.
The ideal team player is defined as someone who is smart, humble, and hungry. In other words, someone eager to drive advancement. SME South Africa also runs on the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), a model that supports strong culture, accountability, and operational efficiency. A core EOS principle is having “the right people in the right seats,” ensuring talented individuals are empowered to do their best work in roles suited to their strengths.
This principle recently came to life through an innovation by Karabo Kgopane, SME South Africa’s community manager, who developed a new AI chatbot to assist entrepreneurs directly via social media.
The SME Advice Growth Bot was created as an extension of the SME Advice offering, giving entrepreneurs instant, real-time support. It draws information from SME South Africa’s website and, when additional help is needed, directs users to business mentors via the SME Advice platform.
By offering on-demand digital mentorship, the bot complements broader brand initiatives such as the SME Growth Pod pop-up campaign and the 2025 SME South Africa Funding Summit. Together, these efforts reflect the organisation’s commitment to making business support more accessible, practical, and immediate.
Bringing AI into unlikely places
Kgopane developed the chatbot using Meta’s new chatbot tools, a feature he was eager to explore and adapt for South African entrepreneurs.
“It’s the era of AI. Everyone’s trying to use it in a smart, accessible way,” says Kgopane. “None of our competitors are using AI quite like this, so I immediately saw the opportunity to fill the gap.”
The SME Advice Growth Bot bridges the gap between social media discovery and meaningful brand engagement. Because it’s integrated into WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, it meets entrepreneurs where they already spend time, offering 24/7 mobile access to reliable, relevant business support.
Recognising exceptional innovation
SME South Africa’s leadership team has recognised Kgopane’s creativity and foresight as major contributors to the brand’s recent social media growth and expanding reach. In recognition of his efforts, he has been nominated for the Social Media Wiz category at the upcoming New Generation Awards.
“He’s an exceptionally talented individual who brings a rare combination of creativity, precision, and strategic thinking to everything he does,” says Velly Bosega, CEO of SME South Africa (Oak Ventures). “His work is consistently sharp, engaging, and perfectly aligned with our brand values – a true testament to his deep understanding of the digital landscape.”
Though the SME Advice Growth Bot is still in its early training phase, the response from users has already been overwhelmingly positive; a promising indicator of its future success.
