Verified. Ready. Connected.
Your business is real. Now make it visible.
Bhota Africa turns an enterprise's real economic activity — what it makes, sells and delivers — into permissioned evidence that buyers, programmes and funders can check.
We start with South Africa's informal and emerging enterprises, and with one pairing: craft and artisan producers, and the tourism and retail buyers looking for them.
The problem
Capability is real. Evidence isn't.
89.3%
of people running informal businesses in 2023 did so without a licence or permit.
Source: Stats SA, Survey of Employers and the Self-Employed 2023
56.9%
of 800 small businesses named access to markets as a key growth requirement.
Source: Shoprite Group / World Wide Worx, State of the SMME in South Africa 2026
Only 6%
of township businesses sell through major retailers.
Source: Competition Commission, Rural and Township Economy Project, 2026
Institutions check a business by its paperwork. For a real, trading business without that paperwork, the check fails even when the honest answer is yes.
How it works
From real trade to a record you keep
- 1
Tell us about your business
In your own words. You don't need a registered company to start.
- 2
Build your evidence
Photos, orders, receipts, references. Each item shows where it came from, when, and how far it has been checked.
- 3
We find real buyers
Whose requirements your evidence meets.
- 4
A person introduces you
Never an automated message.
- 5
You trade directly
We never negotiate for you or handle the money.
- 6
Both sides confirm the sale
And your record grows, ready for the next opportunity.
Evidence you can check
Every item shows how far it has been checked
Tier 1
Self-declared
Tier 2
Document supplied
Tier 3
Independently verified
Tier 4
Verified via authority
Every piece of evidence carries its source, method and date, and shows its tier.
You can add the first two yourself; the top two are checked by a reviewer against a real source.
A company registration or tax certificate is simply the top of the same ladder — formality is one form of evidence, not the ticket in.
Our boundaries
What we will never do
- Never lend.
- Never score, rate, grade or rank you.
- Never negotiate on your behalf.
- Never make a funding decision.
- Never share your information without your consent.
For enterprises
Join free. Keep your record. Reach buyers outside your network.
Joining is free, and your evidence record belongs to you. We're starting with craft and artisan producers who make a physical product and already have customers. If that's you, join early access and we'll be in touch.
For buyers
Find producers you couldn't find before.
Tourism retailers, craft boutiques, design stores and gift shops: tell us what you buy, your usual order sizes and what you need to see before a first order. We only match you with producers whose evidence meets your requirements, and a person makes the introduction.
For institutions
Evidence for the enterprises you're trying to reach.
Programmes, municipalities, development funders and corporate enterprise-development teams: we help move a defined group of enterprises from invisible to evidenced, and leave each one with a reusable record. You make your own decisions — we make the evidence clear.
Where we are now
We're in our first field test, working by hand with a small group of craft and artisan producers and tourism and retail buyers. We're learning exactly what makes a first order happen before we automate any of it.
Bhota Africa is designed to use AI for repetitive work — but a person makes every introduction and every verification decision, and nothing is automated until it has been proven by hand.
Trust and your data
Your information, your choice
- Registered Information Officer with South Africa's Information Regulator (POPIA).
- We ask for your consent before we record anything.
- We collect only what an opportunity needs, and never record your customers' personal details without their agreement.
- You can see, correct or withdraw your information at any time.
About Bhota Africa
Built for Africa
Bhota Africa Group (Pty) Ltd builds evidence infrastructure for informal and emerging enterprises in South Africa and across Africa.
The problem we solve
Real enterprises operate invisibly. A trader who has been selling for five years, who has loyal customers and reliable suppliers, is treated by institutions as if she doesn't exist—because she has no formal registration, no credit history and no digital footprint.
Institutions need proof. Enterprises have proof—they just can't show it in the language institutions understand.
What we do
We turn an enterprise's real economic activity—what it makes, sells, delivers and the relationships it builds—into structured, permissioned evidence that buyers, programmes and funders can use to make decisions.
We don't lend. We don't score or rank. We don't decide. We make the evidence clear.
How we work
Every piece of evidence carries its source, method and date. A reviewer—a person, not an algorithm—checks it against real sources. Nothing is automated until it has been proven by hand. An enterprise owns its record and decides who sees it.
Why now
Real enterprises across South Africa operate outside the formal system. Government programmes, development funders and institutional buyers are ready to engage—they need to see the evidence first.
That's what we build.
Our location
Bhota Africa is based in Cape Town, South Africa. We're designing for African enterprises, starting with South Africa's informal and emerging sectors.
Contact
Get in touch
One form for everyone. Tell us who you are and we'll reply personally.