- A tech startup has developed a crowdsourcing solution for grieving families faced with hefty funeral expenses.
- Sendoff plans to launch a crowdfunding platform in August, named Matshidiso, Sesotho for consolation.
- The product will be linked to a user’s phone, and donors can send money to a Matshidiso address from the Sendoff app.
Local tech startup Sendoff says it will have a crowdfunding platform – specific to funerals – up and running soon.
Sendoff, a funeral planning app first launched in May 2021, will be launching a crowdfunding platform on its app by August, CE Zolani Matebese told Business Insider South Africa.
The platform, essentially a mobile money account, will allow users to receive contributions from different people in one place to help cover some of the costs associated with a funeral.
The idea of crowdsourcing funds for funerals in South Africa is not new, but it is often not a well-monitored process, Matebese said.
Traditionally, in some organisations or social groupings, people have always donated funds to the deceased’s family to help lessen the financial burden.
“There’s no government around that register. Someone rips off a page you don’t know, as the family, and it’s just very unmanaged, and it’s also not scalable because you only do that for that one company [or social grouping]. It’s not integrated,” he said.
“We’ve come with what we think is a really smart way of doing it, where we link it to a user’s phone, and you can send people money, literally at the touch of a button from the Sendoff app, and it goes straight to their phone,” Matebese said.
The new crowdfunding product will be named Matshidiso, which in Sesotho refers to comfort or consolation, and is a phrase commonly used in funeral settings by people offering financial support and condolences to the deceased’s family.
The tool helps streamline the contributions and funnels them into a single cash pool.
“That’s manageable. Anybody in the country anywhere can send you money, and it also centralises the cash. With the current systems, you’ll get an eWallet here, [and] you’ll get a CashSend from Absa; the money comes from many different places,” Matebese said.
Users will be able to share the address to their Matshidiso mobile wallet with people who wish to make any contributions.
The company also just bagged a partnership with JSE-listed Calgro M3, a property developer that operates five memorial parks in South Africa. The agreement will see Calgro list its memorial parks as vendors on the Sendoff app, where users can order private graves.
Managing director for Calgro, Waldi Joubert, said the convenience of the app was one that appeals to many people, including those without family members to assist with funeral planning.
“The ease of use is also attractive in today’s increasingly online world, and where time is often a factor,” Joubert said.