A small SA team, building the WhatsApp agent we wished existed.

We started because we were the customers — drowning in WhatsApp messages, with no bot that was good enough to trust. So we built one.

Why we built this

In South Africa, WhatsApp is the inbox.

96% of South Africans use WhatsApp every day. Customers don't email. They don't fill in forms. They WhatsApp the number on the bottom of the receipt and expect a reply.

Most businesses can't keep up. A few staff, a borrowed phone, hundreds of messages an hour. So messages go unanswered, leads go cold, and good customers churn.

We built Syncchat so a small team can run WhatsApp like a 24/7 contact centre — with one AI agent doing the boring 80%, and your people handling what actually needs a person.

96%
of South Africans use WhatsApp daily
25M+
SA WhatsApp users in 2026
72%
prefer chat over a call
<60s
expected reply time
How we got here

Built out of a real headache.

2024

The problem

One of us was running a 6-person retail business. WhatsApp messages were drowning the team. We tried 4 different bots — all bad. They couldn't lookup an order or hold an item.

Early 2025

The hack

We rigged up a workflow engine + an AI model to read incoming WhatsApp and call our inventory API. Customers couldn't tell it wasn't a person. Response time dropped from 4 hours to 30 seconds.

Mid 2025

The realisation

Every business we showed this to wanted it. So we wrapped the workflow in a real product, added a CRM, a team, dashboards. Syncchat.

2026

Now

Helping South African businesses turn their busiest channel into their easiest one. Same workflow-powered agent under the hood — just a lot more polish around it.

What we believe

The four things we won't compromise on.

💬
VALUE / 01

Replies before forms.

If a customer can chat in 5 seconds, don't make them fill in 5 fields. Our whole product is built around this.

VALUE / 02

Boring tech, novel UX.

We use a battle-tested workflow engine, a leading AI model, and solid infrastructure — all stable, all well-understood. The magic is in how we wire them together.

🔍
VALUE / 03

Show, don't guess.

Every AI message is logged. Every agent decision is auditable. You see exactly what is happening, never wondering.

🌍
VALUE / 04

Built in 🇿🇦, for 🇿🇦.

Local pricing in ZAR. Africa/Joburg timezone everywhere. POPIA-aware. Made for the messy reality of selling here.

The team

Small team. Loud product.

AP

Andre du Plessis

Founder & CEO

Was running the retail shop that started all this. Now obsessed with making customer support disappear.

TM

Thabo Mokoena

Co-founder, Engineering

Wires up the workflow engine and AI plumbing that makes every reply feel instant.

PS

Priya Sharma

Head of Product

Designs how the agent thinks. Obsessive about guardrails and graceful handoffs.

NV

Nadia van der Berg

Customer success

Hand-holds new clients through their first AI deployment. Has set up 200+ agents.

The stack

Boring tech we trust.
No magic. No black boxes.

Every Syncchat conversation flows through the same well-understood tools you can audit, debug, and trust.

W
Workflows
Automation engine
A
AI Model
Best-in-class LLM
P
PostgreSQL
Database + auth
W
WhatsApp API
Official gateway
R
React
Web platform
P
Payments
ZAR billing

Want to chat?
On WhatsApp, of course.

Drop us a message. Our own AI agent will answer first — a real human steps in if you ask, or it can't.

Get in touchTry the demo