Informal Solutions Provider rescues South Africa’s Micro-Jobbing platform, M4JAM

M4JAM, South Africa’s micro-jobbing platform has been given a lifeline by Informal Solutions Provider.

The startup ran into financial difficulty and announced in May this year that it was stopping trading.

“M4JAM ran into some financial difficulty and the original founders were searching for a buyer. At the same time, Informal Solution Providers realised we needed a more dynamic strategy to attract and retain customers by means of an extensive product portfolio and value proposition,” Richard Dunn, chief executive of Informal Solution Providers, told Fin24.

The company said it will reward the 130 000 remaining jobbers on the platform, but that there will not be any immediate pay for micro jobs.

“As we work on enhancing the platform, jobbers will only be able to complete non-paid jobs; this is part of our plan to offer them real and immediate value in the long term,” said Dunn.

Co-founder and former CEO Andre Hugo will not stay on with the company.

He told ITWeb: “All I can say is that we have exited the business as part of the sale process and both Warren [Venter] and I are working on new opportunities in the tech space at the moment.”