Standard Bank
Joburg.co.za

Partnership proposal for discussion

AI that helps SMEs win customers and grow sales.

An AI Growth Agent partnership to help SMEs automate lead generation, convert enquiries into sales and transact digitally. Support existing Standard Bank customers and attract new SMEs through a useful growth offering.

Explore the AI opportunity

Johannesburg first. Explore the wider network

A smiling merchant working at a shop counter with a payment device
Image: Standard Bank. Illustrative of the SME audience.
The product ambition

From growth insight
to action and transactions.

The proposed offering

An AI Growth Agent for existing and prospective SME customers, supported by Joburg.co.za’s business network and audiences. Assessment is in development; automation and transaction connections are later phases.

01 / The opportunity for Standard Bank

Help customers grow.
Give new SMEs a reason to join.

Explore a co-branded Growth Agent that makes practical AI accessible to business owners, with relevant banking and payment solutions available when they need them.

01

Existing SME customers

Invite Standard Bank customers to use the agent to identify growth opportunities and, as capabilities become available, automate approved marketing and sales activities.

Potential bank valueStronger engagement and retention, payment adoption and transaction activity.

02

New SMEs joining the platform

Use the Growth Agent as a reason for owners to register and claim their listings. Introduce relevant Standard Bank solutions to those who request banking or payment support.

Potential bank valueQualified prospects, new SME customers and merchant relationships.

Joining the platform and becoming a bank customer are separate steps. Bank contact requires the owner’s permission; product eligibility and onboarding remain Standard Bank’s responsibility. Commercial outcomes would be tested in the pilot.

02 / The AI Growth Agent

From insight to action.
From leads to sales.

The ambition is an AI growth assistant that understands the business, carries out approved activities and helps turn demand into revenue.

  1. 1

    Understand

    Assess the business’s online presence, competitors and customer demand. Recommend practical growth priorities.

    First release in development
  2. 2

    Act

    With owner approval and connected channels, improve profiles and prepare or publish offers and campaigns to generate leads.

    Later phase
  3. 3

    Convert

    Develop lead capture and follow-up workflows, then connect suitable booking, sales and payment tools.

    Future scope and integrations
  4. 4

    Learn

    Measure enquiries, sales and transactions where data is available, and use results to refine the next actions.

    Measurement to validate

Inside the Growth Agent

From business insight to a clear next step.

Existing product prototype

This existing prototype uses a bakery example. The intended assessment approach extends across business types; findings and timings shown are illustrative.

01Understand what needs attentionPrioritised issues, supporting evidence and the channel to improve.
Growth Agent prototype showing example Google profile and customer-review issues, with supporting evidence and suggested next steps.
Assessment prototype · illustrative findings, not a verified business audit. Open larger screen ↗
02See a coordinated growth planRecommended steps across Google, Joburg.co.za and social channels.
Growth Agent prototype showing a five-step birthday cake growth plan covering a Google profile, service listing, offer, content and distribution. Review and launch is disabled.
Action-plan prototype · publishing and execution are planned later-phase capabilities. Open larger screen ↗

Development status: assessment and recommendations are in development. Owner-approved execution is a later phase. Banking referrals are a proposed programme feature.

The agent’s goal is measurable SME revenue growth. It would connect to approved payment services; Standard Bank retains responsibility for banking products, customer onboarding and financial decisions.

03 / Why Joburg.co.za and Velocity

A growth product.
A route to market.

Joburg.co.za: discovery that supports local business

Publishing since 2004, Joburg.co.za connects people with businesses, events and offers. Owners can manage their listings as we develop the platform’s growth services.

Velocity: the growth expertise behind it

Velocity helps businesses attract customers, convert enquiries into sales and improve retention. That expertise informs the agent’s customer acquisition, conversion and retention workflows, currently in development.

Monthly website users
150k
Across Joburg.co.za and Pretoria.co.za
Email subscribers
100k
Across the two city brands
Social followers
400k+
Across six Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts
Business listings
15k
Currently on Joburg.co.za

Website, email and listings: management-reported, September 2026. Social: checked 13 September 2026. Consumer audiences overlap; these are not unique people or SME owners. Listings do not imply owner participation.

Explore the audiences: Joburg Facebook · Instagram · TikTokPretoria Facebook · Instagram · TikTok

04 / Supporting adoption

Connect the agent
to local demand.

Joburg.co.za gives the agent a business profile to work from and publishing channels through which agreed offers can reach consumers. Retail, trades, services and hospitality are all potential use cases.

  1. PrepareInvite eligible owners, improve listings and prepare an offer or service to promote.
  2. PromoteFeature selected offers and owner stories through agreed website, newsletter and social placements.
  3. Follow upTrack response and offer an optional banking conversation.

A role inside the growth experience

A co-branded offering

Explore Standard Bank branding and supported access to the agent for an agreed SME audience. Eligibility, onboarding and the funding model would be designed together.

Relevant knowledge and solutions

Explore bank-approved business resources within the agent’s guidance, alongside optional introductions to suitable banking and payment solutions.

Illustrative concept. Eligibility, support capacity, placements, brand approvals and budget would be agreed before launch.

See an example of how participating businesses could reach consumers
Illustrative campaign placementProposed sponsorship · subject to agreement
Joburg.co.za
Proposed support from
Standard Bank

Discover local businesses

Your next great find.
Right here in Joburg.

Explore shops, services and the people behind them.

Clothing rails in a boutique, illustrating independent retail

Retail

Find your next favourite

A local shop’s seasonal collection.

Discover the collection
A craftsperson working with timber, illustrating local trades

Home services & trades

Find help for your next project

A service profile that invites enquiries.

Explore the service
A barber serving a customer, illustrating appointment-based businesses

Beauty & wellness

Make time for yourself

A local business with appointments to book.

See appointment options

Also relevant to fitness, professional services, hospitality and experiences. Pilot sectors would be agreed together.

Example content and imagery, not participating businesses or a live campaign. Each feature would link to the business’s listing, offer or enquiry route.

Photography: A65 Design, Minh Đức, Mitchell Orr / Unsplash.

05 / A phased partnership

Validate the agent.
Then expand its role.

First release in development

Assess and recommend

Validate assessment quality and usefulness with an agreed SME group before offering wider access.

Later phase

Execute approved actions

Introduce connected channels, owner permissions and support processes. Test lead generation and conversion workflows.

Future integration

Enable digital transactions

Agree payment connections and outcome feedback. Measure product adoption and transaction activity where available.

The local publishing platform is available today. Agent access, co-branding, automated execution and banking integrations are proposed, with launch dependent on validated readiness and agreed scope.

Joburg.co.za & Velocity

Develop and operate the agent, onboard participating owners and deliver agreed distribution, support and reporting.

Standard Bank

Help shape the customer offering, consider funding or supported access, invite eligible customers and own banking follow-up and product onboarding.

06 / Proving value

Measure SME growth.
Track value for the bank.

Agree a phased pilot for existing bank customers and new SMEs joining through Joburg.co.za. Set the cohort, duration, budget and targets around product readiness and reachable owners.

Set baselines and consider a comparison group to distinguish programme impact from normal activity. Review results before expanding.

01

Agent adoption

SME registrations, assessments completed, approved actions and repeat usage, tracked separately for each audience.

02

SME progress

Qualified leads, lead-to-sale conversion and evidenced bookings, sales or time saved, as capabilities become available.

03

Bank outcomes

Existing customers: engagement and payment usage. New prospects: requested conversations, bank-accepted referrals, account or merchant activation and transaction activity where measurable.

Agree contact permission, routing, follow-up, outcome feedback and attribution before launch. Keep consumer reach separate from owner participation.

07 / The wider opportunity

Prove it in one city.
Grow across the network.

Expand the programme only after evidence of demand, delivery readiness and measurable value.

Joburg.co.za

Proposed starting city

Pretoria.co.za

Established publisher · proposed programme expansion

CapeTown.city

Planned next rollout

Durbs.co.za

Planned next rollout

Town.co.za

The broader national vision

A national discovery and comparison vision, to explore separately.

Listing roadmap: target 150,000 total Joburg.co.za listings within 12 months, from 15,000 today. Johannesburg only, excluding Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban.

City brands indicate expansion potential, not confirmed programme launches.

08 / The next decision

Explore an AI growth
partnership for SMEs.

A 30-minute discussion with the marketing team to assess the Growth Agent opportunity for existing and prospective customers, then identify the right SME and merchant-services colleagues for a phased pilot brief.

Discuss with Ryan

Ryan Sessel · Velocity / Joburg.co.za

  1. 1

    Choose the business audience

    Which owners and needs come first?

  2. 2

    Agree the value exchange

    Define agent access, branding, business resources and the funding model.

  3. 3

    Confirm ownership and success

    Agree product readiness, delivery and banking owners, and measurable outcomes.