In a year that load-shedding has reached unprecedented levels, the founders of power-tracking app EskomSePush (ESP) must be among the busiest people in South Africa. Particularly when you consider that Herman Maritz and Dan Wells are the only two people working on an app that’s used by more than 7-million South Africans.
They’re looking to make their first hire — but until then, “it’s a 24/7 job”, Maritz tells the FM.
The smartphone app sends notifications to users when load-shedding is being implemented — and at what level — and when particular areas will be without power. It’s become as much a part of daily life as power cuts themselves.
ESP had something of a modest start. When the national power utility plunged South Africa into stage 3 load-shedding in early December 2014, Maritz and Wells decided they needed a way to plan their December holiday around the blackouts. So they devised a system that would send them notifications about the changing power situation.
Later, they let family and friends into the circle. After devoting a weekend to developing a full-fledged app, ESP was on its way. Within a year, it had 1.5-million users.
Still, Maritz and Wells stayed in their software management jobs. But as load-shedding gained momentum again in late 2021, Maritz took the plunge, leaving to work full-time on ESP. Wells joined him in August 2022.
The pair make most of their money from advertising, they say — though they do try to balance that with the user experience, so they don’t “spam” their supporters.
“Our main goal is getting as many users as possible, not as much money as possible,” says Maritz. “We have no plans to make [the app] paid-for.”
There is, however, the option for users to pay to remove ads (about R30 a month). And there’s the API, or application programming interface, which allows businesses to put ESP’s data to use. For professionals, an API subscription comes at $12 (about R200) a month, allowing for 200 requests for information a day; for companies it’s in the region of $550 (for up to 2,500 requests a day).
“Something cool that I didn’t expect is that we’re now helping other companies deal with load-shedding,” says Maritz. “The business is currently [used] by mobile networks and large corporations.”
As the founders note, the API service includes contact centres, allows load-shedding management for remote workforces and informs technicians of upcoming load-shedding in areas where they’ll be working. In short, it allows companies to plan their operations around scheduled blackouts.
Listed clothing retailer TFG — which employs thousands of people and generates hundreds of millions of rand — is among the companies that has subscribed.
Company CEO Anthony Thunstrom tells the FM that the TFG store teams use ESP to plan their staffing schedules around load-shedding. “More importantly, our customers are increasingly using the app to plan their trips to malls and our stores around the load-shedding-related traffic disruptions,” he says.
Lucienne van Pul, partner at communications consultancy Avenue, says the app has become essential to business operations. “We have moved meetings based on the accurate information provided via the app and check updates on a daily basis,” she says.
Larry Hodes, a restaurateur and owner of three businesses, says his operations are “very reliant” on the app. And, he adds: “The name makes us all smile every day”.
So how did the cheeky name come about?
Maritz and Wells both used to work at a company that builds apps for banks. They often discussed “push notifications” and how these could be used to update banking customers. When someone with a heavy Afrikaans accent — “including me”, says Maritz — said “push”, “it made our day”.
The mute button on the conference equipment, he quips, is most convenient when you need a private chuckle.
Something cool that I didn’t expect is that we’re now helping other companies deal with load-shedding. The business is currently [used] by mobile networks and large corporations
— Herman Maritz
To keep their app up to date, the team draws information “from public sources of information. We don’t have any sneaky handshakes or secret chat groups. We have friendly relationships with Eskom and various municipalities,” he says. Some municipalities even recommend ESP.
Still, he believes there could be closer collaboration with municipalities, particularly for ESP’s AskMyStreet option. At present, AskMyStreet connects users with others nearby to share information on water, road and fire issues, missing pets and the like. But buy-in from municipalities could extend that to “outages, notices, maintenance, rates [and] bylaw changes”.
So, working in the load-shedding trenches day in and day out, do Maritz and Wells ever get depressed about the state of South Africa?
“Nope, South Africans are resilient,” says Maritz. “Our biggest learning at ESP is that information is power, and by giving South Africans accurate information, they can make good decisions.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.