Young South African Entrepreneur Launches FlexWork Digital Hiring Engine for SMEs

A recent Richfield Information Technology Honours graduate, 25-year-old Nhlanhla Mabena, has successfully launched a new digital hiring platform named FlexWork. The platform went live at the end of September 2025 and is specifically designed to make the recruitment process more structured, transparent, and significantly more affordable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across South Africa. FlexWork is built as a self-service hiring engine, offering a comprehensive suite of tools tailored for smaller businesses, including centralized job posting, applicant tracking, streamlined communication features, and effective candidate filtering, all within a single user-friendly interface. The platform aims to replace fragmented and often inefficient hiring methods, such as relying solely on spreadsheets and lengthy email trails, with a centralized system that meticulously records every interaction and drastically reduces candidate drop-off rates due to poor communication. For job seekers, FlexWork allows for detailed profile creation, uploading of CVs and portfolios, and provides real-time tracking of their applications. The platform leverages smart alerts to recommend relevant roles based on assessed skills and stated preferences, moving towards a skills-first model rather than relying only on traditional job titles. FlexWork has already shown promising early traction, registering its initial employers, onboarding over 200 users, and establishing four early talent pools focused on high-demand digital and professional skills. The platform was recently showcased at the FNB App of the Year Hackathon 2025 in the ‘Jobs and Economic Resilience’ category. Mabena stated the platform’s development was motivated by a desire to close critical gaps in traditional hiring systems that frequently leave job applicants without feedback and employers lacking structured tools to manage high volume applications. The future development phase for FlexWork includes expanding its talent pool capabilities, introducing a credit-based unlocking system for deeper candidate engagement, and onboarding partner consultants to offer sourcing and screening support to busy employers.