Where and how AI pays off in your business, so you grow faster
You know AI matters. What you lack is a plan for where it pays off, and who owns it.
It takes about a minute. Then you pick your next step.
One day, in person in Johannesburg, for you and your AI portfolio owner. You leave with your AI plan finished, not another to-do list.
- 7 finished deliverables
- 8 bonuses
- The Leave-With-It Guarantee
Your staff already use AI. Nobody has decided where it pays.
Your people use AI every day, on work that goes to clients.
So what changed in your numbers? Same revenue. Same headcount. Same margin.
Nobody has said what is allowed, what can go into a tool, or who is in charge.
A hundred possible uses. No clear way to tell which ones make money.
One day, with your AI portfolio owner, replaces the experiment with a plan someone owns.
“The enterprise moves at the speed of its slowest unanswered question & decision.”
Francois van der Merwe, Founder & CEO, Otinga.io
Your details and a few quick questions, then you pick your next step.
What you'll get at the in-person workshop
One day. 7 finished deliverables, built on your own business. 8 bonuses on top. All of it is included for both of your seats.
Know where AI pays
A hundred possible uses. You leave knowing which to do first, and which to ignore.
AI Opportunity Map
Covered by the Leave-With-It GuaranteeEvery place AI could pay off, ranked by what it is worth and how hard it is. Built from your own staff's answers, and ready when you arrive.
Top 3 High-Impact Business Cases
Covered by the Leave-With-It GuaranteeThe three moves most likely to pay off in the next 90 days. At least one is in how you serve clients. Finished in the room.
Set the rules
Your staff already use AI. Now you decide what is allowed.
Draft AI Policy
Covered by the Leave-With-It GuaranteeWhich tools are allowed, what information can go in, and where a person must check the output. Ready to adapt and issue.
Your test for new AI tools Approved Tool Vetting Framework
A simple way to decide which new tools deserve a look. You stop chasing every launch.
Put someone in charge
A named owner and a regular review, so it lasts past the day.
Your AI owner and review rhythm AI Strategy Operating System
Who is in charge of AI in your business, and how it gets reviewed. This is how you stay in control.
Your follow-up routine Operational AI Playbook
Short, regular meeting agendas that make sure something actually happens after the day.
Your path from idea to standard practice AI Innovation Lifecycle
How an idea becomes a trial, then standard practice. And when to stop funding one that is not working.
Bonuses included
8 bonuses either side of the day, so the plan keeps moving.
Before the day
No-Panic Staff Announcement Kit
A script, email and FAQ to introduce the survey, so nobody reads it as job cuts.
Kick-Off Session
A live group session before the day, so getting your team ready is never a hassle.
Tools to keep
Safe Tools Shortlist
Vetted AI tools for South African businesses, with POPIA and data-handling notes.
Client AI Disclosure Template
How to tell clients how you use AI, so you are covered if they ask whether AI wrote it.
Partner and Exco Briefing Pack
A short pack to bring partners, exco or the board along, so buy-in does not stall.
Business Model AI Review Skills Pack
Ready-made AI skills to review your business model and find the use cases that matter.
After the day
AI Results Tracker
Tracks live use cases, staff usage and hours saved, so you can show it is paying off.
90-Day Results Review
A group session with the cohort at day 90, so momentum does not die after the day.
Everything above is included for your business and both of your seats.
The Leave-With-It Guarantee
Leave without your AI Opportunity Map, Top 3 High-Impact Business Cases and Draft AI Policy finished?
Francois finishes all three with the two of you in a private 90-minute session, free.
What we ask of you
Your staff survey is completed before the day.
Both of you attend the full day.
What it covers
Finishing those three outputs: your AI Opportunity Map, your Top 3 High-Impact Business Cases and your Draft AI Policy.
Limited to 15 businesses per workshop, with two seats each.
Every map is built from that business's own staff survey, and that takes real work.
30 minutes with Francois. He tells you straight whether the day fits.
Proof from one business
A professional services business of 15 to 50 people built the same seven deliverables privately with Francois. Within 90 days:
- 10+
- AI use cases live, from proposals and tenders to client documents, research and admin
- 3x
- the share of staff actively using AI
- AI Policy
- drafted and in place
“...moved teams from ideas to execution quickly, while still maintaining a high bar for impact.”
This result is from professional services. If your sector is different, ask Francois on the call what carries over.
An anonymised, real client result. One client's result, not a guarantee of your own outcome.
No obligation after the call.
The day
The work starts before you arrive, and it carries on after you leave.
Before the day
Each of your staff spends about 15 minutes on a short survey.
Your staff's survey answers are handled under a written POPIA operator agreement and reported back to you anonymised, introduced with a kick-off session and announcement kit so nobody reads it as job cuts.
On the day
One working day in Johannesburg with your AI portfolio owner, run by Francois: decisions, not code.
After the day
You leave with all seven outputs, ready for your partners or exco. At day 90 the cohort meets to review what has gone live.
Why two people
The director decides where budget and priority go. The AI portfolio owner does the follow-through. One day with both of them in the room is what makes the plan last.
Your details and a few quick questions, then you pick your next step.
The right fit
The day is built for a particular kind of business. Here is where it lands, and where it does not.
A good fit
You own or run a business of roughly 15 people or more.
You decide where the budget goes, or you decide it with one or two others.
You can bring your AI portfolio owner (a senior decision-maker, for example an MD, COO, CFO, partner, exco member, Head of IT or Head of People) to own the plan with you.
Your staff already use AI, and you want to see it, set the rules and point it where it pays.
Businesses outside professional services, and businesses over 150 people, are a fit too. The case study on this page is from professional services.
Not a fit
You're a sole practitioner, or a small team with no second senior person.
Your business already has an internal AI or data team.
You want someone to build AI systems for you on the day. The workshop gives you the plan and the control, and building is a separate conversation.
You want a motivational talk.
Not sure which side you're on? That's what the call is for.
30 minutes with Francois. He tells you straight whether the day fits.
Your host
Francois van der Merwe
Founder and CEO, Otinga
Most AI programmes fail on arithmetic, not ambition, which is why this day ends with a plan someone owns.
Francois runs every workshop himself, and he has delivered these same seven deliverables privately to businesses like yours.
He started Otinga in 2023. For years he had seen serious AI work get a standing ovation in the room, then disappear within the week. Nobody could say what it was worth, who owned it or whose budget it came out of.
Before Otinga
Built predictive AI models for the Tour de France.
Built automation platforms across the Middle East, Africa and globally.
Led innovation and technology teams, and helped set up an innovation lab inside a global ICT business.
Runs innovation events at scale, including a virtual one across more than 25 countries and 40 cities.
Works with South African and pan-African financial services, insurance and professional services businesses.
Trusted by leading enterprises
Next steps
Your details and a few quick questions
It takes about a minute. One tick covers workshop communication from Otinga, which you can stop at any time.
Your next step
Talk it through with Francois on a 30-minute call, or reserve your seats for one of the two cohorts.
Everything in writing
Your investment and dates are confirmed in writing before you commit. There is no obligation after the call.
No obligation after the call.
Questions
Who is it for, and who is it not for?
It's built for owners and directors who decide where the budget goes, in businesses of roughly 15 people or more, and who can bring a senior decision-maker, for example an MD, COO, CFO, partner, exco member, Head of IT or Head of People to own the plan with them. Businesses outside professional services (manufacturing, logistics, retail or financial services, for example), and businesses over 150 people, are a fit too. The case study on this page is from professional services. It's not for you if you're a sole practitioner or a very small team with no second senior person, if your company already has an internal AI or data team, or if you want someone to build AI systems for you on the day. The workshop gives you the plan and the control; building is a separate conversation.
Do I need to be technical?
No. If you can write an email, you can use everything covered on the day. Send the two people who know how the work really gets done, whether your team is already experimenting with AI or hasn't started. The day builds on wherever your business already is.
What's the investment?
It's a fixed investment under R35,000 including VAT for the two seats, confirmed in writing on the call before you commit. We'd rather spend 30 minutes making sure the day is right for you than ask you to decide from a web page.
What if we don't leave with a finished plan?
You're covered by the Leave-With-It Guarantee. Complete your staff survey and attend the full day with your AI portfolio owner. If you leave without your AI Opportunity Map, your Top 3 High-Impact Business Cases and your Draft AI Policy finished, Francois will finish them with the two of you in a private 90-minute session, free. It covers finishing those three outputs.
What if we can't make our date?
You pay in full when you book, by card or by EFT against a tax invoice. If your date stops working, you can move both seats to the other cohort at no charge if seats are available, or send two different people in your place. If Otinga cancels or moves a workshop, you choose a full refund or the new date. The full rules are in the workshop terms.
Where is it held?
It runs in person in Johannesburg, hosted at Henley Business School Africa. Each workshop is capped at 15 businesses, with two seats per business, because every business's map is built from its own staff survey and that takes real work. Two cohorts are open. Francois shares the exact dates on the call.
What happens on the call?
It's 30 minutes with Francois. He'll ask about your business, where AI is already showing up and who would own it, and answer anything you want to know about the day. Then he'll tell you honestly whether the workshop is the right next step. If it isn't, he'll say so. If it is, he'll walk you through the investment and how to reserve your two seats.
Leave with your AI plan finished, not another to-do list
Start with a 30-minute call with Francois. By the end of it, you'll know whether the workshop is right for your business.
- 30 minutes with Francois
- No obligation after the call
- Covered by the Leave-With-It Guarantee
Your investment is confirmed in writing on the call, before you commit.