Public debates about artificial intelligence (AI) tend to swing between extremes. On one end, there are utopian visions of automated cities, domestic robots and self-driving everything. On the other, there are concerns about misinformation, job displacement and digital exploitation.
Yet the most meaningful impact of AI is taking place quietly; not in science fiction or crisis scenarios, but in the everyday frustrations that consume time, energy and opportunity. Real progress is often unglamorous.
South Africa’s rental market illustrates the urgent need for smarter, more efficient systems. With over four million households renting and up to one million new tenants entering the market each year, the process remains slow, repetitive and frustrating for both tenants and agents.
Applicants are forced to resubmit the same documents for each listing, face long waiting periods, and often receive little feedback, while agents sift through hundreds of unqualified applications, conduct manual vetting and battle administrative overload.
The challenge isn’t a lack of demand, but a lack of structure and automation. A streamlined, data-driven approach could remove friction from every stage of the process, creating a faster, more transparent, and more equitable rental experience for all parties involved.
This is precisely the kind of environment where AI can add practical value. Rather than replacing human judgement, it can streamline the processes that delay it.
Technology does not need to be futuristic to be transformative.
Some South African founders are already building in this direction. One example is offered by the digital rental platform developed by Tentra. It removes duplication by allowing renters to create one reusable application profile and enables agents to conduct pre-authorisation checks and rank applicants through a centralised system, powered by AI.
The innovation here is not loud or experimental. It is simple, effective and targeted at a pain point experienced at scale.
This approach reflects a principle that experienced start-up founders understand well: technology does not need to be futuristic to be transformative.
Too often, the entrepreneurial imagination is captured by whatever looks most advanced, be it blockchain ecosystems, non-fungible tokens, flying vehicles or humanoid robotics. These ideas resonate with ambition and aspiration, but they can distract from more immediate and solvable challenges.
History shows that many of the most commercially successful and socially impactful ventures emerged from addressing persistent, everyday obstacles.
Uber connects riders with available drivers. Mr D delivers food to people who were already planning to eat. EasyEquities lowers the cost and complexity of investing. None of these ideas were revolutionary in concept; they were powerful because they removed familiar barriers.
South Africa does not lack for grand challenges that demand long-term vision, from curing disease to eliminating energy scarcity. But it also faces daily frictions that limit productivity, dignity and access.
Delivering clean water to remote communities, matching qualified teachers to underserved schools and making it easier for working families to secure decent housing are not trivial tasks. They may not appear futuristic, but they are foundational to economic growth and social cohesion.
Preparing the country’s youth for an AI-driven economy is not only a matter of teaching technical literacy. It also requires building a culture of relevance, encouraging young innovators to focus on the problems that define lived experience.
Technology that improves the life of a schoolchild in Qunu or a pensioner in Mitchell’s Plain carries more long-term value than tools designed only for the affluent or digitally privileged. The true mission of AI-led innovation should be inclusive progress, not spectacle.
South Africa has the entrepreneurial talent and technological capability to build solutions that matter. The opportunity lies not in imagining a distant future, but in redesigning the present.
Share