Sandboxes and Scaleups
From Experiments to Enterprises
Formely Manuh Collective
Join a community of startups and growth partners building pilots, partnerships, and go-to-market strategies that accelerate commercialisation
Why?
Over 90% of startups fail—often due to poor market fit, cash flow gaps, or weak teams—while even VC-backed ventures miss growth targets.
We focus on building strong, context-specific venture ecosystems that are grounded in local realities yet interoperable across markets.
We don’t fund or build your product—we help you launch, test, and scale by refining pilots, partnerships, positioning, and pricing.
Think of us as human playbooks, sharing real lessons from our wins and mistakes to help founders troubleshoot and safeguard growth.
How?
Learn with the Community
Access a global network of responsible tech entrepreneurs,
scholars, practitioners, freelance professionals, and venture partners.
Mentoring and peer learning, domain specific deep dives,
and working groups through the SANDBOX.
CATALYST
BUILD YOUR CAPACITY
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1:1 mentoring and peer support, working groups.
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Strategy sprints, founder knowledge exchanges and themed cohorts.
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Focus on early traction, idea validation, and leadership development.
GAIN TRACTION AND STRUCTURE
COMPASS
GUIDE YOUR VENTURE
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Project-based consulting for marketing, sales, user research, licensing, or growth ops.
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Flexible engagements: short-term missions or extended collaborations.
GAIN EXECUTION SUPPORT AND STRATEGIC CLARITY
CIRCLE
CREATE A SUSTAINABLE COLLABORATION ECOSYSTEM
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Membership-based or one-off access to a vetted talent hub — freelancers, operators, designers, and project leads.
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We handle governance, commissions, and international compliance, including wages and contracts.
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The Sandbox is our pilot space, experimenting with collaboration models, pricing structures, and talent pipelines.
A TRUSTED AND VALUES-ALIGNED GLOBAL NETWORK
Why mentoring?
Good mentors share hard-won experience, not theory. Skip the trial and error. Detours. Rookie mistakes. Make smarter bets.
Good mentors are your sounding board — building resilience, confidence, and better leadership under uncertainty.
Good mentors ask hard questions, sharpen your story, and cut the noise— clearer pitch, stronger alignment, more “yes" from prospects and investors.
Mentoring is not volunteering but critical venture design.
READ MORE...
Nicole Gray (ALX Ventures,
South Africa)
Your support as a mentor of Ariel Robotics was instrumental, and your commitment extended beyond one-on-one mentorship. Your presence and guidance during our pitch practice sessions with the wider cohort of South African founders was particularly impactful. You offered constructive feedback, strategic clarity, and a calm, focused energy that helped several founders strengthen their narratives and delivery ahead of our showcase.
Landile Mabele (Co-Founder,
Ariel Robotics)
The way you captured the journey of Ariel Robotics, our mission, and the innovation we're striving for in Africa’s supply chains is both powerful and deeply appreciated. I love the emphasis on storytelling, and I completely agree with your decision to keep the focus on the narrative—it's authentic and impactful.