Hey there 👋,

Today’s issue marks the 4th issue of LaunchWeek, which in itself might not seem like a big deal, however, it means that LaunchWeek has been going for a full month by now and you have been there from the beginning. To that, I say thank you. Now, while LaunchWeek will continue to grow into something great, it will always have a single goal.

To share and celebrate the work of South African developers.

Recently, I found myself sitting at a table where someone sarcastically asked, "Which South African has ever been the best in the world at anything?". I can easily name several, but I work with great software engineers daily and I confidently believe that the software developers in South Africa can compete with Silicon Valley anytime.

Enjoy the letter 🚀.

LAUNCH

🐻 Bear

Bear is a beautiful, blogging platform built by Herman Martinus. With it you can create your own blog, for free and write posts using simple markdown language. Not only does it offer a nice, lightweight approach to blogging but if you sign up for the affordable paid plan, it also lets you:

• Link a custom domain

• Publish up to 10 sites

• Upload media or files

• Capture emails for a subscriber list

• Add custom JavaScript to page content

Bear is built using Python and Django and hosted on Heroku, with a PostgreSQL database. The platform has helped many people already, and I would personally suggest you look into it if you were considering creating a blog.

DEVELOPER TOOL

🔁 Reffresh

Reffresh, built by Nic Malan, is a tool that lets you create mock APIs for your project enabling you to speed up frontend development while you wait for that one teammate to add @Controller to their Java API. With Reffresh, you can:

• Enjoy unlimited sites

• Create unlimited endpoints

• Work with unlimited fields

The only restriction which the free plan seems to have, is that you are limited to 100 free requests per month.

SHARE & CELEBRATE

🚀 LaunchWeek Wants Your Story

Over the past four weeks, I've been showcasing the incredible work of software developers across South Africa—ranging from fully functional products to insightful articles. My goal is to foster a vibrant community where developers can connect, learn, and grow together.

If you have a project or a valuable lesson to share, I’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to me at [email protected]. I have more inspiring stories in the pipeline, and I'm confident yours will fit right in!

COMMERCIAL BREAK

🙌 Entelect is hiring

Entelect Software has taken Sunday Times’s Best Place to Work 2024 and the great thing is that they are hiring! Especially Java engineers but they also have roles open for mobile developers, JavaScript developers and .NET developers. Reach out to us for more information on how you can potentially join this great company.

MEME