The core offer
Your technical leadership, without the full-time hire.
For businesses that want to build properly but don’t need, or can’t yet justify, a full-time CTO. I take ownership of your technology function: architecture decisions, vendor management, team oversight and long-term platform strategy.
What it actually means
I’m not a consultant who produces reports. I become part of your leadership team: I join strategy sessions, make the architectural decisions, manage your tech vendors, and make sure your technology spend lines up with where the business is going.
You get senior technical leadership without the salary, benefits and retention risk of a full-time hire. For bigger builds I bring in collaborators I trust, always under my direct oversight.
- Engagement
- Month to month. No lock-in, cancel any time.
- Role
- Fractional CTO / Technical Director
- Price
- From R2,500 to R25,000+ per month, depending on scope. Month to month, no lock-in.
What’s included
Fractional CTO
Senior technical leadership for board presentations, investor due diligence, team reviews and strategic planning.
AI adoption roadmap
A prioritised, costed plan for bringing AI into your operations: what to automate, when to build or buy, and how to manage the change.
Vendor management
I own the relationships with your SaaS providers, hosting and specialist contractors, and take technical procurement off your plate.
Architecture governance
A quarterly review of your stack against growth plans: technical debt, single points of failure, and what to consolidate.
Team oversight and hiring
Technical leadership for your internal developers. If you’re hiring, I define the roles and evaluate candidates.
Continuous platform evolution
Ongoing development from a shared backlog, prioritised together every month. No separate briefs, no change orders.
What I can lead or deliver for you
- Strategy & architectureMost businesses don’t need more software. They need someone to decide what to build, what to buy and what to retire, and then to make sure it’s built properly.
- AI & automationI map where your team loses time to repeatable document and data tasks, decide what’s worth automating, and build workflows that run reliably in production.
- Security & accessibilitySecurity, compliance and accessibility are design inputs, not afterthoughts. I build them in from the start, and review what you already have.
Who it’s for
Growth-stage businesses that have outgrown founder-led technology decisions but aren’t ready for a full-time CTO.
Established businesses changing how they work that need someone trusted to own the technical side of a complex change.
International businesses operating in South Africa that need local technical leadership who knows SA infrastructure, regulation and market conditions.
Investor-backed businesses that need technical strategy explained clearly to boards, investors or acquirers.
Current CTO partnerships
Mabili Skills Mabili sources, develops and maps digital skills, helping international organisations build verified, SFIA-aligned remote teams.
Growth Predictor Growth Predictor’s technology measures a company’s capacity to grow, predicting its future revenue and growth rate for investors, lenders and exchanges.
Nicole Barlow Nicole Barlow is an independent South African journalist and podcaster, publishing investigative articles, videos, the NicoleB Show and books.
[PLACEHOLDER] One short testimonial from a current partner
Who’s making your technology decisions right now?
If the honest answer is ‘nobody’ or ‘me, reluctantly’, let’s talk. We’ll start with an honest look at your current stack and what good technical leadership would change.
1 hour · R850, or 45 minutes · R550 · remote or in person, same price
or email henry@erzo.co.za
South African time (SAST, UTC+2). I reply to every message myself, within 24 hours.