Riyp and Uzair Essack: Finding opportunity where everyone else saw leftovers
Riyp founder Uzair Essack built a successful fruit export business by helping South African farmers find international buyers for overlooked parts of their harvest while focusing on steady, sustainable growth.
Most people do not think twice about the fruit they buy.
An apple, a bunch of grapes or a punnet of blueberries appears on a supermarket shelf looking fresh and perfect.
Few of us stop to think about the journey behind it or how much of a farmer's harvest never reaches its full value.
That is the challenge Uzair Essack set out to solve.
Growing up in Mayfair, Johannesburg, Uzair did not come from generations of farmers or established agricultural networks.
Instead, while still a student, he recognised that South African farmers were losing value between harvesting their crops and getting them into the hands of international buyers.
So, he built Riyp.
Today, Riyp connects South African growers with markets around the world, but what makes the business different is that it does not compete for the easiest opportunities.
Instead, it specialises in finding buyers for the parts of a harvest that others often overlook, including unusual sizes, lower grades, difficult shipping windows and markets that require a little more creativity.
It is a simple idea with a powerful impact.
Farmers do not produce only perfect fruit. Every harvest is different, and every piece has value if it can find the right market.
By helping growers unlock more value across their entire harvest, Riyp is not simply exporting fruit. It is solving a commercial problem that many others have ignored.
A lesson every business owner can learn
One of the biggest insights from Uzair's Future50 conversation is that sustainable businesses are not built overnight. His advice is refreshingly straightforward: build brick by brick.
Too many businesses chase rapid growth without first building the systems, relationships and foundations needed to support it. This often creates unnecessary pressure, damages customer trust and stretches suppliers beyond their limits. Steady growth may feel slower, but it creates stronger businesses that last.
Solve the problems others avoid
Riyp's success also highlights another important lesson. Many businesses compete for the same customers by offering similar products or services.
The real opportunity often lies somewhere else. Instead of asking, ‘Where is the biggest market?’, successful entrepreneurs ask, ‘Which customer problem is not being solved well enough?’
Businesses that solve difficult, overlooked problems become valuable because they remove frustrations that others have simply accepted.
It is a strategy that applies whether you are exporting fruit, building software, running a construction company or opening a neighbourhood café.
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