About Refreshi Exchange
Built by people who understand the trade.
Refreshi Exchange was founded to solve a real problem in the South African FMCG market — surplus stock that loses value every day it sits in a warehouse. We built a structured, verified marketplace to change that.
From surplus problem to structured solution.
South Africa's FMCG market loses billions of rand worth of stock every year — not because there's no demand for it, but because there's no efficient, trusted way to move it. Manufacturers and distributors were relying on cold calls, informal networks, and spreadsheets to shift surplus.
Refreshi Exchange was built to close that gap. A verified, structured marketplace where surplus stock finds its market — quickly, transparently, and with a clear paper trail from listing to handover.
We are part of the broader Refreshi ecosystem, focused specifically on the B2B layer of the South African food and consumer goods supply chain.
The Team
The people behind the platform.
Three co-founders with complementary backgrounds — commercial, operational, and technical — built around a shared understanding of how the South African FMCG market actually works.
Jakob Holbak
Co-Founder & CEO
Leads overall strategy and vision for Refreshi Exchange. Jakob brings deep experience in building and scaling businesses in emerging markets, with a focus on sustainable commerce and supply chain innovation across southern Africa.
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Greg Whitfield
Co-Founder & CFO
Greg co-founded DinePlan — South Africa's leading restaurant reservation and management platform — before co-founding Refreshi. He brings a proven track record of building and scaling technology businesses in the South African market, and provides strategic backing and entrepreneurial weight to the Refreshi ecosystem.
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Martin Rose
Co-Founder & CTO
Martin co-founded DinePlan alongside Greg, building it into South Africa's most widely used restaurant tech platform. His expertise in product development and technology entrepreneurship underpins the founding vision of Refreshi and the broader ecosystem in which Refreshi Exchange operates.
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Richard Honeyman
Co-Founder & CCO
Drives commercial relationships, seller and buyer acquisition, and market growth. Richard brings hands-on experience in the South African FMCG sector and understands the pressures manufacturers and distributors face when managing surplus stock.
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Bradley Ford
Co-Founder & COO
Leads product design and platform development for Refreshi Exchange — from architecture and integrations to the end-to-end user experience. Bradley built the platform from the ground up, focused on structured, reliable systems that work for real B2B transactions.
LinkedIn ProfileHow We Operate
Built on a few firm principles.
Verification before access
Every buyer and seller is verified before they can transact. No anonymous listings, no unvetted buyers.
Every transaction documented
From order to handover, every step is structured, recorded and traceable. Controlled collection or delivery, with a clear paper trail on every deal.
Both sides win
Sellers move stock they couldn't otherwise shift. Buyers access quality FMCG at better prices. The marketplace only works if both sides keep coming back.