Greg Cooke, a South African entrepreneur now based in the UK, is on a mission to fix one of Africa’s biggest but least-discussed business challenges: cross-border subcontracting. As co-founder and Head of Growth & Product at Rafiki, Cooke is building software that collapses the messy, error-prone world of multi-party subcontracting into one seamless workflow powered by stablecoin rails.
At its core, Rafiki tackles a fundamental friction: paying multiple freelancers, agencies, and independents across different countries remains painfully slow and costly. Traditional systems force one-by-one transactions that can take days and cost up to 5% in fees. Rafiki flips this model on its head by enabling instant, low-cost wallet-based settlements, bundling multiple invoices into one, and smoothing off-ramping into local currencies. It’s a design made for Africa’s growing subcontracting corridors, where creative, tech, and professional services teams are increasingly distributed across borders.
Cooke’s lightbulb moment came during a German client project that required coordinating talent from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and the UK. Despite trying every available payroll and freelancer management tool, nothing worked—the systems were too rigid, too tied to outdated one-to-one engagement models. The experience confirmed what Cooke already sensed: Africa’s shift toward fractional, collaborative work is real, but its financial infrastructure isn’t keeping up.
Backed by Baobab Network, Jobtech Alliance, CV Labs, and angel investors, Rafiki is still in private beta but already doubling down on embedding a fractional talent community directly into its SaaS. The goal isn’t cost arbitrage—Cooke is quick to debunk the myth that subcontracting is about cutting corners. Instead, he frames it as orchestration: just as building a house requires multiple skilled trades, world-class projects in marketing, strategy, and design emerge from diverse teams working in harmony. Rafiki’s role is to be the “conductor,” turning fragmented, manual subcontracting into a symphony of collaboration.
For Cooke, the vision extends beyond payments. His “magic wand” fix for Africa’s freelance economy would be ensuring independents and micro-agencies—the fastest-growing but most underserved workforce layer—gain access to benefits, security, and scalable financial services. By unlocking that foundation, he believes Africa can transform its fractional collaboration economy into a global powerhouse.
Outside the grind of startup building, Cooke finds grounding in running, music, and mountains—a mix of rhythm, endurance, and reflection that mirrors Rafiki’s mission: orchestrating many moving parts into one harmonious outcome.
