Maru Online — Partnership Framework
GrowthIQ & Growth Firm —
Digital Infrastructure
& AI Partnership
Digital Infrastructure
& AI Partnership
Prepared for SeokaneInc
01The partnership in plain language
This is a working partnership, not a vendor relationship. Maru takes ownership of the digital infrastructure, brand, and growth execution — SeokaneInc runs the business and the client relationships. We grow together.
The engagement covers two distinct but connected entities. GrowthIQ is the primary opportunity — a product business with a defined market and a scalable revenue model. Growth Firm is the professional services anchor that feeds and validates GrowthIQ.
Primary engagement
GrowthIQ
A B-BBEE ESD compliance platform jointly owned by SeokaneInc and Growth Firm. South African corporates are legally required to spend on ESD. SeokaneInc has a target list of 80–100 companies. The product works — the infrastructure and outreach have not. That changes here.
Supporting engagement
Growth Firm
Professional services firm — accounting, tax, payroll, legal. The website rebuild and SEO remediation addressed in the diagnostic report. Strong foundation, underperforming digital presence. Runs alongside GrowthIQ, not after it.
Why GrowthIQ leads
The ESD compliance market is not discretionary. Corporates must spend — it is a legal obligation tied to their B-BBEE scorecard. GrowthIQ — jointly owned by SeokaneInc and Growth Firm — already has the product, the domain, and 14 active clients. The 80–100 corporate target list represents a defined, reachable market. Maru's role is to build the infrastructure and execution engine that converts that list into signed contracts.
02GrowthIQ — The opportunity
The portal at portal.growthiq.co.za was built correctly at the data layer — the problem is presentation, access, and execution, not product. Previous outreach underperformed because of how it was done, not what was being sold. The three things Maru addresses: access (establish integration foundation without disrupting the live portal), presentation (brand, portal UX, AI layer), outreach (corporate pipeline execution).
Current state: Portal hosted at Afrihost, built and maintained by NetGen. SeokaneInc pays R1,380/month. SeokaneInc holds contractual ownership of the source code — physical access to the codebase needs to be confirmed. The growthiq.co.za domain is registered and owned by SeokaneInc. GrowthIQ as a separate company entity is not yet formally registered.
Target state: Maru builds the AI layer, new brand assets, and Growth Firm website rebuild in parallel — with the portal remaining at Afrihost for now. Everything new is built on Maru-managed infrastructure. Once the new layer is live and tested, migration of the portal is evaluated on its merits. The portal stays stable throughout; nothing is disrupted during the build.
03GrowthIQ — Phases & deliverables
1
GrowthIQ
Access & integration foundation
Establish the technical foundation Maru needs to build on — without touching the live portal or disrupting the current hosting arrangement. The portal remains at Afrihost throughout this phase. The goal is access, not migration. This phase answers the critical questions that determine everything that follows: what does the codebase look like, does an API exist, and how does Maru connect to the portal's data for the AI layer.
Deliverables
Source code obtained and reviewed — stack, structure, and deployability confirmed
API layer confirmed or scoped — the bridge the AI layer will connect to
DNS control transferred to SeokaneInc — domain no longer dependent on NetGen
Portal monitoring repaired — Sentry reinstated, uptime alerts active
Phase 2 and Phase 3 scopes and fees confirmed based on findings
What stays unchanged
Portal remains live at Afrihost — no disruption to current clients
NetGen hosting arrangement continues — no confrontation required at this stage
Migration decision deferred — evaluated only once new layer is built and tested
2
GrowthIQ
Brand spin-out & portal remediation
Establish GrowthIQ as a standalone brand. New marketing website at growthiq.co.za — separate from Growth Firm, positioned at corporate buyers. Portal UX fixes from the diagnostic: correct default landing screen, direct navigation to compliance tasks and documents, expiry alert system, test data removal, mobile layout, error monitoring repair. Analytics installed across portal and website.
Deliverables
GrowthIQ brand identity (logo, colour, typography)
GrowthIQ marketing website — corporate-facing, ESD compliance positioning
Portal UX remediation (all critical findings from diagnostic)
Analytics foundation — portal usage, client engagement tracking
Client onboarding flow — from signed contract to active portal user
3
GrowthIQ
AI integration layer & corporate outreach engine
Two parallel workstreams. AI integration: automated client journey report generation, at-risk client flagging before deadlines are missed, portfolio-level insights for corporate clients — built on top of the portal's existing compliance data. Outreach engine: SeokaneInc's 80–100 company target list run through an AI-powered segmentation and outreach system. Personalised corporate pitch sequences, CRM pipeline, conversion tracking. Maru designs and manages the outreach; SeokaneInc closes the deals.
Deliverables
AI-generated compliance report automation (per client, per period)
At-risk client alerts — proactive, not reactive
Corporate target list segmented and sequenced for outreach
Outreach sequences — personalised per company, ESD obligation context
Pipeline tracking dashboard — leads, meetings, proposals, closed
04Growth Firm — Website & brand
Runs in parallel with GrowthIQ Phase 2. The diagnostic report covers the full findings. The rebuild addresses the root cause: WordPress/Elementor cannot deliver competitive performance on South African mobile connections. This is a rebuild, not a patch.
A
Growth Firm
Website rebuild & SEO foundation
Rebuild growthfirm.co.za on Next.js, hosted on Vercel. All critical diagnostic findings addressed: unique page descriptions, local search targeting (Fourways, Gauteng), team profiles, accreditation logos on homepage, working contact form, Privacy Policy, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Google Business Profile. Clean separation between Growth Firm (professional services) and GrowthIQ (product platform).
Deliverables
New website — fast, mobile-first, built for local search
All diagnostic critical issues resolved
Analytics and Search Console live from day one
Google Business Profile set up and verified
GrowthIQ portal linked as client login
05Fee structure
Note on pricing: Ranges below are indicative based on comparable engagements. Final figures are confirmed at kick-off once the source code has been reviewed, the portal technology stack confirmed, and the full remediation scope established. A one-hour technical review of the codebase is the first action — it unlocks accurate pricing across all phases. No work begins without agreed figures and a signed purchase order.
| Item | Type | Indicative Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 — Infrastructure migration | Project | R8,000–R15,000 | Confirmed after source code and technology stack review. Includes NetGen exit, hosting setup, staging environment. Upper end applies if codebase requires significant environment reconfiguration. |
| Phase 2 — GrowthIQ brand + portal remediation | Project | R35,000–R55,000 | Fixed-price basis. 50% on kick-off, 50% on delivery. Range depends on depth of portal UX remediation required once source code is accessible. |
| Growth Firm website rebuild | Project | R25,000–R35,000 | Runs parallel to Phase 2. Fixed price. Full Next.js rebuild on Vercel — all critical diagnostic findings addressed. |
| Phase 3 — AI integration layer | Project | R45,000–R75,000 | Scoped after Phase 2 delivery. Covers AI-powered compliance reporting, at-risk client flagging, and portfolio-level insights built on the portal's existing data structure. |
| Infrastructure & maintenance retainer | Monthly | R4,500–R6,500/mo |
Begins Phase 1 completion. Covers both GrowthIQ and Growth Firm. Specifically includes:
|
| Growth upside | Performance | 10–15% rev share | Maru's participation in new GrowthIQ corporate contracts originated through the outreach engine. Applied to net new revenue only. Exact structure to be agreed before Phase 3 kick-off. |
Total indicative project investment: R113,000–R180,000 across all phases, delivered over 4–6 months. The retainer is ongoing from Phase 1 completion.
Payment terms: All project work invoiced 50% upfront, 50% on delivery. Monthly retainer invoiced on the 1st. No work commences without a signed purchase order or written approval against this framework.
Afrihost hosting: SeokaneInc's existing R1,380/month Afrihost arrangement continues unchanged. The Maru retainer covers Maru-managed infrastructure only — it is additive, not a replacement, until a migration decision is made.
06Open items — to resolve at meeting
These are not formalities. Until these are answered, certain fees cannot be confirmed and certain phases cannot be scoped. They need to come out of today's conversation.
01
Blocker
NetGen contract — is there an active agreement?
Does an active support or maintenance contract exist with NetGen (Pty) Ltd, and if so, what are the exit terms? This determines whether migration can happen immediately or requires a notice period. We need to see the contract or invoice — not a summary of it.
02
Blocker
Source code — complete and deployable?
SeokaneInc holds the source code — confirmed. What we need to verify: is the codebase complete, does it include environment configuration, and can it be deployed independently of NetGen's infrastructure? This determines Phase 1 scope and cost. A one-hour technical review of the codebase answers this immediately.
03
Required
Corporate target list — the Excel file
The 80–100 company list is the raw material for Phase 3. We need it to scope the outreach engine — how it's structured determines what AI segmentation and personalisation is possible. Ideally shared at today's meeting or within 48 hours.
04
Required
Commercial framework — fees and growth upside
The fee table above shows the structure. The specific Rand amounts need to be agreed between SeokaneInc and Maru before kick-off. This includes the retainer level, project fees per phase, and the growth upside participation model for new GrowthIQ corporates.
05
For planning
GrowthIQ company registration — SeokaneInc & Growth Firm joint structure
GrowthIQ is jointly owned by SeokaneInc and Growth Firm, but is not yet registered as a formal company entity. The contracting structure — shareholding split, how GrowthIQ operates relative to both owners, and how revenue is allocated — affects how the partnership agreement with Maru is drafted. Not a blocker for Phase 1, but must be resolved before Phase 2.
07How we proceed from here
Three actions. That's it. Everything else flows from these.