• Douglas Hoernle founded Karri in 2016 to digitize and secure school payments without cash handling.

• The platform enables schools to issue payment requests and allows parents to pay instantly via mobile, reducing delays and manual processing.

• Hoernle also co-founded The Student Funding Company in 2023 to expand access to higher education financing in the UK.

Douglas Hoernle is a South African entrepreneur. He founded and leads Karri, a start-up that seeks to simplify, accelerate and secure school payments without requiring cash handling.

Founded in 2016, Karri enables schools to create payment requests in a few steps for activities, field trips, ad hoc fees or fundraising initiatives. The application automatically sends notifications and reminders once schools issue a request, and it guides parents to complete payments within seconds. Schools benefit from a reliable and recurring system that reduces delays, missed payments and manual cash handling.

For parents, Karri provides a simple and secure way to pay schools directly from a mobile phone. The application eliminates the need to send cash in envelopes through children or to search for change. The platform centralizes payment requests, displays amounts and deadlines, and allows instant settlement.

The platform also offers a payment card for students that links to the parental application. The solution helps children learn how to manage spending within a secure framework under adult supervision. Parents can set daily spending limits and share account control with multiple guardians when necessary.

In parallel, Douglas Hoernle co-founded and directs The Student Funding Company, a start-up launched in 2023 that aims to remove financial barriers and enable students to pursue higher education in the United Kingdom. He also serves on the board of Manati Alternate Student Funding, a student finance provider, and he belongs to the London chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, an international network of entrepreneurs.

Douglas Hoernle holds a finance degree from the University of Cape Town. He began his entrepreneurial career in 2010 when he founded The Wine Society, a company that supplied Cape Town’s student market with customized, quality and affordable wines and promotional products. He launched Rethink Education in 2012 as an online learning solutions provider.

Two years later, he co-founded Juggl, a cross-platform mobile application that offers communication services, real-time calendar management, content distribution and payment functions between schools, teachers and parents across sectors. In 2016, he founded Rippl Communicator, an internal corporate communication application, and he co-founded Merriment and Co., a beverage supplier that he led until its sale in 2018.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum