Fractional Leadership, Two Ways
Most businesses need one of two things: a strategic operator who can build with AI, or a senior person who runs the operational work day to day. Meridian gives you both, as two separate offers, so you get exactly what you need.
Two tracks. One practice.
Work directly with the person doing it
No account managers. No hand-offs to someone junior. You work with the founder who owns the outcome.
Sound Familiar?
Each one has a proof point behind it, not just an opinion.
Most teams have tested AI tools without building anything that changes daily work. That's not a tooling problem, it's an implementation problem. It's exactly where Daryn comes in.
Proof point: only 1 in 3 African businesses use their digital tools intensively enough to see the benefit. (smetechguru.co.za, 2026)
General admin support is easy to find and hard to trust with real judgement calls. Mandy brings senior, Executive Director-level experience to the work most admin hires are never trained for.
Proof point: general admin support in SA runs R100–R250 an hour, priced for tasks, not judgement. (payscale.com, 2026)
Manual processes and spreadsheets that worked at a smaller size start breaking as you grow. Left alone, that's one of the biggest reasons businesses stall out.
Proof point: 70–80% of South African SMEs fail within five years, and weak systems are consistently a top cause. (IOL Business Report, 2026)
Fractional leadership gets you an experienced operator without a full executive salary. It's a proven model, backed by real numbers, not an experiment.
Proof point: fractional COO retainers run $3,000–$18,000 a month globally, a fraction of a full-time hire. (kamyarshah.com, 2026)
Two Ways to Work With Us
You're not being sold a bundle. You're choosing the offer that matches what's going on in your business, run by the person who delivers it.
Sometimes the two connect. If a strategy needs hands your team doesn't have, we can bring both tracks together. That's covered under "Where They Meet" below.
Led by Daryn Edison · On-site in Cape Town or embedded remotely
Daryn works out how your business runs, then builds the fix himself: new processes, AI systems, automations that actually work. Not a slide deck you never open again.
You're a founder doing R5M to R50M in revenue. Your business has outgrown your systems, and you want someone who thinks strategically and still gets their hands dirty.
Led by Mandy Edison · Mostly in your Cape Town office
Mandy takes over the day-to-day operational work directly. Not project-based, not outsourced to whoever's free: one experienced person who knows how to run a business.
Your admin, books or governance work has outgrown whoever's doing it now. You don't need a strategy. You need someone to actually do the work, every week.
Where They Meet
Sometimes a strategy needs hands to build it. If your team can't run what gets designed, Mandy joins the engagement and does the work. It's scoped separately, and it only comes up when it's genuinely needed.
Who You're Trusting
We launched in 2026, so we're not going to show you a wall of client logos we haven't earned yet. Here's what we can show you.
Check us out for yourself: Daryn on LinkedIn Mandy on LinkedIn
Who This Is For
Neither track is for everyone. Here's where we see the clearest fit.
R5M–R50M revenue · founder-led · SA or worldwide
Your business has grown past your systems. You've heard "you should use AI for that" more times than you can count, and no one's actually shown you how.
"I want someone strategic who can also build the thing, not just tell me to."
SMEs · mostly in your Cape Town office
The books, admin and governance work outgrew whoever's doing it now, probably you. You don't want a plan. You want it handled.
"I spend half my week doing admin that shouldn't need me."
Smaller non-profits · no full-time ED
You can't afford a full-time Executive Director, but the governance and finance work still needs to happen properly. This is a role Mandy has run before.
"We need an ED. We just can't afford one full-time."
What Happens Next
Sixty minutes with the right founder. No pitch, no deck. If neither track fits, we'll tell you.
A 2-week Diagnostic on Track A, or a 2 to 4 week trial on Track B. Real work, before any commitment.
A monthly retainer, a fixed-scope project, or hourly for occasional work. Month to month, no lock-in.
Common Questions
Because they solve different problems for different people. One wants a strategist who builds. The other wants someone to just get the work done. Mixing them into one pitch does a disservice to both.
No. It's senior, Executive Director-level experience. It's priced and delivered like that, not like hourly admin support.
That's the Handoff. If a Track A build needs hands your team doesn't have, Track B joins in. We only bring it up when it's genuinely needed, and we scope it separately.
Track B has a community arrangement built for non-profit budgets. It still pays properly for senior-level work, just not at full commercial rates.
No. It takes repetitive work off their plate so they can focus on what actually needs a person. We train your team on everything we build.
Engagements are scoped and quoted after the Discovery Session, because what you need drives what it costs. Both tracks start with a low-commitment diagnostic or trial first.
That's what the Discovery Session is for. Tell us what's going on, and we'll point you the right way, honestly, even if that means neither track fits yet.
Start Here
Book a free 60-minute Discovery Session with the right founder. No pitch, no deck.
Not sure which track fits? Email us and tell us what's going on.
Email us at hello@meridianimpact.co.za
or pick the track that sounds like you:
Track B: Operations & Admin Partner
Email Mandy to book
or call Mandy on +27 83 269 7873
