Octoco Group Backs HisWay Labs and TrackView®

Strategic investment supports a locally developed, vandal-resistant rail safety technology already proven on South African tracks and now heading to Europe and the United States.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, September 2026:

Technology investment and product development firm Octoco Group has acquired a strategic equity stake in HisWay Labs (Pty) Ltd., the Cape-based company behind TrackView®, a rail-integrity monitoring system built for the realities of South Africa's rail network and now drawing international attention.

The investment comes at a critical moment for South African logistics. Rail is the backbone of the country's mining, agriculture and manufacturing supply chains, yet years of cable theft, vandalism and undetected track failures have pushed freight onto roads, driven up costs and eroded confidence in the network. Restoring rail as a dependable, cost-effective way to move goods and people is widely recognised as one of the highest-impact levers for economic recovery.

Built for South Africa's hardest conditions

TrackView® was designed from the ground up for an environment where conventional rail equipment simply doesn't survive. The solar-powered sensor contains no copper cabling and no batteries, the two components that make traditional trackside infrastructure a prime target for theft. It is engineered to withstand extreme heat, dust, flooding and deliberate tampering, and to keep monitoring rail integrity and train positioning around the clock without the maintenance burden that legacy systems demand.

For operators, that means fewer service disruptions, earlier warning of broken rails before they cause derailments, and infrastructure that stays in the ground rather than disappearing overnight. For the economy, it means a more reliable path to getting minerals to port, produce to market and commuters to work.

Proven at home, ready for the world

TrackView® has already earned formal certification and product type approval from the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) and has been deployed commercially in partnership with Siemens Mobility. The technology is now in active field trials in the United States, and HisWay Labs is exhibiting this month at InnoTrans in Germany, the world's largest transport technology trade fair, to build European distribution and operator partnerships.

The global relevance is clear. Rail operators worldwide are moving from legacy track circuits to axle counters, a shift that improves train detection but removes traditional broken-rail monitoring. At the same time, infrastructure theft is a growing problem far beyond South Africa. A solution hardened in one of the world's toughest rail environments is well positioned to serve networks everywhere.

"South Africa has a long tradition of solving hard engineering problems out of necessity," said Heinrich de Lange, Octoco Group’s MD. "HisWay Labs has turned one of our most damaging infrastructure challenges into a globally competitive product. Backing them is a chance to help restore confidence in our own rail network while proving that world-class industrial hardware can come from here."

Proven leadership

HisWay Labs is led by CEO Franz Struwig, a seasoned technology entrepreneur who previously co-founded radar innovation firm iKubu, acquired by Garmin. Struwig heads a specialised engineering team with deep expertise across electronics, hardware, software, data communications and railway technology.

About Octoco Group

Octoco Group is a technology-focussed private equity firm that partners with high-potential tech companies to design, build and scale world-class hardware and software solutions. Through its ownership of Octoco Consulting, Octoco AI and Polymorph, Octoco Group brings together expertise across software and hardware development, AI, product development, technology strategy and consulting, enabling it to support portfolio companies across every stage of growth. Its investment portfolio includes TaxTim, LeaseSurance and SquirrelAway, alongside ventures it has helped build and scale.