Fractional CTO · since 2010
Based between Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, working with clients in South Africa, the UK and the US.
Hi, I’m Henry. I’ll be your Fractional CTO, without the full‑time hire.
I work as a fractional CTO and technical director for businesses that need someone senior to own the technology: the strategy, the architecture, the vendors and the people building it. Sixteen years of production systems, and you always know who to call.
South African time (SAST, UTC+2). I reply to every message myself, within 24 hours.
that’s me, the person you’ll actually talk to
Two ways to work with me
Start with a plan. Stay for the leadership.
Step 1 · the entry point
Ideas
A paid session that turns an idea or a problem into a clear plan you can act on, with someone senior and technical in the room.
How an Ideas session works- 1 hourR650
Remote or in person, same price
The R650 is credited once, towards your first retainer or package (a Quick Check or Quick Scan counts as a package), if you go ahead within 30 days.
Step 2 · the core
Fractional CTO / Technical Director
An ongoing retainer as your senior tech lead. I cover strategy, architecture, vendors, your development team and security, and I sit with your leadership when technology decisions are made.
From R1,950 a month · month to month, no lock-in
What a fractional CTO doesWhat I can lead or deliver for you
CTO partnerships
Who I lead technology for today
Mabili Skills
Mabili sources, develops and maps digital skills, helping international organisations build verified, SFIA-aligned remote teams.
My role: Fractional CTO / Technical Director. I lead the Mabili platform: Next.js and Sanity CMS, SEO architecture and structured data, and multi-course discovery.
He built our website from the ground up, followed by our payment portal, and both were delivered to a very high standard. … His work is impeccable and always on time, and he consistently goes the extra mile.
Brendan Shaw, Mabili Skills, 
South Africa
Growth Predictor
Growth Predictor’s technology measures a company’s capacity to grow, predicting its future revenue and growth rate for investors, lenders and exchanges.
My role: Fractional CTO / Technical Director. I’ve helped build the Growth Predictor platform since the outset seven years ago, and now lead its technology as it grows into the global financial index sector.
Henry has played a key role in building our Growth Predictor platform. It has been an evolving journey of 7 years, and Henry has been involved since the outset and now plays the important role of Fractional CTO for our company. We look forward to the next stages of our exciting journey together as we compete in the global Financial Index technology sector.
James Raath, Founder, Growth Predictor, 
United Kingdom
Nicole Barlow
Nicole Barlow is an independent South African journalist and podcaster, publishing investigative articles, videos, the NicoleB Show and books.
My role: Fractional CTO / Technical Director. I lead Nicole Barlow’s digital platform, which I built: her author website and a full mobile e-reader for her books.
Also: project case studiesAccordium, an IoT food-safety compliance platform I designed and built end to end.All 10 projects
How it works
One step at a time, from first conversation to partnership.
A conversation
You tell me what you’re building or what’s stuck. I reply myself within 24 hours, and we have a free call to understand your situation.
An Ideas session
A paid working session (one hour for R650, credited if you go ahead within 30 days) that turns the idea or problem into a clear plan, so we both know what good looks like before anything is built.
Your fractional CTO
I join as your Fractional CTO / Technical Director on a monthly retainer, month to month with no lock-in. Monthly delivery cycles and transparent time tracking, and we review scope together whenever it suits you.
A long partnership
I stay accountable for how your technology performs over years, not just on launch day. Most retainer clients have been with me for more than two years.
About
Is this a fit?
Erzo is me, Henry Shepherdson: a fractional CTO and technical director, systems architect and founder, working hands-on across web platforms, embedded hardware, IoT and AI-assisted development since 2010. I work with a small number of clients at a time, and for bigger builds I bring in collaborators I trust, under my direct oversight.
I’m a good match if you want someone to learn how your business actually works and take care of the technology for years. I also build fixed-price websites for businesses that just need a good one.
I hold my own work to WCAG 2.2 AA: this site has zero automated accessibility violations.
More about meTell me what you’re working on.
Every conversation starts with understanding your business. No pitch, no pressure.
1 hour · R650, credited if you go ahead within 30 days · remote or in person, same price
or email [email protected]South African time (SAST, UTC+2). I reply to every message myself, within 24 hours.