Did you know the township economy reportedly contributes R100 billion to South Africa? That’s a lot of pie, and Takealot wants a slice. The Naspers-owned e-commerce company is looking to expand into townships and rural areas to combat competitors like Chinese e-commerce giants Shein and Temu, which have seen explosive growth in Mzansi. 

How exactly is Takealot planning to do this? Earlier this year, they revealed a plan, in partnership with the Gauteng government, called the Takealot Township Initiative. It features six different programmes aimed at empowering entrepreneurs in Gauteng townships:

🔹Takealot Personal Shopper Programme

🔹Takealot Delivery Team Last Metre Driver Development Programme
🔹Takealot Township Franchise Development Programme

🔹Mr D Mzansi Trailblazer Restaurant Programme

🔹Superbalist Stock Reseller Programme

🔹Takealot Marketplace SME and Local Industrialisation Programme

While urban and suburban areas have embraced e-commerce, the same cannot be said for townships and rural areas. To address this, Takealot has hired personal shoppers to assist people in these areas who might not be as tech-savvy. They aim to hire 5,000 personal shoppers by 2028. These personal shoppers will help the public by shopping on their behalf.

The company also wants to train and employ 2000 last metre drivers in Gauteng by 2028. These drivers will service areas like Soweto, Hammanskraal, Tembisa, Katlehong, Mamelodi, Alexandra, Sebokeng, Vosloorus, Atteridgeville, Mabopane, Soshanguve, and Cosmo City. The Gauteng government has pledged to provide vehicle funding to eligible drivers.  Previously, many last-metre services like Mr D and Uber Eats left townships citing safety concerns, but Takealot’s head of external affairs, Tshepo Marumule, said these were being addressed.

While initiatives like these are great for job creation, questions have been raised about how corporations treat township and rural communities as opposed to urban centres. IAF Brands CEO Bulelani Balabala has called for corporations to respect the township economy. “Retail brands need to understand that the township economy demands better service and excellence. The township economy demands respect, which should be reflected through excellent service delivery. Whatever quality is provided in urban communities should also be available in townships,” he said. 

While it’s commendable that corporations like Takealot want to provide services to townships and rural areas, these services should be as good as the ones everyone else gets; otherwise, they’ll undermine areas with almost R100 billion in buying power.