Business Live reported that the Act will put in place incentives to install broadband infrastructure and heralds a game-changing intervention for small township businesses to “reach a ladder rung of formality.”Ī strong ecommerce offering is not just about having the right tech available, it is also about developing a new way of generating growth and revenue and future-proofing a business as far too often the ones providing access want too much in return and aren’t using it to build the market.
With the government announcing in May this year that R10 billion will be spent on upgrading townships and a recently proposed Township Economic Development Act formally tabled targeted at changing how commercial activity is governed and supported in township areas – the practical realisation of shared economic acceleration, using townships and informal settlements for the greater benefit of SA are being realised. The fact is that townships have sustained small business ecosystems to the point that “if we listed every product and service that every registered township business offers on a single database – we would have everything.” As suggested on we already have the product skills, the resources on the most part and a critical understanding of township consumer behaviour – opening up a fresh space for innovators and collaborators to step up and drive township business on digital platforms. That said the eshopping potential to pivot in this space affords the opportunity to mould our ecommerce township ecosystem. With the world’s highest data costs and unequal infrastructure seen as the sticking point to unlocking our township neighbourhoods, a critical understanding of this sector to break the cycle is key as reported on Add the fact that ecommerce deliveries in townships are hampered by unpaved roads, overcrowding, high delivery costs especially true for outlying and rural areas and security concerns, this is no insignificant undertaking.
That said, Statista projects that at least 30 million citizens could be converted to online shopping by 2024 making informal and township markets an obvious consumer base with the potential to provide what big retailers offer such as delivery, customer service, variety, and refund policies, as an automated process. With ecommerce spend only accounting for 2% of SA’s total retail transactions compared to the global average of 16%, according to Business Insider our local ecommerce market remains untapped. Townships are considered key to unlocking the South African ecommerce retail industry representing at least 40% of the national grocery market where despite the small basket size, the benefits offer a high return and the possibility of incredible growth.
0 kommentar(er)
