A local business that has digitised the supply and distribution of fresh produce to Kayamandi’s informal traders, recently expanded their application’s reach to 310 local vendors, according to Lunga Momoza, co-founder of Basket e-commerce.
Basket started operating less than five months ago, said Momoza. Over this period, it has facilitated over 1 000 transactions, he said.
Momoza founded Basket in 2020 after winning R20 000 from Stellenbosch Network’s ideas for change challenge, he explained. The prize money, sponsored by Stellenbosch University (SU), was used to initiate the start-up, according to Momoza.
“Initially we were bringing technology into a market that no one [has ever] tapped into. Obviously, there are a lot of barriers that [we faced], and are still facing,” said Lunga Momoza, co-founder of Basket, an e-commerce application that connects local food vendors and farmers in Kayamandi. PHOTO: Talia Kincaid
Technological efficiencies
“Street vendors and spaza shops often operate in informal markets with limited resources including financial capital, infrastructure, and access to formal support systems,” said Vuyani Emmanual Ndlovu, sales manager at Basket.
By digitising the supply process, Basket has “enabl[ed] local businesses to cut costs [and the] time required to order and collect goods to sell”, said Wesley Diphoko, editor-in-chief of Fast Company South Africa. Diphoko also collaborates with Stellenbosch Network, the organisation through which Basket received its initial funding.
“Lunga’s startup enables local fruit and vegetable sellers to source goods via a chatbot and these are [then] delivered to their doorsteps,” said Diphoko.
Users sign up online to register and the platform then uses an auto-generated chatbot, similar to WhatsApp, to connect farmers on smallholdings to local delivery drivers in and around Kayamandi, said Momoza. This model facilitates an order-supplier-delivery system which makes use of Kayamandi locals to deliver the fresh produce to informal vendors, he said.
After launching in January, Basket e-commerce has handled just over 1 000 transactions, said co-founder, Lunga Momoza. The startup is using technology to help informal traders in Kayamandi stay sustainable in South Africa’s unstable financial climate, said Lunga Momoza, co-founder of Basket e-commerce. AUDIO: Talia Kincaid
Local benefit
Basket’s team “understands township conditions, [as] their intervention addresses real issues experienced by [informal traders in] township communities”, said Diphoko.
These issues included insufficient delivery systems and the loss of potential trade resulting from traders having to leave their stores to source produce from larger commercial agricultural suppliers, explained Momoza.
This model ultimately allows for the “maximisation of productivity and profits”, explained Momoza.
Technology has opened up new markets for many of these farmers, said Momoza, who explained that linking local traders with local producers has expanded Kayamandi’s economic sustainability.
“Farmers on smallholdings suffer day-to-day […] and end up working a second job because farming is becoming unsustainable to them,” explained Momoza.
Power of localisation
Basket employs local community members which has helped combat job insecurity within Kayamandi and its surrounding areas, said Momoza.
“Personally I am developing skills that will serve me in the future,” said Ndlovu.
Ndlovu is originally from Kayamandi. He told SMF News that he has gained valuable experience in marketing analysis and customer engagement through Basket’s skills and developmental training.
Basket has expanded its team to 14 sales agents from Kayamandi, said Momoza. This is important as “they are able to perforate the local township market because they know the people, they speak the language”, explained Momoza.
Basket e-commerce has tapped into Kayamandi’s local community by addressing issues experienced on the ground, said Wesley Diphoko, editor-in-chief of Fast Company South Africa. PHOTO: Talia Kincaid