PODCAST | Zandaux’s push for an African online business marketplace

The growth of online marketplaces for businesses to source goods and services is the focus of this edition of the Business Day Spotlight. 

Host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by the team from Zandaux —founder and CEO Franck Obambi Ngatse and chief technology officer Dennis Reumer. 

Zandaux is a business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform that aims to connect enterprises in Africa. It is modelled as an online marketplace for businesses to source goods and services. 

The start-up operates from Nairobi, Lagos, Johannesburg and Cairo.

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The platform, which is working to integrate its own payments capability, has been in development since 2020 and has more than 20-million unique visitors. In August 2023, the company had a soft launch in SA and started marketing and signing up local businesses. 

So far, it has signed up more than 1,000 small businesses in SA, with 750 already live on the marketplace. 

Ngatse says the company’s mission is to encourage and foster more trade between Africans and across African borders. He outlines the company’s strategy for growth and its upcoming funding round. 

Reumer explains the company’s investment in technology and how the platform has been designed to allow businesses to communicate and negotiate terms when sourcing goods. 

Topics of discussion include: Zandaux’s history and business model; challenges faced in Africa’s cross-border trade; the company’s strategy for growth; its upcoming funding round; and technology investment.

Business Day Spotlight is a TimesLIVE Production.