MAMONGAE MAHLARE: E-commerce is opening the door for SMEs

Small businesses are the backbone of many thriving global economies. In SA, a country beset by record unemployment and stagnating growth, SMEs are even more essential to our country’s future growth prospects. They make up over 98% of all companies in the country and employ 50%-60% of the workforce, contributing roughly 34% of GDP.

It therefore clear that one of the essential paths to addressing SA’s twin challenges of youth unemployment and slowing economic growth is to assertively support the development of SMEs and all sectors and businesses that enable SME growth.

It is encouraging to see that, especially over the past year, the policy debate has focused on SME enablement. But what is often and lamentably missing is a much-needed conversation about how we nurture the industries and platforms that are enabling these small businesses to thrive.

Marketplace platforms within e-commerce are in effect enablers for SME development and growth; they are helping reshape the business ecosystem. We have seen this first-hand on the Takealot marketplace. SMEs selling on the platform have grown from 120 in 2014 to more than 8,000 this year. More than 100 local brands are now available on Superbalist, our fashion platform, and our food delivery business, Mr D, now hosts over 10,000 restaurants.

The Takealot Group ecosystem, together with our partners, supports over 33,000 jobs in SA. That’s one business’s contribution in just over a decade. E-commerce and digital businesses clearly enable sustained growth of the SME sector and integrate these businesses into the formal economy. Almost a third (30%) of small businesses say tech has enabled them to reach new customers or expand into new areas, and a quarter have leveraged the latest software to streamline their processes.

We have seen the positive manifestation of this time and again. Take Yolanda Yawa-Donker’s Luvuthando Dolls, for example — a proudly SA black doll brand that promotes diversity and aims to instil confidence in little boys and girls. As a small company selling via Takealot, Yolanda has been able to reach millions of buyers, grow her revenue, employ more production staff and open a new store. She says customers are also more confident in her brand because of its presence on a reputable e-commerce site.

Equally, Love Tea Time, a luxury tea business selling on the platform, is now able to sell 24 hours a day. Founder Busi Mavunga makes most of her sales between 8pm and 12am and has experienced 100% year-on-year revenue growth since joining the platform.

We have worked tirelessly to ensure that sellers like Yawa-Donker and Mavunga can register on the marketplace easily — application forms are short and user-friendly, and we get back to you within 10 working days. We have removed as many barriers to entry as possible for SMEs, such as the requirement for applicants to have a registered business. Despite this democratisation, we continue to apply robust checks and balances to ensure the credibility and authenticity of both our sellers and their products.

The positive effects of e-commerce extend beyond individual sellers and customers. The platform ecosystem is contributing to structural transformation of the economy by formalising transactions and employment and enabling more small businesses to participate in inclusive growth and allowing them the chance to become national champions.

Liz Letsoalo’s Masodi Organics range of products is just one such example. Being a listed retailer on Takealot.com helped Liz bridge the gap between home-based beauty products and becoming a household name. Masodi Organics is now stocked in a leading national retail chain.

These are just some of the examples that make us exceptionally proud of what we have achieved at Takealot.com. As a home-grown business, we are honoured to be supporting South Africans and helping shape what it means to be a more digitally enabled, inclusive economy that allows people from all socioeconomic backgrounds to have equitable access to a varied marketplace. The foundation has been laid, and the stage is now set for the expansion of the e-commerce sector.

The momentum is there, but it needs to be supported to be maintained. To successfully empower a nation that is ready to leap ahead into the Fourth Industrial Revolution we must nurture our SMEs and the marketplace platforms that support them. There is a vast pool of entrepreneurial talent in this country that just needs an opportunity to establish themselves and be supported to grow and thrive.

Failure to recognise the effective role e-commerce platforms play in enabling these entrepreneurs risks deepening entrenched inequalities and hindering our country’s efforts to emerge stronger from the pandemic and ever-present global and local economic headwinds.

• Mahlare is Takealot Group CEO.