• The Gauteng Department of Economic Development and Takealot have joined forces to help township businesses reach more customers.
• The Takealot Township Economy Initiative will create 20 000 jobs over the next three years.
• Some of these jobs will benefit Takealot directly such as the creation of more delivery driver and personal shopper positions.

The Gauteng Department of Economic Development and Takealot have joined forces to empower township businesses in the province through the Takealot Township Economy Initiative.

The ultimate goal of the collaboration is to create as many as 20 000 jobs and fill those positions within the next three years.

According to the Premier of Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi, there is a R150 million investment into this collaboration which will serve as a foundation for the intitative.

“Ending an era where township businesses only sell to township residents. Today, together with TakeAlot, we signed an agreement that will, for the very first time, expose our business owners to the global market,” Lesufi said of the partnership.

The question now is how Takealot and the GDED will be creating nearly as many jobs as Takealot has created since 2011.

The Takealot Township Economy Initiative is comprised of six key parts.

The first is the Takealot Personal Shopper Programme where locals will be trained to become pick items off of the shelves for buyers. Further to this, the Delivery Team Driver Development Programme will expand Takealot’s delivery footprint.

The initiative will also include the Takealot Township Franchise Development Programme which will help township businesses expand, if that is their ultimate goal. Additionally, 10 clothing manufacturers will be selected to participate in training for the Superbalist Stock Reseller Programme.

As far as restaurants goes, the Mr D Mzansi Trailblazer Restaurant Programme will help local eateries reach more customers with improved visibility on the app.

But the biggest benefit of this programme is how many more shoppers township businesses can reach through Takealot. According to Similarweb, Takealot has brought in 15.4 million visits since launching in 2011. It is the top ecommerce and shopping platform in South Africa and so having your product on Takealot can only assist in sales.

For businesses which are usually limited to the areas they are located, being supported by Takealot will be a boon toward growth ambitions.

However, Takealot is about to face competition in the form of Amazon whose arrival on local shores is imminent. Takealot and the Gauteng Department of Economic Development’s initiative is only going to achieve its goal if people are on the platform and that is looking increasingly as if South Africans want more options when it comes to ecommerce as they grow disillusioned with the etailer.

One doesn’t have to look far to find complaints about the quality of products and service offered by Takealot these days. Truthfully, the brand has a lot of work to do if it wants to meet the lofty goals it has set for itself.

We’ll be keeping an eye on this initiative in the hopes that achieves its ultimate goal.

[Image – Panyaza Lesufi on X]