Takealot Launches Digital Platform to Help Township Entrepreneurs Grow Their Businesses

Takealot Launches Digital Platform to Help Township Entrepreneurs Grow Their Businesses. Takealot has partnered with Cape Town-based technology company Touchfoundry to develop a mobile application and management dashboard aimed at helping township entrepreneurs manage and grow their businesses through its Personal Shopper Programme.

The new platform provides participating Personal Shoppers with digital tools to monitor sales, commissions, targets and business performance, bringing essential operational information into a single system.

Takealot’s Personal Shopper Programme enables entrepreneurs to use their existing relationships and connections within their communities to help customers access the retailer’s online shopping services.

Through the programme, participants assist local customers with online purchases, creating business opportunities for entrepreneurs while extending access to e-commerce in their communities.

As the network expanded, Takealot identified the need for improved digital tools to help participants manage their daily activities and track their progress.

The newly developed platform consists of a mobile application for Personal Shoppers and a separate dashboard for Community Managers. It allows participants to access information about their sales, earnings, performance targets and progression through different programme tiers.

Takealot said the platform was designed to simplify business management and provide entrepreneurs with greater visibility into how their operations are performing.

Six-month development process

The development project took six months, from initial discovery through to launch, and involved collaboration between Takealot and several technology and design partners.

Touchfoundry worked alongside Takealot’s product, technical, security and compliance teams to develop the platform, while design and user experience company Isoflow contributed to usability and interface development.

Touchfoundry founder and chief executive Fabio Longano said the project involved developing a system for entrepreneurs who assist others with online shopping while managing businesses of their own.

The platform needed to accommodate participants with varying levels of technological familiarity while meeting Takealot’s integration, security and compliance requirements.

Supporting participation in e-commerce

The development comes as South Africa’s online retail sector continues to expand, creating opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs operating within the digital economy.

Research by World Wide Worx forecasts that South Africa’s online retail market will reach R159 billion in 2026.

For Takealot, the Personal Shopper Programme provides a way to extend its online shopping services through entrepreneurs who already have established relationships within their communities.

The introduction of the application and management dashboard adds a digital management component to the programme, giving participants access to information that can help them monitor their business activities.

By consolidating sales, commissions, targets and programme progression into one platform, Takealot and Touchfoundry aim to make it easier for township entrepreneurs to manage their operations as the Personal Shopper network develops.