Focus {06}
Township retail
How do we bring spaza shops the tools that chains take for granted?
Why it matters
Spaza shops and informal traders are where many South Africans shop every day. They often run on cash, a notebook and a trip to the wholesaler, without the ordering, credit and stock tools that chains rely on.
What we want to testQuestions for the lab.
- 01
Can ordering from a wholesaler be as easy as sending a voice note?
- 02
What would stock credit look like if it were based on a shop’s real sales?
- 03
Can a spaza shop earn more as a pick-up point for online orders?
Open problemsWorth a company?
- 01
Restocking means closing the shop, travelling and carrying stock back by taxi.
Pitch a fix - 02
Cash is risky to hold and hard to prove, so credit is hard to get.
Pitch a fix - 03
Online orders rarely reach township homes, and deliveries often fail.
Pitch a fix
Got a commerce problem worth a company? We want to hear it.
A few lines is enough: the problem, who has it and why now.