Smooth operator

In South Africa, a township e-commerce start-up has secured ZAR78 million, which will be used to expand its footprint.

Yebo Fresh – a township-focused food and grocery delivery service – raised the capital with a pre-series A equity investment (led by Enza Capital) in addition to a grant from the South African Jobs Fund.

As reported by Bizcommunity, Yebo Fresh works with a network of spaza shops, prepared-food outlets and other township businesses. The company, which started three years ago in Hout Bay’s Imizamo Yethu and now delivers to more than 25 townships in the greater Cape Town and Johannesburg areas, aims to make it easier for township businesses to purchase groceries and other essential items by placing orders via WhatsApp or through its team of field sales agents. It is able to deliver orders within 24 hours, and offers a buy-now-pay-later option.

The funding, according to Yebo Fresh CEO Jessica Boonstra, ‘will allow us to grow into new product categories and market segments, expand our systems and warehousing infrastructure, and explore further partnership opportunities with strategic players in the market. It will also assist us in gathering even more data insights, further strengthening our unique position in this massive market segment’.