Naspers, Africa’s largest company by market value, is boosting its investment in Takealot Group ahead of Amazon.com’s entry into South Africa
Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, CEO of Naspers’s South African unit, said on Wednesday: ‘We are well positioned towards being able to deal with whatever could be coming from Amazon’.
South Africa is Africa’s most developed economy with a large youthful population, together with one of the largest upper-middle-income markets in the region, according to Bloomberg. Its potential is getting attention from retailers like Walmart and Amazon, which will roll out online marketplace operations this year.
Naspers owns Takealot, South Africa’s top online retailer, and has been expanding its services to include one-hour deliveries ranging from phone chargers to toys, in anticipation of Amazon’s arrival.
E-commerce only makes up about 4% of South African retail, presenting the opportunity to grow the market three to five times faster than in peer countries, Takealot CEO Mamongae Mahlare said last year.
Online retail sales in South Africa grew by 30% to R55-billion in 2022, according to a study by market research firm World Wide Worx.
‘It’s good for South Africa that Amazon is attracted to coming into the market’, Mahanyele-Dabengwa said. ‘At Takealot, I think we’re very well positioned. We know our market very, very well’.