New delivery app for township-based businesses

Founded in Tembisa during the height of COVID-19, Swypa Delivery offers logistics solutions that assist with the delivery of food, liquor, groceries, parcels and medicine, and offer business support.

It is also the only delivery service of its kind that caters to informal fast-food businesses in the township.

Having recently increased their delivery bike fleet, Founder Boitumelo Monageng and Managing Director Thabang Kgopane together with their team of 20, hope to grow the business into a free-to-use township business-focused delivery service for consumers nationwide.

Their new app, called SWYPA, will be available for download on the Google Play and Apple stores, and is focused on quick service restaurants, medication, and liquor distribution and sales. Previously, Swypa’s delivery service was handled manually via WhatsApp for Business but this resulted in delayed customer response times.

“The introduction of a delivery app means we are now able to respond to all requests timeously while offering a system that can efficiently accept multiple orders. The app showcases a practical design for easy navigation and quick user sign-up via social media,” said Monageng.

Other app benefits include real-time notifications for orders via SMS and email, real-time tracking, a customer location auto-recognition feature, a customer loyalty programme, and easy payment options.

Innovation is truly part of the Swypa business model and they recently designed an elegant branding solution for informal food vendors.

Township fast-food market, particularly kota* vendors, had been operating without branding on their packaging due to the high price of producing custom-made boxes. Swypa Delivery stepped in and developed a cost-efficient box specifically for kotas, which is fully branded to suit the vendor, microwaveable, made from recycled material, and is versatile – the box has an anti-spill feature and can be used as a lunch box and plate.

The company currently caters to over 60 local businesses in the food, liquor, laundry, pharmaceutical, daily essentials, lifestyle and clothing, and auto spares trade.

In 2020, Swypa entered a partnership with the MultiChoice Innovation Fund, which provided them with access to develop new systems and increase the size of their fleet to enter their desired markets.

“At the MultiChoice Innovation Fund, nothing is more rewarding than seeing an idea grow into a business that shapes communities, builds the local job market, and helps contribute towards South Africa’s economic development,” said Joe Heshu, Group Executive Corporate Affairs at the MultiChoice Group. “The Innovation Fund was created to stimulate our country’s most exciting entrepreneurs, such as Swypa Delivery, giving them access to tools, skills and financial support to enable them to bring their unique, innovative and exciting business ideas to life.”

The Innovation Fund partnered with eight businesses last year all spanning various industries and breaking ground in their own respective ways.

* A Kota is a uniquely South African carb-loaded street food, especially popular in Gauteng and the Free State.

MultiChoice Media Enquiries:

Francois Rank, Senior Manager of Corporate Communications

Tel: +27 11 289 3312

Mobile: +27 84 619 7312

Franki.Rank@multichoice.co.za