uAfrica.com, a South African e-commerce technology company, has partnered with Shopify, a commerce platform specialising in solutions for retailers to sell online and in-store, to provide services to the South African market.
The companies note that South Africans today sell through a combination of their Web storefronts, online marketplaces and in-person, and this partnership helps bridge the gap and streamline business operations and sales.
Andy Higgins, MD of uAfrica.com, explains that the online storefront technology is provided by Shopify and uAfrica provides additional localisation functionality on top of the core Shopify offering.
"So the two businesses really complement each other very well. uAfrica is also focused on enabling merchants to not only sell through their online storefront but also across other sales channels such as the recent bidorbuy.co.za integration that has been announced," he adds.
He also pointed out that the companies are taking the best-of-breed international technology and complementing it with tools and integrations for the local market; thereby offering consumers the best of both worlds.
"So rather than trying to re-invent the wheel, we are taking a wheel that is already well-developed and enhancing it for the local market. Our partnership with Shopify enables us to bring the best retail procedures and processes to South Africa, while ensuring that merchants in South Africa have access to the best tools to help drive sales from a localisation perspective.
"South African Shopify customers will now have the option to be billed in South African rands for the Shopify service as well as benefit from a number of integrations specifically designed for the local market."
Says Brennan Loh, Shopify's head of business development: "We are pleased with the adoption of Shopify within the South African retail market.
"We have seen impressive traction across small and medium-sized businesses - approximately 800 active South African merchants sell with Shopify - as they turn to Shopify to help them sell everywhere," adds Loh.
uAfrica.com says it shares Shopify's philosophy that the future of retail isn't online vs offline but about consumer choice and being able to purchase via any channel.
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