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City of Cape Town pilots e-commerce platform for SMEs

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 10 May 2021

The City of Cape Town is piloting an e-commerce platform to support small businesses to sell their products online in response to the negative impact of COVID-19.

The city’s Urban Management Directorate is inviting vendors, informal traders and crafters to register their businesses for the soon-to-be-launched Cape Town online market. Willing participants have until Wednesday, 12 May, to register.

The city says the initiative is one of many innovative ways of doing business that it is promoting to assist the informal sector with increased economic opportunities and minimise the negative economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pilot project will be launched at the end of May and will run until Wednesday, 9 June.

“When the city engaged with leadership of all informal traders’ associations under the theme ‘Trading and living amid COVID-19’ in July 2020, we made a commitment to find innovative ways of doing business and assisting the informal sector with increased economic opportunities to minimise the negative economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” says alderman Grant Twigg, mayoral committee member for Urban Management.

“I am excited to pilot this online market initiative and would like to encourage vendors, informal traders and crafters to register and participate.

“Please come market your product or service to a broader online audience beyond the borders of South Africa. We encourage vendors to come sell their products online on a professional e-commerce platform. We will provide professional online product displays through product styling and photography, as well as hassle-free delivery options.

“Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity that will provide an enabling environment to do business in an innovative and environmentally-friendly manner. Our aim is also to help improve vendors’ product offering through data analytics and customer feedback to improve our service to the people.”

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