Sirtch Classifieds, a newly launched classified ads Web platform, aims to take on industry giants Gumtree and OLX by engaging users in their native languages.
Founder Sibusiso (Sbu) Khoza explains that the platform is different from its popular competitors as it provides multiple SA languages for users, tapping into a previously untapped market.
"The platform is currently offered in IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, Afrikaans and English. This will give us a competitive edge as our users will find comfort in navigating our platform with the language of their choice.
"It also allows them to express the unique features of the items they are selling in their own language. We are currently working on incorporating Tswana and Sotho languages too, and more will follow. No other classified platform in SA has provided this to their users", says Khoza.
The company is owned by Khoza's Industrial African Resources and software company Noborox, which contributed spatial intelligence data and algorithms to the Sirtch Web site.
Launched five months ago, Sirtch has reported more than 1 000 placed ads and an average of 2 500 to 3 000 unique visitors per month to the site. There are five categories: electronics, cars, real estate, homeware, and jobs.
"At the moment we are growing at 5% to 8% registered users per week. We receive 2 500 to 3 000 unique visitors per month with 60 000 to 90 000 hits. The month of May had 82 000 hits. This has been a growing trend for the past five months," explained Khoza.
Gumtree and OLX saw a monthly average of 40.1 million and 17.83 million visitors respectively between November 2017 and April 2018, according to SimilarWeb.
Says Khoza: "At the moment monetising the platform is not our first priority, growing the user base is. We believe that if we continue to focus on growing the popularity of the platform, communicating its usefulness and continuing to build on it with more relevant features, we will grow enough to a point where it makes sense to start monetising it."
Safety first
Another unique feature on the platform is a solution that allows users to plan a safer meeting place in a public area that is close enough to call for help if needed.
"It is a norm that online classified users come across fraudsters from time to time and all the major players in this sector were not offering any solution to address these issues.
"On all the adverts posted, we have a "Plan-A-Meet" button that leads to a map where users can type the address of the proposed meeting.
"We suggest the closest police stations, restaurants, filling stations, ATMs and banks. These are displayed as points on a map. A user can contact a buyer or seller and insist on meeting in these locations for safety reasons."
The platform is also looking to implement a number of safety features on the soon-to-be-launched mobile app, which is prioritising Android.
These will include:
Mobile number verification;
An in-app live video feed to allow users to verify the existence of the advertised item;
Live GeoLocation tracking visible to people the user chooses, that can be enabled when meeting a buyer/seller;
Visual tutorials on how to spot fake items;
How to inspect the condition of used items, for example, what to look out for when buying a used car; and
An emergency service call feature.
Khoza says the company's future plans include introducing new offerings such as an e-mail service.
"Our future plans are not limited to our classified platform. We will introduce new product offerings such as an e-mail service, an e-commerce platform, and an Africa-focused search engine.
"We will be be launching in Swaziland soon as no one is servicing that market yet.
Regarding expansion plans, Khoza states that he personally funds all operations. "Working on a shoestring budget makes it increasingly difficult to implement expansion plans. We are on the lookout for expansion capital, but we are not sitting and waiting for it. We are doing the groundwork to prove the viability of our service offering."
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