APPTO is a South Africa’s homegrown on-demand neighbourhood shopping app that provides instant e-commerce and delivery fulfilment solution for consumers from their local merchants such as retail stores, restaurants, pharmacies, grocery shops, liquor outlets, hardware stores, food markets and more.

APPTO employs eleven people and as part of its service, aggregates orders from multiple retailers for a single fulfilment (pick-up or delivery).

The business was founded by technopreneur Madoda Khuzwayo, a serial technology entrepreneur with an enduring passion for eCommerce.
Madoda approached the GEP for start-up capital after struggling to get support from financial institutions.

“As a black-owned small business, our challenge was getting capital to start, I tried banks and other institutions, and no one would look to us. Being a Gauteng based business, we approached GEP, and they responded positively. We got financial assistance to get us started, he explains.

Madoda believes the GEP support will go a long way in helping his business towards being a strong competitor in South Africa’s e-commerce landscape and creating even more jobs. Madoda has wasted no time in ensuring that the business makes its mark. APPTO is now in partnership with Sandton City Mall to enable shopping and delivery fulfilment for all tenants that wish to enable delivery or click & collect model.

APPTO is also opening its first dark store in Sandton City, a retail facility that resembles a conventional supermarket or other store but is not open to the public. The store houses goods used to fulfil orders placed online. This is Sandton City’s first-ever dark store tenant. Appto Sandton City Store will be open 24/7 offering delivery of liquor and essential items to service consumers in and around Sandton City’s 10 Km radius.

“We plan to take convenience to a higher level, by eliminating long waiting periods, hours or even days for customers. Our goods are dispatched from the local store and received not too long after the order is placed – from 30 minutes even. We also believe our success will help give a new lease of life to mall owners across the country and their retail tenants, who have been hard hit by declining mall traffic, concludes Madoda.

The app is available on the App Store, Google Play as well as Huawei’s AppGallery, free to download and offers enhanced payment security with multiple payment partners.

Many of us know that as GEP, we offer financial and non-financial support to Gauteng SMMEs, but have we all taken the time to thoroughly understand our products and services? Our Know Your GEP feature will have our very own colleagues take us through the various services offered by the entity. In this debut feature, we talk to Kutlwano Mahumapelo, a Cooperatives Analyst from the Jo’burg region as he takes us through the GEP Business Development Support (BDS) offering.

Kutlwano, please tell us about BDS?
BDS is implemented through the Regional Operations unit which is headed by Senior Manager: Regional Operations, Fikile Mazibuko. BDS is implemented mainly in regions with Business Analysts and Cooperatives Analysts at the forefront. We assist startups, SMME’s and co-operatives who need services such as business planning, marketing planning, marketing tools, and start-up equipment.

Tell us more about the BDS interventions?
We also provide professional services that include feasibility studies for those who need them as a prerequisite to access finance. Some clients require quality management systems to certify or improve the quality of the products they sell and to ensure product safety. Some clients just need equipment and machinery to help start their operations.
We also offer training which helps entrepreneurs learn important business skills. Many entrepreneurs do not have the skills that are required to run a business successfully. Our training seeks to fill some of these gaps.

Who qualifies for this support?
Okay, the first thing is that the business must be operating and registered or if it is a startup, it must prove that they are ready to operate. We also require supporting documents such as a tax clearance, bank statement, and proof of business address to ensure that the business is Gauteng based. Depending on the type of business, we may ask for other supporting documents, for example. You cannot sell alcohol without a liquor license, those are basically the qualifying criteria of BDS.

What kind of difference do you think BDS makes in the economy?
You must understand that as an agency of the Department of Economic Development, tasked with driving growth through SMMEs, it is our duty to increase the opportunities for success for Entrepreneurs. I have seen many entrepreneurs start with BDS and go on to grow their businesses in the mainstream economy and by doing so, creating employment and safeguard livelihoods.

Owner: Rachael Gaffane
Business: Danchi Group
Sector: Steel Manufacturing
Employees: 13
Product: 2017 Non-financial support and working tools; computer, printer & marketing material. 2021 Expansion Finance (Working Capital)

Impact of funds:
In 2017, the Danchi Group received support from GEP when the business was only just starting up. The GEP provided marketing material, computers, and a printer.

In 2021 GEP approved expansion finance that will assist the business with working capital after its intensive capital investment over the past year impacted its cash flow.

“My goal was to establish myself as a serious player in an industry that does not have a lot of black businesses, let alone black-women owned businesses”.

Racheal Gaffane has always had an eye for opportunity. As a primary school pupil in Mamelodi, Tshwane, she sold sweets to her fellow schoolmates, and that continued through high school, where she even dabbled in money lending, landing her in hot water a couple of times.

Today Gaffane owns and runs Danchi Group, a steel manufacturing business that employs thirteen (13) people in Silvertondale in the East of Pretoria. The Danchi Group manufactures steel components for the automotive and rail transport industries, including bushings, spacers, pins, pivots, and steel fabricated products such as columns, scaffolding, sheeting, conveyor structures and shafts. The company also refurbishes steel components for its clients in the various industries it supports.

“My first job was as an Office assistant in a beauty business, and it did not take long for me to learn about the beauty sector, after which I started the first mobile beauty business in Mamelodi, employing six people. However, even though the business started well, the business eventually failed and taught me a lot about pitfalls in business,” says Gaffane.

After that experience, Gaffane decided to go back to the corporate world. “I did very well in the corporate sector, but I always longed for more. It was the entrepreneurial bug that always got the best of me as I continued to sell an assortment of products from the boot of my car as a “side hustle”.

In 2017, she decided to restart her entrepreneurial journey in an entirely new sector, construction. “I started my company by pitching a crazy idea to an established company my father worked for: “renting a desk and reselling their products”. My sales and cold calling skills were crucial in helping me convince the business to rent me the space and assured them that I could sell their products. My goal was to establish myself as a serious player in an industry that does not have a lot of black businesses, let alone black-women owned businesses,” recalls Gaffane. In 2017 GEP helped her company with marketing material, a laptop and a printer. Through her tenacity, she was able to use this humble start as a springboard to establish relationships with industry giants such as Komatsu, Timken, Aveng Trident Steel, Kaefer and grow her company.

Though she made strides in the sector, the business was still confronted with many challenges, including shrinking margins and slowing revenue. In 2020, Gaffane sought to reposition the group from constructing steel products to steel components manufacturing. This change required significant capital investment of machinery and equipment. “The onset of COVID-19 worsened the difficulties in the construction sector, and I was convinced that the company required a change of direction not only to survive but to grow,” says Gaffane.

The Gauteng Enterprise Propeller came on board once more to assist the company in its quest for growth by providing funding for working capital. “In the past year, we invested a lot in equipment, and the support from GEP will help us operationalize that investment, she stated.

Gaffane has a passion for the industry and artisans that are its backbone. “My father was an artisan, and I saw firsthand how underappreciated he was even though his work was so pivotal, today he is part of our team here at Danchi, and we are making strides to create the best possible environment for artisans,” she explains. The support from GEP will help them to immediately create four more jobs, and in the future the plan is to expand to twenty-five jobs. Danchi has recently been crowned the winner of the 2021 Eskom Business Investment award, further proving that Gaffane’s goal to be a serious player in this sector is well on its course.

Owner: Mr. Solly Mojapelo
Business: Carnival Biscuits
Sector: Retail and Manufacturing
Employees: 16
Product: Gauteng Rebuilding Fund

Impact of funds: On 13 July 2021, the Carnival Biscuits retail outlet at Bara Mall, Soweto, was looted and completely vandalised. The business lost all its stock and all its movable equipment. In addition to theft, the store was damaged and flooded. Mojapelo applied for the Rebuilding Fund and his store was able to get it back to full trading before his busiest festive season period.

“I believe that even after the most difficult period for our business, growth is on the cards”.

Growth on the Cards after GEP intervention

It was over 21 years ago when Solly Mojapelo, a teacher of English and Economics and his wife Rose, a chemical analyst, teamed up to turn what was then only a hobby into a successful business. Rose, a talented baker, and Solly, the budding salesman, realised that they could make a decent additional income from the demand for baked goods in the community.

“ I used to sell cakes made from our domestic stove to my colleagues, and after school, I would always have deliveries to make, and we soon realised that with more effort, the business had the potential to grow. It was at this point that, much to the surprise of many that I took a plunge to leave my teaching job to run Carnival Biscuits full time”, explains Solly Mojapelo.

Today Carnival Biscuits has two retail stores and a manufacturing unit. The business employs 16 people. In addition to the directly employed personnel, the business has a profit-sharing programme with individual sellers who make a living by selling their products.

Mojapelo, who hails from Diepkloof, Soweto, realised that scaling the business to its current size would mean a change in their product lineup, and as a result

the business turned its focus into biscuits. In 2001, the first retail store was opened at the Highgate Mall.

“We were not just content with making biscuits; we wanted to make the best biscuits. We essentially had our own product development and innovation unit, where we developed our own unique recipes,” explains Mojapelo.

As all businesses do, Carnival Biscuits has experienced its highs and lows. One of their most significant highs was winning the contract to supply long-distance bus company, Greyhound, with biscuits. “Winning the Greyhound contract was a pinnacle for us. It helped improve our quality standards, and we could create more jobs for the people in our community, says Mojapelo. In 2007, we opened our manufacturing space at the Crown Mines” adds Mojapelo. In 2009, they opened the second retail outlet in Bara Mall.

It, therefore, came as a big blow to Carnival Biscuits when Greyhound announced that it would be closing its doors in February 2021. “Greyhound was our biggest client. The impact of their closure was devastating to us. However, we were still determined to keep the business going and find new customers”, Says Mojapelo.

2021 still had far more in store for the business. On Monday 12 July the Bara Mall Carnival Biscuits retail outlet was looted and completely vandalised. The business lost all its stock and all its movable equipment. In addition to theft, the store was vandalised with electrical and telephone cables ripped from the walls. The shop was also flooded causing thousands of rands worth of damage and leaving the store unable to trade for an extended period.

Mojapelo applied to the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller for the Gauteng Rebuilding Fund.

The funds he received from the Gauteng Rebuilding Fund helped the business get back to trading in time for its business period, the festive season. It has helped stabilise cash flow, replace damaged equipment, and just return to normal trading. Mojapelo draws lessons from this experience: “Our business was not insured, today even a spoon is insured”, he states.

Mojapelo is determined to get the business back on a growth path. “I believe that even after the most difficult period for our business, growth is on the cards for Carnival Biscuits”.