#27: Takealot - How the South African online retailer became one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Africa

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Takealot - the largest ecommerce platform in South Africa & one of the largest across Africa. We'll start by giving some context of e-commerce in South Africa, discuss Takealot's early history, Naspers' 2018 acquisition of Takealot, analyze Takealot business strategy & end with our overall outlook. This episode was recorded on April 18, 2021. Companies discussed: Takealot, Take2, Naspers, Tiger Global, Jumia, Kalahari.net, BidorBuy, Kilimall, Amazon, Konga, Alibaba, Everyshop (JD Group), Pick n Pay, Woolworths, Massmart, Spar & MIH Africa Business concepts discussed: Developing markets e-commerce, Pan-African expansion strategy & ecommerce marketplaces Conversation highlights: (01:20) - E-commerce and Takealot intro (04:50) - South Africa Retail & e-commerce context (15:30) - Takealot founding story: Take2, Tiger Global & Kim Reid (21:30) - Acquisition of Superbalist, Mr Delivery; Tiger Global investment (28:25) - Naspers takeover of Takealot from Tiger Global (33:46) - Takealot today: Product and monetization, business units, key metrics (45:10) - Competion: local, international & non-traditional (54:55) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:04:07) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:14:40) - Recommendation and small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Super forecasting (by Phil Tetlock): Article & Book Recommendation: Profit first (Mike Michalowicz) Small win: Dinner with friends in Old Havana in Miami. Fun conversations Other content: Notts County jersey vs Juventus jersey (story) Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendations: Leaving The Tarmac & Bring Back our Girls Small win: Vaxxed, booked and busy! Other content: Fantasy M&A: Takealot should get its head in the game  & The New Futuristic Takealot Pick-up Point - YouTube All episodes at Afrobility.com