In townships hungry for take-out, Delivery Ka Speed is hungry for change

Mogajane’s next discovery – that none of the usual fast-food delivery apps service Hammanskraal, or any other township, for that matter – sparked an idea that set the entrepreneurial 24-year-old on a mission not only to bring take-out to the townships, but to employ and uplift jobless local youths at the same time.

The township’s informal patchwork of unmapped streets make it impossible for outside delivery services to find customers’ locations. But what if the delivery service was run by locals and only employed township residents intimately familiar with their neighbourhood’s layout as drivers? Fast-forward one year and Delivery Ka Speed (‘Speedy Delivery’ in Sepitori) is a flourishing, homegrown, black-owned, township food delivery service with its own mobile app.

“The community welcomed us with open arms,” says marketing manager Tsholofelo Lebelo. “Obviously, people are familiar with food delivery apps and services, so when we brought that convenience to the townships, they were like, ‘Finally! Where have you guys been?’”

Originally, the Delivery Ka Speed team consisted of just six staff, two shoppers, and three delivery drivers. Today, the burgeoning business is run by 15 ambitious black graduates, all under 30 and hailing from Hammanskraal, and over 26 delivery drivers.

According to Lebelo, thanks to their shared backgrounds and common goal of uplifting their community, the team has grown into a tight-knit force to be reckoned with. “One thing that sets our team apart from any other team is we are just hungry to participate in this economy,” agrees Mogajane. “We’re tired of having companies that come to our townships to drop products and services and we just consume.”

While Delivery Ka Speed’s customers are reaping the benefits of the company’s success by tucking into their favourite fast foods at home, it’s undoubtedly the drivers – who use either cars, bicycles, or e-bikes to make deliveries – who are the real beneficiaries in this story.

“Delivery Ka Speed has changed me as a whole, financially and mentally,” says Lucky Marumo, a 24-year-old delivery driver. Thulani Malambe, also 24 years old, tells a similar story: “Since I started working at Delivery Ka Speed, my life changed,” he says. “Now I am able to do things that I wasn’t able to do when I wasn’t working. I’m able to buy myself new clothes that I like, I’m able to buy myself food that I want.”

Economically empowering people like Marumo and Malambe is central to Delivery Ka Speed’s raison d'etre. “We can change the narrative of young people in townships: that they’re lazy and that they don’t want to work,” says Mogajane. “Because what we have seen is that young people want to work, young people want to participate in this economy. They want to make an honest income.”

Delivery Ka Speed’s inspiring story caught the attention of Claire Olivier, key account manager at online payment solution, Adumo Online. Olivier reached out and was immediately impressed by the buckets of potential she saw in the small but ambitious team. Adumo Online now processes payments for the innovative delivery service's app.

CEO David Smith says that he has the Adumo Online team’s experience and nose for talent to thank for identifying promising partnerships such as this one. “It was Claire’s belief that brought the Delivery Ka Speed mission to our attention,” says Smith. “Having people that can look at opportunities and identify the potential for success, rather than just looking at the numbers, has helped to unlock another exciting partnership for Adumo Online.”

“Adumo Online has made it extremely easy for our customers to pay online,” says Delivery Ka Speed. This ability and willingness to engage with small, nascent merchants, while having the scope to service enterprise clients like Herbalife, is a hallmark of Adumo Online’s agile approach and wide scope. Part of South Africa’s largest independent payment processing conglomerate, the Adumo Group, Adumo Online is an online payment solution that supports multiple payment types across all e-commerce channels.

Hungry? Download the Delivery Ka Speed app for iOS and Android.