#StartupStory: Delivery Ka Speed - A township fast-food delivery service

Godiragetse Mogajane | image supplied

Mogajane launched the business at the end of July 2021 after he tried to order food via a food delivery service from his grandmother's home in Hammanskraal and found that the service did not operate in the area. After doing some research, he discovered that most food delivery services don't operate in townships or rural areas.

After spotting the gap in the market he started Delivery Ka Speed with a small team taking orders via WhatsApp and delivery drivers from Hammanskraal. Over 6,500 orders have been received since the service launched. Delivery Ka Speed also electric scooters to do its deliveries.

I caught up with Mogajane to find out more about Delivery Ka Speed, himself, and the plans he has for his startup.

Briefly tell us about Delivery Ka Speed. How and why did you get started?

The unpleasant customer journey to get fast food in the township can get crazy, especially at month-end with long queues. It takes ages to stand in line just to get food after you’ve spent half the day shopping and getting groceries, so by the time you get home, the food is cold. Then there is the ever-increasing youth unemployment in the townships – if you go to any township right now, you’ll find the youth roaming around the streets like it's a weekend. It’s not the case of them not being educated because they are; unfortunately, we are just at a time when securing a job is difficult. At Delivery Ka Speed, our aim is to combat youth unemployment.

What challenges and obstacles did you face when you started building your company?

One of the challenges we’ve faced with the ordering process is customers testing the app by ordering. This results in a loss for us as orders would have already been purchased.

Tell us about your app. How will it work and when will it launch?

We have three apps: the Customer App, the Merchant App and the Driver App. The customer app is the one customers use to place orders, merchants accept orders on the merchant app and the driver app allows our drivers/riders to track the customer when delivering the order.

Where would you like to see Delivery Ka Speed in the next five years?

As young as it is, we are aiming for immense growth by being operational in all the townships of South Africa as the business is a KASI Township delivery service provider.

What trends do you predict for the fast-food delivery industry?

Rapid online grocery growth – food deliveries are becoming popular in townships and people are becoming comfortable with the idea of online food orders. Ordering groceries are starting to become a norm, too. I also see a rise in food delivery subscriptions – with online orders growing at a faster pace than ever, food operators have an unprecedented opportunity to increase profit margins and customer reach.

As an entrepreneur, what would you like to see change in the South African startup landscape?

Access to the business industry for young and bright minds that can take entrepreneurship to a whole new level. More funding and business programmes for aspiring entrepreneurs.

What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?

As the definition of an entrepreneur itself emphasises risk-taking, it has to be duly noted that with risk comes great responsibility and possible repercussions, especially when venturing into start-up businesses that require immense capital injection for operational purposes. I would say never risk what you cannot afford to lose, take up business projects with a well-coordinated plan of action and execution method in place, and ensure you have a contingency plan.