
Building the future of the informal economy today.
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The formal economy is not creating enough jobs with youth unemployment at 45.5% in Q3, 2024 (Stats SA).
Individuals unable to find employment are often left reliant on the informal economy to survive. This leads them to be further marginalised and locked out of economic opportunity, due to a lack of access to markets, capital, formal supply chains and training.
WHY?
The formal economy is failing a generation of young South African's.
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WHAT?
We unlock the potential of the informal economy
and its budding entrepreneurs.
We have achieved this with South Africa’s first end-to-end retail e-commerce platform built with by and for the informal economy. Our platform stimulates local trade in informal areas by building trust, capacity and connections, to create new livelihoods opportunities where it is needed most. ​
In the last four years we have achieved the following impact...
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>1,000
youth trained in
e-commerce
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>400
profitable informal
e-commerce businesses created
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>$500K USD
in revenue for informal
e-commerce businesses
HOW?
How does the platform unlock the potential of young people (Partners) who want to start and run a business online?
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Product Catalogue
SUPPLY CHAIN
In the Word of Mouth App Partners can access a catalogue with hundreds of products, they can sell online, from a range suppliers that are not available in informal areas.
Word of Mouth picks, packs, and procures the inventory available in its catalogue on behalf of its Partners. By aggregating demand, Partners benefit from discounts made possible through collective bargaining with the suppliers.
Drop-Shipping
CAPITAL
Training
SKILLS
​All Partners complete an onboarding training. After completing the onboarding, they can access additional training on business skills such as marketing, pricing, and product selection so they can grow with their businesses.
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Delivery and payment
MARKET ACCESS
Word of Mouth ships orders, through its local network of drivers. In the absence of delivery services in townships, this opens up a considerable local market for our Partners. The drivers also play a secondary function facilitating payment, in cash, crucial in an economy where there is still high levels of distrust of online payments.
The technology behind the impact
Our digital platform is highly scalable ensuring WOM's solution could not just affect the lives of South African's but
micro-enterprises across the continent.
The technology stack currently provides:

Live product catalogue
Real-time inventory management
Order tracking and fleet management
On-delivery payment solution
Weekly and monthly payment reports
Exchange and refund management
Personalised store data
How are we different?
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Our Team
WOM’s directors have over 40 years’ experience developing and scaling products for low-income groups across Africa. While WOM's hiring strategy has focused on individuals from the locations we serve, providing local ownership, connections, partnerships, and product insights.
Our Team

Our Data
WOM collects highly sought after data on the informal economy. This data can help inform the development of WOM’s training packages, drive policy change, and further support financial inclusion for everyone.
Our Data
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Our Position
Other organisations have focused on connecting informal actors with formal income opportunities (markets and jobs). We are different because we create local income opportunities and build local capacity in the informal areas.
Our Position
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Our Layers of Impact
The platform's growth also creates additional income opportunities for other informal actors (beyond our Partners). The platform is run using local drivers, and the platform wants to include local suppliers furthering our impact.
Our Layers of Impact
With thanks too (and a few more)...
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