ENTREPRENEUR

RSAMADE is taking Mzansi brands to the masses

1) Can you briefly tell us how RSA MADE was founded and who are the brains behind it?

In 2012, a discussion between husband and wife Karamba Jabbie & Thandie Jabbie turned into a business idea after many referrals to websites such as madeinchina.com. We had a chat with many of our friends on how this can become a reality but no one could get what we were trying to do, Four years later in May 2016, over birthday drinks with friends , the idea gained much needed momentum as one of our very good friend Ntai Khojane asked us what we could do that would benefit us financially and help grow the economy at the same time, then told him about this idea which he got immediately and the next day we registered RSAMade GROUP.

2) What propelled you to start the business and why online?

We then found a gap in the market and we needed to fill it, RSAMade was born to introduce South African goods to the world with just a click on one platform, which is proudly South African.

RSAMADE GROUP is a newly established E-commerce Company that sells Locally manufactured and Produced Goods, originating from all Industries to Locally-based and Internationally-based Consumers (B2C) & (B2B). The company was formed to fill a gap in the market and to introduce South African goods to the world with just a click on one platform, which is proudly South African.

We provide an Online Marketplace and advertising for our Merchants and Big Corporates. Our online platform will enable consumers, merchants, and other participants to conduct approvajn our ecosystem.

3) What are some of the challenges that you have faced and how did you overcome these?

The biggest challenge is to get South Africans to buy South African and grow each other, I think we have a BIG job ahead of us to make the country aware that if we buy from each other, grow and keep our communities alive that the cost of living lowers, the more we buy the more they manufacture and the cheaper it will be to live.

4) Do you think South Africans have embraced the concept of online shopping?

It’s been 23 years since the first pizza and the first bunch of flowers was sold online. One would think, after all this time, that retailers would know exactly what works and exactly how the digital consumer thinks.

Yet, shopping in South Africa,

only 4% of adults regularly shop online. We could blame high data costs, low levels of tech-savviness, or lack of trust.

However, that doesn’t explain why a population where more than a quarter of people have a debit or credit card and almost 40% of people use the internet.

5) Do you have a criteria of selecting the products that you sell?

You first have to be a Proudly South African member and then its free to come on to the Platform once you have your Proudly South African approval Local content: In the case of products, at least 50% of the final cost of production must have been incurred in South Africa, or if raw materials have been imported, substantial transformation must have taken place in our country; for service companies, we consider your local procurement habits;

Proof of quality by way of certification from an accredited verification body or industry association;

6) Which countries have your most loyal customers?

The USA and the UK, they have both been our biggest spenders on the platform.

7) The online industry is growing in leaps and bounds. How would you describe the competition?

I would say we don’t have competition because there is no one that had a platform like our in South Africa, we are the

only platform the sells products that are made in South Africa and we can prove that each and every product on the platform is really made in South Africa, I don’t think you will find a platform that can prove that to you and certify that what you are buying is quality.

8) Can you walk us through some of the awards you have won.

We have Won the 6th SA Business Premier awards. The Best Proudly South African and we have entered the marketing achievement awards as we Promoted the New Spiderman movie, Into the Spider verse which won a Grammy and the promotion did really well in South Africa because we got 2.2 million hit on the platform just in the month of December and growing monthly.

10) How do manufacturers who want to incorporate RSA MADE get hold of you? Is there a process they must undergo?

Our database is growing on a monthly basis, we receive at least six (6) new vendors every fortnight. They can go to www.rsamade.co.za or send us an email to info@rsamade.co.za or call us on 010 300 0399