Field Actions Science Reports (Oct 2014)
Last mile delivery in low income communities: The Sekulula spaza express experiment in South Africa
Abstract
This article is a description of Sekulula Spaza Express, a business model to deliver goods to informal traders piloted in Khayelitsha and Nyanga in Cape Town, South Africa by Reciprocity, a consultancy based in South Africa. The Sekulula Spaza Express model was established by Reciprocity, with funding from PepsiCo, and tested and tracked over a period of 3 months from January to March 2010. The results allowed to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of last mile delivery in low income communities in the South African context, and identify the bottlenecks that need to be addressed in order to create a financially viable business model. It also demonstrated the value of “learning by doing”, and the valuable learnings that can be gathered at little cost to understand the dynamics of last mile delivery and trading in very low income communities. In this regard, Cape Town and its immediate surroundings present unique features, making the area an ideal testing ground for inclusive business models.
