To help the growth of small businesses in South Africa, Telkom Business has launched Yep! – a digital marketplace where customers can safely and confidently search and purchase from small, trusted businesses – available on Google Play and Apple’s app store.
The app is geared toward economic sustainability, creating a long-term future for small businesses.
“Think of Yep! as a ‘friend’ to small businesses, as it provides a scalable solution to help grow and enhance their reach,” says Lunga Siyo, CEO of Telkom Business. “The COVID-19 pandemic has far-reaching effects, none of which paint a bright future for many businesses and even more so in South Africa where small to medium-sized enterprises form the backbone of the economy.”
Yep! users can easily locate the businesses or services they require in their area, request quotes, directly book appointments from the app, view the store online, and review its ratings. They can also create their own online store with unique branding and upload their list of services to find new customers.
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In 2019, small businesses generated more than a quarter of total turnover in business services, trade, community, and both social and personal services, according to Stats SA.
With the current crisis, Treasury projects that more than seven million jobs could be lost as a result. “Yep! will play a critical role in ensuring the survival of the country’s small businesses that we’ve come so to rely on and help provide and grow the job sector,” Siyo adds.
Telkom says that Yep! will continuously evolve and will soon boast several feature upgrades that customers can look forward to, including:
- More service categories will be enabled on the platform
- Full fulfilment where customers can book appointments, service providers can complete invoicing and mark job completion
- Online delivery and payment integration
It will also include a bidding section where users can post a service requirement or bid for new business as per customers’ requirements and corporate partners.
“In these tough times, Telkom Business is excited to pivot and create a solution that will help unlock real opportunities for SMEs. Yep! allows us to create value for customers and secure a different revenue stream for the Telkom Group,” ends Siyo. “At Yep! it is our business to grow small businesses.”
