Beauty entrepreneur Khanyi Nkosi from Tembisa thought joining and selling her products on Takealot was a dream come true into stepping into the world of e-commerce, but that has not been the case.
She listed her range of handmade shea butter moisturisers in 2023, paid for packaging and storage, and waited. But months later, she had made just five sales.
“I’ve spent over R3000 just on fees and getting compliant, and my product still does not show up when customers search. It’s like I don’t exist,” she said.
Nkosi’s experience is echoed by many small, women-led businesses trying to make a living on large e-commerce platforms like Takealot and Amazon Marketplace.
While these platforms promise national reach and access to millions of customers, many entrepreneurs say the systems are not built for small sellers.
High monthly fees, strict packaging requirements and poor visibility in search rankings are just some of the challenges they face.
According to the Department of Small Business Development, more than 40% of South Africa’s informal businesses are women-led.
However, the digital migration of small businesses remains uneven, with few structural incentives or training programmes to support these entrepreneurs on commercial marketplaces.
Takealot, South Africa’s biggest online retailer, charges sellers various fees, including commission, warehousing and handling costs, which often leave thin margins for micro-businesses.
On Amazon Marketplace, where competition is even more globalised, small sellers struggle to rank against better resourced international sellers with optimised listings and access to advertising tools.
Thandi Mabena, a haircare brand owner based in Soweto, said she has left the platform.
“My product was getting views but no purchases. Once I did the maths, I realised I was making less than R10 per sale after all the deductions. I now sell everything through Instagram and WhatsApp, and I have made over R7000 in the last month,” Mabena said.
Platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp have become lifelines for entrepreneurs like Mabena.
WhatsApp allows sellers to interact directly with customers, manage orders and accept payments without third-party interference or fees.
Instagram enables visual storytelling, targeted engagement and access to niche communities. While these platforms come with their challenges such as limited payment integration or lack of legal protections, they offer greater control, lower costs and immediate reach.
Analysts believe this shift signals a bigger issue: that South Africa’s fast-growing e-commerce economy is not automatically inclusive.
According to Statista, South Africa’s online shopping sector is expected to generate over US$7.3 billion (R134 billion) in revenue by the end of 2025.
However, most of this growth is concentrated among large retailers and established brands.
The barriers to entry remain high for informal and micro-enterprises.
Nokuthula Dube, a digital commerce advisor in Gauteng, said marketplaces needed to rethink their SME strategy.
“If they want more local sellers, they need to reduce onboarding costs, simplify compliance and improve training,” she said.
“Otherwise, township businesses will stay offline or build their channels.”
Some businesses have already started doing so. Groups of women entrepreneurs are organising community WhatsApp catalogues, pooling delivery costs and promoting each other’s products.
In Cape Town, a co-operative of fashion designers sells directly via Instagram Lives every Saturday, drawing up to 300 viewers and converting real-time sales.
For entrepreneurs like Nkosi, the lesson has been clear.
“I thought joining a big platform was the only way to grow, but now I realise my customers are closer than I thought. I just needed to speak to them directly,” she said.
As the country looks for ways to support women-led businesses, especially in township and rural areas, the focus must shift from simply offering “digital access” to designing platforms that truly work for micro-entrepreneurs. Without this, many small sellers may continue to be lost in the very economy they are trying to enter.
