Chief of Staff at Gumtree SA- South Africa, Marcus Badach, says “Since late 2022, Gumtree SA has been entirely SA-owned for the first time. “Becoming locally owned, hosted and controlled has been a significant strategic boost for Gumtree South Africa.”
“This localisation and the resultant agility have made a huge difference to us at Gumtree; positioning ourselves as a marketplace deeply rooted in local needs and nuances, differentiates us from our international counterparts and impacts our daily operations and the future of the business.” he says
Expanding and developing SA’s digital economy
Gumtree’s transition to complete South African ownership is a strategic move that reinforces its commitment to the local market. By prioritizing local ownership and operations, Gumtree aims to empower South Africans, support SMEs, and enhance the online trading experience with a platform that understands and caters to the unique needs of its users. This local focus is poised to benefit not only Gumtree but also contribute to the broader growth and development of South Africa’s digital economy.
“While we knew that Gumtree is a great brand and one of South Africa’s most-visited websites, what we’d totally underestimated, was the positive response from people wanting to work at Gumtree,” Badach continues. “When people found out that we were an entirely SA-owned company, we started getting a lot more interest from potential employees who were keen to move to Cape Town and be a part of the Gumtree SA story. We now also have the budget and scope to employ these people, which benefits the local job market and economy.” adds Badach
Benefits of the local focus
According to Badach, they have created a more supportive environment for job creation and support of small and medium-sized enterprises- SMEs, which are the backbone of the South African economy. As one of South Africa’s largest online classified marketplaces, they have evolved into a vibrant community where sellers are able to build a brand and an online shop with loyal customers, with marketing tools and support, at low monthly costs.
“Since we’ve become entirely South African, Gumtree has been able to tailor its operations, customer support and moderation tools to suit the specific requirements of the local market. Having a fully staffed local team who understand the marketplace’s unique challenges and opportunities, allows us to offer a level of service and security to make online transactions safer and more reliable, that is uniquely suited to South African users.” he says
“It’s important for our users to know that unlike our international competitors, we actually have physical people who know local conditions and culture, as well as automation, checking things. At Gumtree SA, customer service is a genuine relationship between our staff and our customers.” he adds
“Being locally owned, and based, enables us to be more responsive and flexible to market changes and user feedback, implementing improvements and innovations in real time, to address the needs of our users. This agility is crucial in the fast-paced world of online trading, where user expectations and technological advancements are continually evolving.” he continues
Tech benefits
Gumtree’s newfound independence and agility have enabled the company to facilitate exciting and innovative developments and new features. Launching soon, the addition of an e-commerce experience to Gumtree SA, called Pay & Ship, ensures that essential elements such as secure buying and delivery are taken care of.
“We are constantly looking at how we can make the website and app better, with major updates and changes planned for 2024. Gumtree’s User Verification, powered by mobile payments app Spot, is able to verify the identity of buyers and sellers and their contact information, and is a critical step towards Gumtree becoming the most trusted marketplace in South Africa.” concludes Badach
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