“I want to open a local Takealot store in South Africa—where do I even start?”
“Should we register a South African company first?”
“Does that mean once the store is up and running, we can start selling products?”
“Can a complete beginner do this?”

Lately, many cross-border sellers have been asking me one question:

“Is it really worth doing business with Takealot in South Africa right now?”

To be honest, if you only look at information online, it’s easy to end up with a polarized view.

Some say this is the next blue ocean—the competition on the platform isn't that intense yet;
Some people say that the South African market is too small, logistics are slow, and the barriers to entry are high, so it’s better to stick with Amazon.

So this time, we didn’t just review the data; we went to the South African market specifically to conduct on-site research. After seeing it for myself, I feel I can speak frankly about a few things.

最近很多工厂老板都在问我： “Takealot本土店现在能不能做？”“是不是注册南非公司就能入驻？”“我的产品 […]

Lately, many cross-border sellers have been asking:

“Is Takealot in South Africa still in business?”
“Is it too late to get involved now?”
“Is it really that much of a hassle to register a South African company and set up a local store?”

To be honest, before I went to South Africa, I had a lot of questions myself.

Everyone online says South Africa is “Africa’s blue ocean market,” and Takealot is South Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, but are there really opportunities in this market? Once Chinese sellers enter the market, what are the actual challenges they face?

To get to the bottom of these issues, our Qicaiying team traveled to South Africa specifically to conduct a field study.

After this fact-finding trip, my biggest takeaway is:

Takealot in South Africa isn’t for everyone, but for sellers with established supply chains and long-term plans, there is indeed still a window of opportunity right now.

 Recently, a major policy has been reshaping the entire “logic of overseas investment”—State Council Order No. 837 (Regulations on the Administration of Foreign Investment), which will take effect on […]