A young entrepreneur from Mayibuye, a township between Midrand and Tembisa in Ekurhuleni launched an online mall two weeks before the national lockdown was implemented, giving small businesses the opportunity to sell their products online and closing the unemployment gap.
GH Mall enables township businesses to sell their products online and focuses on small businesses that sell clothing, accessories, local art, merchandise and books. Diketso Setho, founder of GH Mall believes that this is the time to look at how South African youth can use technology to grow the economy.
“Because of technology, one robot can replace 90 per cent of employees in various industries and a robot does not need a salary increase but just a software update in order to keep operating. That means if people do not get the necessary skills, more people will lose their jobs. You have to ask yourself how you are going to contribute to the economy using technology and make sure you are not left behind,” he said.
Upon completing Matric, Setho couldn’t afford to study further so instead, he taught himself how to do computer programming and completed short courses online to increase his information technology knowledge. Soon after that, he came up with the idea of establishing an online mall after realising that many small businesses that sell their own brands, especially start-ups, could not afford to hire a skilled technologist to develop e-commerce, security and automation, among others. In addition, he has already created three jobs at GH Mall.
One of the challenges he faces on daily basis is that fact that many consumers are still uncomfortable with buying things online.
“We need to adapt to the world of technology since it makes our lives easier. People are still scared of online shopping, even though it is the future,” added Setho. He is proud that his business has created a platform for local small businesses to grow their client base and that
