Another E Squared Innovation and Response Fund (IRF) investee, Kuloolapp also managed to survive the week of unrest and destruction in some way. Many supporters fought hard to protect their 2000m2 warehouse and its inventory.
“We are grateful that our staff and delivery partners will get to keep their jobs. Our store is one of only three grocery/wholesale stores remaining in a municipality of 400 000 people in Eshowe, northern KZN. Just after the looting when many in logistics were struggling to get food and medicine around the country, Kuloolapp delivered over 400 orders in two days to mostly rural and township pensioners, and spaza shops, but began to run low on stock.”
This is particularly interesting in relation to our recent research with GIBS into the ethics when dealing with small businesses, where they called on FMCG suppliers to assist with direct supply on fair trading terms at a time of need like this.
Kuloolapp is a scalable technology-driven startup that delivers groceries to over 20 000 rural/township households and stock to over 200 tuckshops using a propriety navigation technology that enables the identification of unaddressed rural dwellings.
They have a safe and secure warehouse and a fleet of their own and partner delivery vehicles, and create an exemplary impact on communities that are heavily affected by our country’s most unfortunate events.
August 2021
