Vodacom Debuts VodaTrade for Growth of Small Suppliers

Vodacom Financial Services has announced an expansion of its services to include a supplier portal called VodaTrade, where the small supplier will be able to go digital and connect with bigger business partners.

This digital trading platform is set to support small and medium sized business by connecting them to exciting new business prospects.

“I'm really excited that we are launching a product which caters for SMEs, who are the backbone of our economy, as it is important that they are connected to the right business tools so they that are not left behind in their digital journey. The global pandemic has highlighted some of the economic and financial challenges and we look forward to unlocking new opportunities for businesses through VodaTrade,” says Mariam Cassim, Chief Officer at Vodacom Financial and Digital Services.

VodaTrade is a one stop interface for the small business to interact with all aspects of their trade. Some key features include analytics, receiving orders, catalogue management, confirming fulfilment, as well as sending back an invoice. VodaTrade also sets the foundation for us to provide additional services for our SME customers such a supply chain finance in the coming months.

According to Jenny Pather, Executive Head of Trading Bridge at Vodacom Financial Services, “VodaTrade enables the small supplier to seamlessly transact with large organisations with intricate systems without having to worry about backend complexity. VodaTrade enables this digitisation of the small supplier, which forms part of Vodacom’s mission to ensure SMEs have access to digital opportunities to succeed now and in the future.”

Pather goes on to say, “Our Trading Bridge platform is quite vast in its operations, switching transactions to the value of R200 billion per annum. Our objective is to enable small businesses to access this platform using the VodaTrade Supplier Portal and enable them to transact on a global scale.”

The message from the economic ramifications of COVID-19 is clear for small businesses in South Africa: adapt fast or run the risk of being left behind. Research shows that small businesses that invest in digitisation and technology grow three times faster than those that spend the least on digitising. But for many businesses, digitisation is a daunting process. It may seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be, as Vodacom provides support to SMEs while striving to connect everyone with what matters most. The important thing is to take incremental steps in the right direction, which includes mapping out what your ideal digital state is, and then create a roadmap to get there.