Digital-first approach

In line with the strategy of driving a digital-first approach to business, a number of digital platforms were launched. This included the new Telkom Business e-commerce platform (www.telkombusiness.co.za) that enables SMEs to purchase a diverse range of connectivity products online. The uptake on the platform has been positive, with an average of 98 521 business customers utilising the platform monthly.

The Yep! brand was successfully launched together with the new Yep! app on 15 May 2020. This represents the first phase of the e-Marketplace strategy. As at 31 March 2021, there were over
25 335 downloads across the Google Play, Apple and Huawei stores, with the desktop version attracting an average of 337 827 users per month.

The Yep! proposition is also supported by our new Freed@ platform, a unique platform that allows SMEs to showcase their business and engage with their customers via surveys and competitions. The platform’s benefit is the ability for customers to earn loyalty points via interactions that can be redeemed for a variety of rewards, including Telkom Mobile airtime and data.

Adjacent offerings

Driving the growth of adjacent revenue streams and opportunities remains a strategic imperative. In the third quarter of FY2021, we introduced solutions in the insurance, payments and lending space that address the needs of small businesses and consumers.

Funeral cover customers have increased by 484% since the product was launched in August 2020. Mobile device insurance gross written premiums and volumes grew by 23% and 24%, respectively, a good performance considering store closures during COVID-19 lockdown periods.

Telkom Digital Wallet was piloted in the fourth quarter of FY2021 and at year-end there are a significant number of verified customers using the platform. Pre-paid purchases are the most popular transactions on the platform. The wallet uses WhatsApp and allows customers to send money to anyone with a mobile number quickly and securely, without needing additional apps. Customers can pay or get paid through a quick response code, send money, make cash withdrawals or pay for goods. The wallet can also be linked to physical cards such as VISA and Mastercard.

The Yep! segment (previously SMB) has been aggregated into the Telkom Consumer Segment. Kindly refer to the annual financial statements available online at www.telkom.co.za/ir.

Looking forward

We want Telkom to be the go-to place for all South African small and medium businesses to connect and grow their businesses. Our goal is to shift revenue from pure connectivity products towards an e-commerce-based revenue stream across all SME sectors. The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased the urgency to accelerate small and medium businesses into e-commerce platforms. The business is well positioned to respond through the current solutions already available through Yellow Pages.

The focus going forward will be to initially equip customers with an online store through Yep!, customised websites and digital performance marketing services. This will help enable small and medium businesses to sell their products and services online without the complexity and time required to set up a traditional e-commerce site.

As the uptake of e-commerce and the marketplace accelerates, we will expand access to our adjacent product offerings in IT, procurement and financial services through the platform.

The outlook for the digital e-commerce and fintech business is an exciting one, and a lot was learnt and achieved in the past year. As a result, a revised distribution partnership model was introduced to improve sales and a digital platform is being developed to distribute all our products via online and mobile applications.