South Africa’s digital divide is no longer only about whether people can get online. Increasingly, it is about whether small businesses can access technology that helps them operate more efficiently once they’re connected.
This distinction matters as smartphone use has become widespread, and many township and informal businesses already use digital channels. Orders arrive through WhatsApp, and customers can make inquiries through social media. Even payments now move through banking apps. Yet these activities often sit alongside handwritten records, spreadsheets, manual invoicing, and stock systems that do not speak to one another. Although it ticks the boxes of connectivity, it is not yet full digital enablement.
The Competition Commission’s inaugural Rural and Township Economy Report makes the gap hard to ignore: only 11% of township businesses sell through online marketplaces, while the same proportion operate their own ecommerce websites. Online customers account for about 7% of their reach, and roughly half still depend mainly on walk-in customers. Among businesses that do not sell online, 24% cited registration or eligibility requirements, while 15% pointed to limited knowledge and another 15% to inadequate infrastructure.
These findings suggest that basic connectivity is no longer the only obstacle. Stats SA reported that 85.6% of households had internet access through some means in 2025, while ICASA’s latest sector report shows that 4G networks cover 99.5% of the population, with more than 83 million smartphone subscriptions. The next phase of digital inclusion must also consider whether smaller businesses can afford, understand, and use the tools needed to run digitally enabled operations.
A smartphone is not a digitised business
For many micro-enterprises, the first stage of digitisation has happened organically. A smartphone becomes the point of sale, customer service desk, marketing platform, and communications hub.
That is useful, but it can create new administrative friction. A business owner may receive an order on WhatsApp, record the customer’s details elsewhere, check stock manually, create an invoice separately, and track payment through a banking app. Each step may be digital, but the overall process remains fragmented.
The conversation about small-business technology, therefore, needs to evolve. The goal should not be to persuade more entrepreneurs to go digital but to make useful business technology easier to adopt.
Accessibility over capital
Enterprise software has traditionally been designed around organisations with larger budgets, established systems, and dedicated IT capacity. For a micro-enterprise whose owner may also handle sales, customer service, purchasing, and bookkeeping, complex implementation and infrastructure requirements can quickly become another barrier.
Technology needs to reflect the realities of these businesses. Software should be priced in proportion to the business, work well on mobile devices, and be simple enough to use without specialist support. Cloud and low-code technology can reduce much of the up-front burden. Tools such as Zoho Creator, for example, allow non-technical owners to turn offline processes such as a stock book or delivery log into simple digital applications.
Simplicity and incremental integration
A small retailer may initially need little more than digital invoicing and basic cash-flow tracking, and later they may add inventory management, customer records, or an online sales channel. Technology should let entrepreneurs add capabilities gradually without forcing them to rebuild the business around a complicated system.
At Zoho, this is the thinking behind Zoho One, with tools such as Zoho Books, Zoho Invoice, Zoho CRM, and Zoho Commerce giving smaller businesses access to functions once associated mainly with larger enterprises. This allows them to start with what they need and add capabilities as they grow. The point is not that every micro-enterprise must adopt every application but that technology should adapt to the business.
Many small businesses are already digital in fragments. The opportunity is to help them connect those fragments so customer information, sales, stock, invoicing, and cash flow form part of the same operational picture.
Practical gains, broader impact
The Department of Small Business Development’s 2026/27 Annual Performance Plan recognises the need for broader enablement, with measures to reduce red tape for MSMEs and digital initiatives intended to make support more accessible and integrated. Registration, infrastructure, skills, and access to finance cannot be solved by the private sector alone, but technology providers have a responsibility to remove as much friction as possible from the tools themselves.
That means solving everyday administrative problems rather than chasing technology hype. For a spaza shop owner, the return lies in invoices sent on time, stock that doesn’t run out unnoticed, and a clear view of cash flow. Getting this right matters beyond individual businesses, with Stats SA reporting that the informal sector accounted for 21.4% of total employment in the fourth quarter of 2025, showing how deeply these enterprises are woven into South Africa’s labour market.
With nearly nine in ten township businesses not yet selling through online marketplaces, the opportunity is to give entrepreneurs practical tools that help them run stronger businesses, manage growth, and participate more fully in the digital economy.
Connectivity opened the door, but inclusive growth will depend on whether small and informal businesses have practical, affordable, and accessible tools that help them move through it.
- Andrew Bourne, Regional Head, Southern Africa at Zoho
