News & resources

Every business aims to have a mission, a goal that it strives for, but achieving this mission requires more than just a vision. A business’s image and how it projects itself to its customers, employees and the public is a key factor in the success and longevity of any company. uAfrica is no exception, and although the heart of the company remains the same, its outward appearance has evolved with a new logo and name to better express our mission.

Soviet Denim is taking it back to the streets with their edgy denim styles – and that includes the street that you live on. When they were looking for a fulfilment star, they chose Bob Go. Read their story:

Macaroon Collection has become a #SuccessStory by supplying premium lifestyle accessories, including bags and international-brand footwear, plus their own Roon jewellery range. We sat down with owner and founder, Michelle du Plessis, to chat about her ecommerce journey and what advice she would give to entrepreneurs who are just starting out.

Bob Go has proven to be a great look for Standard Beauty - our shipping solutions are helping them reach every corner of South Africa with their affordable, cruelty-free skincare and beauty products. We sit down with Ann-Kathrin Joos, founder and CEO, to chat about how buying beauty products online is now an even better way to avoid lines!

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the defining moments of the world’s entry into the roaring 20’s (the 2020’s, that is!). Facing a restricted economy, a rising unemployment rate and an extremely strained health sector, the country has had to adapt and adjust rapidly in light of this ongoing illness spread across the globe. One of the industries that have had the best response to the pandemic is the South African eCommerce sector. In this article we will examine the “new” eCommerce and a few of the ways that businesses have adjusted their offerings for the safety of their customers.

When it came to the crunch, Simply Granola chose Bob Go to manage all their shipments. We sat down with founder, Nicola Kok to talk about her ecommerce journey and how she's making breakfast the most important meal of the day:

From March 2023, uAfrica will become Bob Go – part of Bob Group.

One of the most important things to consider when packaging anything is the quality. Quality packaging not only extends the life of products for safer use, but it is also the best way to protect the items you are shipping. In this article, we will look at the importance of quality packaging, as well as packaging guidelines to ensure top quality packaging.

Meet Liesl Steyn. She is the newest team member and a great addition to our awesome uAfrica team.

We are excited to announce that RAM, a leading provider of industry-specific technology solutions and logistics infrastructure, is available on Bob Go from early February 2023.

Our vision at Bob Go is to create a smart shipping and order management solution that is simple, streamlined and innovative. We want to empower ecommerce merchants by providing powerful, integrated software, offering quotes from multiple couriers, automated shipping labels, order management tools and tracking notifications for customers.

Ecommerce is hardly a new idea, but over the last three years, a massive shift has taken place. Propelled by the pandemic, the ecommerce industry has boomed in a country previously tied tightly to bricks-and-mortar retail. Despite people moving to online shopping like never before, ecommerce in South Africa continues to face challenges including an inadequate delivery network, a struggling economy and compromised infrastructure.

The Bob Group vision includes offering a seamless ecommerce experience, and encouraging the rebrand of bidorbuy and uAfrica to better reflect the ultimate goal of developing a holistic ecommerce ecosystem. One of the key factors in creating this experience is ensuring a strong commonality across the names of the services we offer. This led to the decision to use ‘Bob’ as a prefix for all brands provided by Bob Group; the rest of the name would then represent the purpose of the service offered.  After a great deal of discussion and brainstorming, Bob Go was born.

Formed from the merger of uAfrica and bidorbuy in August 2022, Bob Group is a spanking new brand with a revolutionary vision. Building on our shared history of entrepreneurship and overcoming adversity, Bob Group will enable even more ecommerce success stories by providing the tools and services online startups and established businesses need.

Choosing the right ecommerce platform on which to build your website is acrucial decisionfor business owners. In today’s digital age, customers expect a personalised experience - and Magento is one platform that can provide such a service.

Have you ever thought about what happens after you’ve handed your parcel over to the courier?

Watch this exciting and fascinating interview with our very own Andy Higgins, the MD of uAfrica and founder of bidorbuy, for a discussion on his career history and the state of eCommerce in South Africa in 2020. Andy talks about his first job, uAfrica and his new projectShip Logic. He also touches on the current state and future of eCommerce in South Africa with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic.

by Duncan ColvilleDirector at TDMC and Shopify Expert

TDMC (The Digital Media Collective) is one of our preferred suppliers and based in sunny Durbs.  They are a digital media agency specialising in eCommerce builds, digital strategy and media buying as well as brand identity and content creation.  With such top-notch services on offer, it's no surprise that they attract clients like Boardriders (Roxy) and Thandana Bags.  We decided to showcase their services for this newsletter to help merchants and partners alike, the team has a ton of knowledge which we can all make use of in some way shape and form, so we had a chat with Duncan Coleville, one of the Directors at TDMC to find out more!

KNUSis a new client of ours.  Although they only started their store 6 months ago, they are already making waves in the online space with their marketplace / dropshipping model using uAfrica Shipping on Shopify.  We had a chat with the Founder, Lizelle de Villiers, on how it’s all been going.  (I'll give you a hint: quite well!)

Leading up to December, we have a rather unique success story for you this month.  In a nutshell, this business supplies awesome indoor plants.  We had a chance to chat to Andreas Keller, Founder and Manager ofPlantify, to guide us through what he does and how he makes people happy with plants.

Legacy Collection is a jewellery store with a difference.  Charmaine Taylor, Founder and Jewellery Creator, took a leap of faith and acquired the original fencing from Robben Island Prison and has been turning it into symbolic items of beauty and hope, ever since.

Rugged SAis relatively new to the online scene but they seem to be getting it very right.  They're proof that you can reap the benefits of having an online store if you put the effort in.  The store sells rugged phones for the outdoors enthusiast as well as other techie accessories.  We had a chat with Jaques Els, Managing Director of Rugged SA, to see how he and his team went about making their online offering so great:

Our success story for the month of August comes from the online fitness and lifestyle gurus of Defined Lifestyle.  Craig and Marinda Retief have been operating their online store for just over a year now and they're making a very big success of it.  The reason?  Not only are their products of a very high standard, but their entire mission is about helping their customers get the best from using their products advice.  This approach is a winner when dealing online so we caught up with them for a quick chat about their online journey so far: