We invest in SA Taxi
While South Africa has made significant strides in improving its population’s wellbeing since its transition to democracy in the mid-1990s,1 it remains one of the most economically unequal countries in the world. Approximately 55% of the population lives in poverty,2 and the country’s Gini Index is 63,3 which is the highest in the world.
Minibus taxis are an integral part of the South Africa’s public transport infrastructure. Approximately 70% of local households in South Africa use minibus taxis, and they account for 84% of daily transport and approximately 15 million
commuter trips daily.4
Founded in 1996, SA Taxi is a provider of minibus taxi finance, insurance, and allied products to low-income, exclusively Black5 individuals, in South Africa. The company fills a critical funding gap by providing credit to ‘taxipreneurs’ who would otherwise be excluded from the formal economy given their credit profiles. With approximately 12 million South Africans classified as unbanked, this segment of the population can only engage with a limited number of channels to access capital.
Each minibus taxi financed by SA Taxi has a ripple effect on job creation. Minibus taxi businesses create direct employment for drivers and conductors while providing a livelihood for the taxi owner. Indirectly, even when sitting in traffic, taxis create a central marketplace of goods and services where informal businesses, including retail, food and car washers, thrive. Furthermore, other jobs are directly created due to the need for ancillary services, such as mechanics. Since inception, SA Taxi has facilitated the creation of over 95,000 black-owned taxi businesses, as well as more than 172,000 direct and 287,000 indirect jobs, in a country with an unemployment rate of over 34%.
COVID-19 has had a major impact on South Africa’s economy, and the minibus taxi industry—like so many others— continues to feel its effects. SA Taxi stepped forwarded with a proactive approach to ensure that assistance can be offered to minimize the spread of the virus to stakeholders in the minibus taxi industry, which continues to be the most critical form of transportation infrastructure in South Africa. SA Taxi successfully set up a COVID-19 Vaccination Center at its premises in Gauteng, home to a quarter of South Africa’s population, where the company has been distributing vaccines to minibus taxi participants. The Vaccination Center has been administering an average of 200 vaccines daily, with all vaccination processes conducted in accordance with the South African Department of Health regulations. In addition, SA Taxi also distributes COVID-19 related PPE items, such as sanitizers and masks, to all recipients of the vaccine at the SA Taxi Vaccination Center
From Part-time Driver to Owner of a 15-vehicle Taxi Fleet
Mr. Philemon Nzima
[1] https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/southafrica/overview#1
[2] https://databank.worldbank.org/data/download/poverty/33EF03BB-9722-4AE2-ABC7-AA2972D68AFE/Global_POVEQ_ZAF.pdf
[3] https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gini-coefficient-by-country
[4] https://www.transactioncapital.co.za/downloads/FY17_SA%20Taxi%20Funder%20Prospectus.pdf (figures updated by SA Taxi as of November 2021)
[5] A term used to identify Africans, Colored individuals, and Indians in accordance with the South African BBBEE Act
The portfolio company profiled here is for educational purposes only and may not represent all of the portfolio holdings. It should not be assumed that investments in the company identified and discussed were or will be profitable. The companies profiled were selected based on their financial inclusion and impact with no reference to amount of profits or losses, realized or unrealized. Any portfolio metrics listed here have been self reported by SA Taxi as of 6/30/2021.