A digitalisation initiative for over 2 000 township merchants – enacted through a three-year partnership with the Gauteng Department of Economic Development (GDED), and food ordering and delivery platform Uber Eats – has generated over R1-billion in economic value.

This was achieved through real customer demand, owing to exposure to millions of customers, which enabled the merchants to build repeat and sustainable trade.

Speaking at the Township Celebration event held by Uber Eats and the GDED, on February 3, 2026, at Streat & Chill restaurant, in Soweto, Uber Eats sub-Saharan Africa GM Ntsoaki Nsibanyoni explained that, when Uber signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the GDED in May 2023, it set out to support the implementation of the Township Development Act.

Uber Eats helped to incorporate township businesses into the digital economy by expanding access to customers for its merchants and delivery partners while creating sustainable earning opportunities through the Uber Eats platform.

Nsibanyoni said Uber Eats was “very clear” on its targets and what it wanted to achieve, committing to digitising 700 merchants in townships across Gauteng.

“What makes this so exciting for us is that we . . . actually superseded those targets . . . more than just township merchants have been digitally enabled through Uber Eats.”

She stressed that, as demand expanded, opportunities followed, with thousands of Uber Eats delivery partners accessing opportunities through township-driven activity – further supporting livelihoods and strengthening local economic participation in Gauteng.

The delivery platform also invested over R250-million across merchant onboarding, training them on how to run their businesses on the platform, and providing ‘tools of the trade’, including an iPad from which they can run their business.

Business Digitalisation

Uber Eats Europe, Middle East and Asia VP Sasika de Jongh stated that township economies were “vibrant, dynamic and deeply entrepreneurial”.

“Long before platforms like ours even existed, people were creating livelihoods. They were serving their communities and finding ways to grow with what they had. What this partnership set out to do was not to change that, but to accelerate it.”

De Jongh added that digitalisation mattered because it enhanced visibility and accessibility by “connecting effort and insight, turning instinct into information and allowing businesses to understand where demand is coming from, when it peaks, and how to grow with confidence”.

The careful application of digitalisation did not replace enterprise or jobs but assisted with business continuity, and the partnership reflected such an experience at scale, as township businesses reached customers across existing and expanded geographies.

“This progress did not happen by chance. It happened because . . . government set a bold vision in the Township Development Act – a vision that placed township economies at the centre of growth,” she added.

Township economies were “not waiting to be activated, but ready to grow” as and when conditions were in place, noted GDED executive council member Lebogang Maile.



The Township Development Act sought to address historical exclusion by expanding access to markets and creating pathways for sustainable economic participation. It also recognised that policy alone was not enough, and that implementation and partnerships were crucial, Maile added.

The GDED entered into an MoU with Uber Eats because they shared a common vision, hence the parties “working towards reviewing and renewing this partnership to ensure . . . even higher targets, because we want to [ensure] that we facilitate the integration of the overwhelming majority into the mainstream economy”, he concluded.