Buddibox: A community-driven courier network in South Africa

This organisation tackles local unemployment by facilitating small-scale courier services.
Buddibox
The Buddibox team

Buddibox is a community upliftment initiative aimed at raising the quality of life in South African townships and other poverty-stricken regions by drafting cyclists of all stripes to begin their own small-scale business.

Each “Buddi” is given the tools to start their own courier service in a designated part of their neighbourhood. Encouraged to put their knowledge of the neighbourhood to work (like the urban know-how of a savvy taxi driver), young disadvantaged kids and adults alike are given the chance to build informal business relationships with people who need goods and services delivered to their front door.

Buddibox aims to improve the quality of life in these areas twofold – by facilitating the delivery of small-scale goods such as groceries and services to people who need it, and by installing an entrepreneurial mindset in the courier.

They are encouraged to build contacts for future business while getting paid for their legwork. Fostering interpersonal relationships while playing to one’s own strengths are two hallmarks of any successful business no matter the scale – and Buddibox aims to apply this in the communities that need it most.