and moderated by Earthy founder Mummy Mthembu-Fawkes, Wunker said the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a growing realisation that companies need a step change in their cost position. As a result, more organisations are prepared to do things dramatically differently in their quest to meet consumers’ need for low-cost but high-quality products and services.
A particularly interesting concept for small businesses, said Singh, is the idea of “pay as you grow”, which essentially negates the need for a big capital injection. The next few years, he predicted, will see an explosion of small businesses going online. SA is characterised by a number of perverse incentives where businesses charge more for their services the more customers use them, he said, citing telco companies charging more once customers exceed their data or voice usage, banks that charged more when customers exceed their overdrafts, and car hire companies that charge a premium for exceeding the daily mileage. “We’ve been overpaying for too many things for too long. Consumers need to start asking why a lot more,” he said.