Tapping into global e-commerce markets with GiftWrap

(Back left to right) Stephen Bull, Benje du Toit (front left to right) Coen du Toit, Taryn Hood and Leon Pieterse.

The spirit of entrepreneurship is thriving at The Innovation Hub's new site, as tenant companies continue to come up with innovative business solutions. One of the first tenants to move into the Enterprise Building, GiftWrap, offers unique corporate gift solutions using e-commerce.

Working in association with manufacturing companies, GiftWarp markets various products via the Internet. This technology significantly reduces the time and cost of getting products from the manufacturer to the customer.

What started as a university project six years ago has now developed into a fully-fledged business. According to Managing Director, Benjamin du Toit, orders are streaming in from all four corners of the globe. "While there is a large market in South Africa, there is an even larger global market, which we help South African businesses to access", he says. Gift-Wrap provides the network and front office support for businesses wanting to tap into the growing e-commerce universe by finding markets for products ranging from software, jewellery and promotional items, to wines and various gift hampers.

"African Arts and Crafts are also very popular overseas," says du Toit. "We source these products from suppliers in the townships and villages, who would otherwise be unemployed or struggling to sell their products in the streets."

Du Toit believes co-operation between Government, business, education and research institutions is the key to real economic growth. "I take my hat off to the Gauteng Provincial Government, and its Blue IQ initiative, for its vision to invest in a Science Park. Nurturing entrepreneurship is the best way to grow the economy. Investors are more likely to support small enterprises operating within this kind of environment because they are less likely to fail," he says.

He hopes more successful big businesses will join The Innovation Hub community, to share their lessons for success with less experienced entrepreneurs.

For more information, contact Benje du Toit at +27 12 844 0040 or visit their web site at www.giftwrap.co.za.

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