It is great to see more activity in the eCommerce space in Zimbabwe. Steadily and gradually I am confident we shall see Zimbabweans increasingly becoming more inclined towards buying most of their stuff online. That is the inevitable trajectory anyway because studies indicate that people are now over 60 per cent more likely to lean towards digital technologies. In this article, I shall be looking at a Zimbabwean eCommerce startup called Caveat Shop. I recently had a conversation with them and here is what we talked about.

Kindly Tell Us Who You Are Including Your Goals And Objectives

We are an e-commerce business whose goal is to make online shopping in Zimbabwe convenient and reliable. Our main objective is to provide a good online shopping experience to our customers and to be able to gradually grow our business to serve more people.

When & How did Caveat Shop Start? Tell Us About How You Ended Up With The Caveat Shop Business Idea

Caveat Shop was created in 2017 and was incorporated in 2018. Caveat Shop is the trading name for the storefront. I was always selling things online (social media) and offline before at first. And I had studied I.T before and had created several websites during my days at college. As I was studying for my second degree in Business Administration I came across a business economics term called ‘caveat emptor’ it’s Latin for ‘buyer beware’.

The concept is that the buyer of a product is responsible for checking its quality before buying and that it is not the responsibility of the seller to check quality. I thought if I am going to have a business that would be a cool name.

A few months later we registered the business and decided to shorten the name to Caveat Shop for people to easily remember. My skills in buying and selling things and my web designing had already prepared me to create a web store called caveatshop.com. I hated the idea of naming my business after myself.

What Is Your Long Term Vision?

To be an e-commerce giant and not only selling things online but also servicing all areas of the e-commerce channels in Africa. Most importantly we want to be able to solve people’s problems using e-commerce.

What Kind Of Services Do You Offer? What Can People Expect From Caveat Shop?

We sell ladies and kids’ wares online on our web store and we do deliveries nationwide. People should expect more exciting products from caveashop.com and can also expect us to branch into other segments of the e-commerce business.

Tell Us About Your Team (If Any). As In, Its Size And Composition

Our team has 3 directors who perform all roles in the day to day running of the business. We work in partnership with a company called Yaita for deliveries. (By the way, Yaita is a Zimbabwean cargo and freight company) – also found on Facebook here.

Currently, How Do You Cater For Your Financial And Material Needs To Produce Your work?

We are self-funded.

What Challenges Are You Currently Facing?

Website traffic is not yet up to the level we would want. Most sales are happening offline.

What Form Of Assistance Would You Need To Optimize And Grow Your Work?

Financial injection.

For those interested in assisting the Caveat Shop team, financially or materially you can contact them via email: caveatshopzw@gmail.com. Caveat Shop assures you that online shopping is safe, cheap and convenient; do not be afraid to try it out. Overall, it is cheaper than traditional shopping. Their deliveries take on average, two to three days. You can also contact them on WhatsApp: +263 772 651 231. They also have a website that you can access here. They are also on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.