Takealot

About Takealot

Takealot is South Africa's best-known online retailer. It launched to the public in June 2011 under founder Kim Reid, and Naspers now owns almost all of it. Today it sells everything from electronics to groceries across the country. Its head office is in Cape Town. Distribution centres in Cape Town, Gauteng and Durban move parcels to customers nationwide. The Durban centre opened in late 2024. The company says it employs about 7,500 people and hosts around 50,000 sellers on its marketplace.

Online shopping depends on people with technical and logistics skills. Software developers, data specialists, warehouse planners and customer service teams all keep orders moving. Consequently, Takealot has put money into education and training.

The company says its activities support about 33,000 livelihoods, including sellers, drivers and small businesses. Its Township Economy Initiative also offers training, funding and platform access to township entrepreneurs. As a result, its education work forms part of a bigger plan for inclusive growth.

How Takealot supports students

The Takealot bursary programme funds students in information technology, computer science and computer engineering. It is meant to build a pipeline of talent for the company's graduate programme. Bursaries have come with vacation work and a work-back obligation. This means you may be expected to work for Takealot after you qualify.

In 2025, Takealot signed an agreement with the Department of Higher Education and Training. As part of it, the bursary programme gets matching funds, so more students can be supported. Priority areas include ICT, logistics and e-commerce retail. The company also adopted three technical colleges near its distribution centres in Kempton Park, Durban and Cape Town for work-integrated learning. The partners aim to create 20,000 new opportunities by 2028.

Technical college learners already benefit. The company reports that more than 130 TVET learners have joined work-integrated learning, and over 120 young people have joined its Youth Employment Service programme. This matters because not every young person follows the university route.

Learnerships and what to know

Takealot also runs learnerships for unemployed youth. One is a 12-month digital marketing learnership under the Youth Employment Service. Learners help small businesses that sell on the Takealot marketplace, and a monthly stipend was reported in a recent round. Another is a 12-month customer service learnership in Cape Town. It starts with about eight weeks of training and then moves into hands-on work with customers.

Requirements, stipends and closing dates change between intakes. Therefore, read each advert closely before applying. Bursary applicants should be South African citizens with a clear interest in technology. Always apply through the official Takealot careers channels and be careful of anyone asking for payment.