Who we are
Built By Traders, For Traders.
We started as a buying group for a handful of township shops in Gauteng. Today Brand Drive Connect supplies thousands of independent retailers across four African markets — with the same promise we made on day one: honest pricing, stock that arrives, and someone who answers the phone.
Our Story
Independent retailers are the backbone of African trade. They also carry the worst end of the supply chain: buying single cases at retail prices, losing a trading day to travel, and never knowing whether the stock they need will be on the shelf when they arrive.
Brand Drive Connect was formed to close that gap. By consolidating demand from thousands of small shops we buy at scale from South African manufacturers and national distributors, then break that volume down into orders a single shop can actually use — and deliver it to the door.
Around that core we have built the things traders asked for: flexible payment, a named agent per account, practical margin coaching, and an operations platform that records every visit, ticket and delivery so nothing is decided on memory.
Our mission
To make wholesale supply, delivery and payment simple and affordable for every independent retailer we can reach.
Our vision
One connected African trading network where a shop owner in any market buys as well as a national chain does.
Our promise
Authentic stock, quoted prices that hold, delivery windows we keep, and a person accountable for your account.
What We Stand For
Integrity first
We quote honestly, deliver what we promised and own our mistakes fast.
Traders come first
Every decision is measured against one question: does it make the shop owner money?
Discipline in delivery
Routes, times and case counts are commitments, not estimates.
Local knowledge
Our agents live in the markets they serve and speak the language of the till.
Leadership & Teams
Five functional teams run the network day to day. Each one owns a specific outcome, so an issue always has one accountable owner rather than a general apology.
Buying
Negotiates case pricing directly with manufacturers and national distributors, manages purchase-order timing and owns the price list every agent quotes from.
Logistics
Plans routes, manages the fleet and partner carriers, and is accountable for cut-off times, load accuracy and on-time delivery windows.
Agent network
Recruits, trains and manages the field agents who take orders, service accounts and are the single named contact for every retailer.
Compliance & POPIA
Owns KYC checks for onboarding, retention schedules for customer records and the six-month deletion cycle that keeps our data footprint minimal.
Support desk
Logs every query with a ticket number, tracks resolution time against target and escalates anything that risks a delivery or a payment.
How We Operate
Four standards apply to every account, every route and every order, regardless of the market or the size of the shop.
Route discipline
Every area has a published cut-off and delivery day. Routes are not rescheduled without a logged reason, so agents and shop owners can plan around a delivery they can trust.
Price integrity
The price an agent quotes is the price on the invoice. Changes to the price list are dated and version-controlled, never adjusted mid-order.
Audit trail
Every order, delivery confirmation and payment is timestamped and linked to an account, so any query can be traced back to a specific event, not a memory of one.
POPIA-minimal record keeping
We record what is needed to trade — order history, delivery proof, account status — and deliberately avoid holding contact details or documents longer than the purpose requires.
Our Impact
0–72hrs
Typical order-to-delivery time on scheduled South African routes
0+
Agents trained and earning commission across the network
0+
Independent outlets serviced on a weekly delivery cycle
0.0%
On-time delivery rate against published route schedules
Our Journey
2019
Founded in Johannesburg
Started as a small buying group supplying spaza shops in Gauteng townships.
2021
Own delivery fleet
Launched scheduled routes and door-level proof of delivery.
2023
Cross-border expansion
Opened corridor supply into Mozambique and trader supply into Somalia.
2025
Digital operations platform
Live visit logging, KPI tracking and POPIA-compliant record keeping across all centres.
2026
Four-country network
Serving over 10,000 outlets with 25,000+ agents empowered across the network.
Why Partner With Brand Drive Connect?
Trusted Supplier
Partnering with leading South African FMCG brands.
Quality Guaranteed
Authentic products that customers love and trust.
Grow Together
We grow when our partners grow.
More Profits
Better deals, better margins, bigger opportunities.
Beyond Borders
One network. Many opportunities.
Work with a supplier that shows up
Join the network as an agent, retailer, wholesaler or brand.