When the pandemic hit and the government declared a nationwide lockdown last March, innovative twin brothers, Randall and Henry Newman used the time to figure out ways to create a new stream of income for their business.
The Newman twins incorporated Square Eats as a company and created a food delivery application to partner with restaurants to deliver food to customers in lockdown.
“When Covid-19 was declared a pandemic in 2020, we already had a software development company, so we decided the time was right to venture into something else to diversify, hence the food delivery app,” explained Randall.
The brothers developed all the necessary platforms for Square Eats and in July the application was launched.
“Our starting point was Gaborone but we are preparing to expand throughout Botswana to cover each and every region because there are so many restaurants across the country that do not offer delivery,” continued Randall.
Besides expanding locally, the brothers are ultimately looking to venture into the South African market, and hope to do so by the end of the year.
“Our business model is based on collaborations and in this case, we have partnered with restaurants and independent delivery people. Our selection process of partners is informed by customer service skills and is very strict,” said Randal.
Although the 22-year-old brothers said the company has received a positive reception from the public, Henry has pointed out a few challenges they have encountered so far.
The main one is convincing franchises to partner with Square Eats.
“Franchises seem to be a bit skeptical; it has certainly been easier to sign up individual restaurants. But I think that will improve a bit because we are in the process of enrolling a few prominent local franchises,” said Henry, a Computer Systems Engineering graduate from Botswana Accountancy College (BAC). Randall, on the other hand, graduated with Entrepreneurship and Business Leadership from the same institution.
The Ramokgwebana siblings believe that the combination of their skills set has made it possible to come up with their innovative idea.
As part of their expansion strategy, the brothers have plans to develop Square Eats beyond food delivery to include supermarkets in order to deliver groceries as well.
The two are also working towards being the first company locally to deliver using drones, which would make deliveries quicker by providing easy access to far-flung areas.
“We will be using special drones which we are still working on right now,” revealed the ambitious Randall.