Their vision resulted in an e-commerce website that allows customers to pay for physical products like electronics, appliances, and baby goods using a subscription model, like Netflix, Apple Music, and Microsoft.
“A subscription is not a credit agreement. It is a pay-as-you-use model, so effectively, you can select what you want to use and pay for it for the period you need and then let go of the item when you want a new model or something else. You will never have to go into debt again for the essential items in your life,” Ratan says.
Rentoza has been acknowledged by one of the country’s leading Black-owned investment firms, the Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC), which provided the startup with an R20m capital allocation through its MIC Khulisani Ventures fund.
We caught up with Ratan to find out more about Rentoza and what the future holds for the startup.
Rentoza was created by four friends who saw the need to change how South Africans access and utilise products. Like many South African consumers, we wanted the best products but couldn't afford them, so we decided to create a platform that addresses that.
Founded in 2017, Rentoza was born with one mission in mind – to give more South Africans access to the products they crave. Those electronics. Those appliances. And even those expensive baby products. Access is more than just a new form of credit, it’s a whole new model of consumption.
Rentoza makes use of the same subscription model used by revolutionary products like Netflix, Apple Music, and Microsoft. Consumers pay a recurring fee to access their services. In Rentoza’s case, the subscription is paying for physical products like electronics, appliances, and baby goods.
Subscriptions offer consumers numerous benefits that outmatch traditional credit offerings. A subscription is not a credit agreement. It is a pay-as-you-use model, so effectively, you can select what you want to use and pay for it for the period you need and then let go of the item when you want a new model or something else. You will never have to go into debt again for the essential items in your life.
The biggest challenges we faced and continue to face are funding and human capital. The business continues to scale rapidly and being a highly positive position to be in, we trail with capital and human resources to match the scale of the business.
Rentoza operates on a subscription-based model. What benefits does this have for consumers and for businesses?
The benefits are many.
it's similar benefits but for businesses, it allows you as a business to manage your cash flow a lot better by utilizing the funds that could have been spent from a capital perspective on assets, and direct them to growth initiatives.
The MIC investment allowed us to broaden Rentoza’s reach and unlock the opportunities inherent in its potential. We will endeavour to prove our worth and show our investors that their decision not only grew a successful business but shaped a country.
We want to be a brand that has scaled across the continent
I think the biggest thing we've learned is to back yourselves as founders and entrepreneurs, no one knows your business as intricately as you do. Everyone will have their view, let them have their view, and learn from their observations. But you need to ensure you are always in the detail and continue to evolve your business.
People say don't fix it if it isn't broken.
We always say that because it's working well, it doesn't mean it can't be better. Never be complacent.
