Founder Fridays: TPC Africa Mobile

What happens when a business built around selling perfumes sees an opportunity in telecommunications? For Bethabile Moreki, the answer was to use the network she had spent years building to enter a completely different industry. Through TPC Africa Mobile, she wants to turn more than 300,000 independent business owners into a distribution network for mobile services, bringing airtime and data closer to customers while creating another source of income for sellers.

The move did not begin with a telecommunications business plan. It grew out of conversations with the people already selling through TPC Africa, many of whom were suggesting additional products and services they could offer their customers.

Bethabile saw an opportunity to build on a network that was already active, understood the company's business model and had relationships within local communities. After engaging MTN as its network partner, TPC Africa began developing its mobile offering.

From Perfume Distribution to Mobile Services

Bethabile's journey into entrepreneurship took an unexpected turn in 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted her restaurant and fast-food business. With sales slowing, she began looking for another source of income and started distributing eucalyptus oil, which had become popular during the pandemic as people used it for steaming.

The business initially performed well she said, with customers buying products to resell in different provinces. When demand declined, one of her suppliers suggested she consider perfumes, pointing to the use of essential oils in fragrance production.

Bethabile took the advice, visited perfume stores to understand customer demand and began distributing fragrances. Within a year, she had attracted approximately 5,000 resellers, many of whom bought stock and earned margins of up to 100%.

Her experience with franchising influenced how she developed the distribution model. instead of  building a conventional retail operation everywhere, she recruited independent sellers who wanted to start businesses with relatively small amounts of capital. TPC Africa supplied products, provided pricing guidance and marketing materials, and helped sellers establish their own customer bases.

In 2024, the company introduced a multi-level marketing model that added commissions for distributors who promoted the brand and trained new members. Bethabile says the network has since grown to more than 300,000 independent business owners.

It was this existing network that made telecommunications an attractive next step.

Using the Network to Distribute Mobile Services

TPC Africa Mobile is built around a different approach to selling airtime and data. Instead of depending mainly on formal retail outlets, the company wants to work with individuals operating from their homes, small businesses and neighbourhoods.

Bethabile sees an opportunity in townships and rural communities where customers sometimes have to travel to buy airtime or data. A distributor operating nearby could provide those services without customers having to make the journey to a shopping centre or formal retailer.

The model also gives existing perfume sellers another product to offer. Someone who already buys fragrances from a distributor could also purchase mobile services from the same person.

The company is introducing data packages for customers with different budgets. Bethabile says its offerings start at R1.50, giving people an option when they need a small amount of connectivity to communicate with family or access the internet.

TPC Africa Mobile has also introduced a data rewards feature. Customers can earn data by completing educational surveys and watching advertisements through the platform. Some surveys cover general educational topics, including gender-based violence.

Bethabile says these offerings are intended to keep people connected, including students and job seekers who may need data to submit applications, access information or attend online interviews.

The Delays Behind the Mobile Launch

Getting the service to market proved more difficult than Bethabile initially expected. She says the technical work involved in setting up the platform and integrating the different parts of the business model created challenges that were not as apparent during the planning stage.

TPC Africa Mobile was originally scheduled to launch in March 2026, but implementation delays pushed the rollout to late October.

The repeated postponements created another problem: rebuilding confidence among distributors and potential customers who had already been told about the upcoming service. Bethabile says the company had to keep communicating with people, explaining the delays and asking them to remain patient.

She admits that there were moments when she questioned whether entering telecommunications had been the right decision. At times, she even considered cancelling the arrangement with the service provider.

However, the company continued working towards the launch. It is now activating customers in phases, allowing the team to test the platform and address technical issues as more users join.

For Bethabile, the experience has been a reminder that a business idea that works on paper can become considerably more complicated when it reaches implementation.

Building More Than a Sales Network

The mobile venture also connects to Bethabile's wider interest in creating opportunities for people who struggle to access formal employment or establish businesses of their own.

She believes that many entrepreneurs have ideas but lack access to customers, capital and the systems needed to operate formally. TPC Africa tries to address some of these barriers by giving distributors access to a business platform that includes websites, customer orders, invoicing and marketing support.

The company also provides training in areas such as presentations, time management and online communication. Through partnerships, including financial literacy training supported by Sanlam, it helps distributors understand how to manage their earnings and use commissions to develop other businesses.

Bethabile says the business deliberately creates opportunities for women and young people, while also welcoming men into the network. Some employees who initially joined the company to pack perfumes have since learned computer skills and moved into stock management and other operational roles.

She credits the people who have grown with the business for helping her manage its expanding operations. Some have been with TPC Africa since its early days distributing eucalyptus oil.

Taking TPC Africa Mobile Beyond South Africa

Bethabile wants to take the mobile service into other African markets, drawing on the cross-border relationships established through the perfume business. TPC Africa already has perfume operations in Zimbabwe and Eswatini, with plans to open in Zambia.

The mobile expansion will require partnerships that allow the service to operate in additional markets. Bethabile also wants to attract people who may not have considered selling perfumes but are interested in earning through mobile services.

TPC Africa Mobile has now moved from its delayed launch into phased customer activation. Bethabile's next challenge is to build on that rollout and establish the service in markets beyond South Africa.