Amazon South Africa is exploring the South African retail space through a series of Fireside Chats with its local partners.
Robert Koen, the Managing Director of Amazon Sub-Saharan Africa, hosts the Fireside Chats series, where he and his guests unpack important trends, insights, and experiences.
In this episode, Koen speaks with the Founder and Executive Director of goGOGOgo, Jane Simmonds, and one of the company's grandmothers, Maggie Sito.
GoGOGOgo is a non-profit company dedicated to supporting South Africa's grandmothers (gogos) - empowering them to drive positive change, improve health and well-being, and create positive life opportunities for themselves, the children they raise, and their communities.
The company was founded by Simmonds in 2020 and has since achieved great success in its efforts to support and empower South African gogos through initiatives such as workshops, skill development programmes, and income-generating projects.
Through its partnership with Amazon, goGOGOgo offers gift-wrapping services and gift bags made by gogos.
In the discussion, Simmonds and Sito unpack the creation of goGOGOgo and how the organisation got to where it is today.
"Grandmothers are probably the strongest glue in many households and communities, but are normally not seen as targets for projects, interventions, NGOs, and other initiatives due to the idea that they are getting older and nearing the end of their time," said Simmonds.
"We are partnering with grandmothers, recognising them as heroes in South Africa, and helping to build their strengths."
Sito echoed this, noting that Simmonds is the core reason for the company's success and how goGOGOgo has enriched and empowered many grandmothers to support their families and communities.
This includes initiatives like "Let's Read Gogo," where gogos read to children and help them with their education.
"We read for the kids, and they read back to us," says Sito. "I think kids begin building their futures with reading, setting them up for success."GoGOGOgo has many other initiatives to empower gogos and their communities.
Simmonds outlines projects such as Let's Talk Gogo, which aims to reduce gender-based violence by raising children to be aware of it, and Gogo Boxing, which helps improve physical fitness.
Amazon's partnership with goGOGOgo forms a part of its Income for Gogos project, which involves making environmentally friendly bags available for purchase through the online store, and its gift-wrapping service.
"We made 60,000 gift bags for Amazon last year, packed them, and shipped them for the Amazon launch, which was quite an achievement," said Simmonds.
She also notes that the entire Income for goGOGOgo's operation is job-driven rather than profit-driven, ensuring that the gogos who make the bags are the ones who benefit.
Simmonds admits that one of the main challenges they face is that grandmothers aren't the usual focus of NGOs and other funders, but they have overcome this by proving how important gogos are.
"My dream is to help my grandchildren with whatever they want to be," said Sito. "I want them to choose their future and be able to be there for them."
Watch the full Fireside Chat with Robert Koen, Jane Simmonds, and Maggie Sito below.