Technology has provided a fair share of both challenges and opportunities for Majid Shahzad, CEO and Founder of Cyber Food Fiji.
When he started the business in 2018, Shahzad had just one vehicle, three partner restaurants and a vision – to be delivering food and essential goods efficiently around Fiji.
Now, using Cyber Food’s social media platforms, website, and app, they host 126 vendors and deliver throughout Suva, Sigatoka, Nadi and Lautoka. They’ve also become well-respected as the premier food delivery service in Fiji.
On the way to gaining this status however, Shahzad experienced several setbacks, the biggest of which occurred during the pandemic, when Cyber Food was often delivering for people stuck at home due to isolation and lockdowns.
Lockdown rules prevented face-to-face interaction between Cyber Food staff and their customers, meaning payments had to be made through internet bank transfer or mobile money, which impacted on the company’s cash flow.
“Oftentimes [payment] did not reach our bank accounts for 3-5 days, impacting our daily cash budgets,” recalls Shahzad.
Even worse, some staff members told customers to pay delivery fees directly into their personal bank accounts instead of the company account.
“In this way, I lost nearly $18,500 in one year. [It] was a tremendous hit.
“My bank was zeroed, and my personal savings were spent paying for fuel, wages and salaries. I had nothing left.
“Truth be told, I was extremely defeated and ready to close business,” Shahzad says.
It was at this time that the company was assisted by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) which provided financial and technical assistance to the business under its Pacific Digital Economy Programme. Now Cyber Food can facilitate Westpac credit and debit payments.
The digital aspects of their business have been elevated, including digitalised order confirmation and tracking, and greater capacity to onboard more food providers.
“[Their] assistance helped me so much, [it] has helped form the current state of my business,” said Shahzad.
He is now expanding the operation to offer delivery services to other small businesses.
