The Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) provides aspiring entrepreneurs with mentoring, exposure, and $50,000 in prizes to transform their ideas into businesses that will have positive real world impact. And one of the winners this year is Lakheni, a service that could serve as a low-cost replacement for brick-and-mortar stores.

two social entrepreneurs from Cape Town, South Africa, have come up with Lakheni, a group buying club that aggregates orders, with local daycare centers serving as a base.

“At the bottom of the pyramid, distribution is very inefficient because of the small amounts that individuals buy,” says cofounder Nokwethu Khojane. “But there’s value when you start aggregating that demand, because the numbers are there—they’re just fragmented.”

They think they can save money for low-income people who normally have to travel miles, while helping the centers generate additional income. Each month, the parents make orders of staples like maize, sugar, and oil. Lakheni puts the orders together and goes direct to food suppliers. The suppliers then deliver the items to local mini-stores known as spazas. Khojane says customers can save about 30%, including their cost of transport.

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