E-commerce giant Takealot has entered the fintech space through a new partnership with MortgageMarket, South Africa’s first online home loan marketplace. The result is the Takealot Home Loan Hub, a fully digital platform designed to simplify how South Africans apply for and secure home loans from leading banks.
The partnership marks a strategic move into digital financial services for Takealot, leveraging its trusted e-commerce brand and platform reach to broaden access to home financing, a traditionally complex sector. The Home Loan Hub is powered by MortgageMarket’s proprietary technology and enables users to apply for a home loan with the same ease and convenience as buying products online.
Through a single online application, prospective buyers can receive pre-approval, compare offers and secure financing from leading banks. Participating financial institutions include Nedbank, Investec, Standard Bank, Absa, FNB, RMB and Housing Investment Partners.
As an incentive, customers who successfully register their bond through the Takealot Home Loan Hub will receive up to R20 000 in Takealot vouchers to help them turn their new house into a home.
The new platform is aimed at making home financing more accessible, efficient and transparent. Unlike the traditional mortgage process, often filled with paperwork, brokers, delays and complex terms, the platform allows users to manage the entire application process digitally.
Key features of the service include:
Instant pre-approval: Customers can receive an assessment within minutes using a soft credit check, allowing them to understand their affordability and creditworthiness upfront.
Multiple offers within hours: The platform gathers loan offers from all partner banks, providing customers with a variety of options to choose from.
Paperless comparison shopping: Users can compare rates, terms and conditions in one place without any third-party involvement.
Tim Akinnusi, CEO of MortgageMarket, describes the offering as a milestone in consumer finance solutions.
“This partnership is about reshaping the way South Africans experience one of the most important financial decisions of their lives,” says Akinnusi. “By combining MortgageMarket’s cutting-edge home loan marketplace with Takealot’s trusted e-commerce ecosystem, we’re not only simplifying access to home loans but also building financial confidence for first-time buyers, young professionals, and growing families across the country.”
What is MortgageMarket?
Launched in 2019, MortgageMarket is a fintech startup focused on revolutionsing the South African property finance sector through the use of technology. It’s the first company in the country to offer an online home loan marketplace and has quickly gained traction among digitally minded consumers seeking faster, more transparent ways to access financing.
The platform enables customers to apply for a mortgage and receive multiple competing offers, saving time and potentially money in interest payments. The platform uses proprietary algorithms to match consumers with the most suitable lenders based on financial profile and affordability.
Since inception, the startup has attracted funding from well-known investors, including Naspers, ASISA Enterprise and Supplier Development, and IDF Capital. These strategic backers highlight the market’s confidence in MortgageMarket’s business model and scalability potential.
The company has already formed various enterprise-level collaborations with digital platforms such as MTN and EasyEquities, positioning itself as a key player in South Africa’s emerging property technology (proptech) sector. Its latest alliance with Takealot strengthens that momentum by tapping into a vast and engaged consumer base.
For Takealot, the move is consistent with a broader trend among e-commerce platforms globally to diversify into financial services, a sector rich in recurring revenue, customer data, and long-term growth potential. The Takealot Home Loan Hub aligns with this strategic direction, allowing the platform to deepen its customer engagement beyond product delivery and into life milestones.
South Africa’s property market, while historically dominated by traditional banks, is undergoing a quiet digital revolution. MortgageMarket’s technology simplifies what was once a paper-heavy and broker-driven process into an intuitive user experience.
Moreover, by offering up to R20 000 in vouchers, the partnership not only incentivises usage but also creates a holistic customer journey, from securing a home loan to equipping the home with products available on Takealot’s marketplace.
Lungile is the Digital Editor for Startup.Africa, with a knack for storytelling, technology and innovative ideas. Working with Startup.Africa, she takes simple ideas and turns them into amazing stories.
Lungile Msomi
Lungile Msomi
