Wihan Joubert and Bernard Combrinck are full-time, third-year students – Joubert is studying investment management and Combrink is doing accounting. Picture: SUPPLIED
If you have older siblings or cousins, your first experience with second-hand clothing might have been a hand me down.
Pre-loved fashion is quickly becoming one of the hottest global trends with the global second-hand fashion market expected to grow exponentially.
Two Stellenbosch University students have developed Drip Markets, a successful app with more than 3 000 users looking to buy and sell pre-loved clothing.
Wihan Joubert and Bernard Combrink, both 20 and third-year students, have created something that could be revolutionary – an app through which you can buy and sell pre-loved clothing.
Joubert said they launched the app in 2020 during their matric year. According to him the idea was sparked after he returned to South Africa after living in England for a long time.
He explained, “I used an app called Depop over there and when I got here I realised there is no app where you can virtually thrift. That is when I identified the need and engaged with Bernard.”
Joubert and Combrinck met at Paul Roos Gymnasium during their matric year and the two decided to develop a local equivalent of Depop named Drip Markets.
The two started working on the concept and tried to develop a web application that could host Drip Markets – with no success.
Joubert said that after failing many times, they decided to take part in the annual Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Educations (EDHE) Entrepreneurship Intervarsity competition, with the support of SU’s LaunchLab.
After the competition, which led to a collaboration with another entrepreneur, electrical engineering student Arnold Hattingh, they were able to launch Drip Markets as an app-based platform on Apple and Google Play within a few months.
When asked what distinguishes Drip from similar platforms, the pair proudly said it was an app created by locals for locals.
Combrink’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to dream big and be imaginative.
He explained: “You have more time on your hands than you think, and the best time to learn, make mistakes and grow is in your years of studying. Don't be afraid to ask questions, even when it may be embarrassing.”
Brandon Paschal, deputy director at Spin-out Companies and Funds and formerly the head of the incubation programmes at LaunchLab at Stellenbosch, said they started working with Drip Markets during the 2022 Entrepreneurship Intervarsity programme, an initiative by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET).
“They’re a teachable team that has built empathy with their user base, which is fundamental to what we hope to instil in companies that we work with. It was clear that they have a passion to solve the problem, still pursuing this opportunity a year after the DHET programme ended.”
Stellenbosch Network named the start-up Entrepreneur of the Month in June and the company now has its eye on tripling the number of users in the next few months.
Weekend Argus