With the economy being in tatters most people have stopped buying fast foods as they struggle to provide basics for their families. Faced with such a scenario, Chicken Hut, one of Zimbabwe’s prominent fast food establishments, has decided to do something about it.

We have just launched a diaspora food delivery service, which enables people in the diaspora to order food on their WhatsApp platform and within 45 minutes, the food would have been delivered to their loved ones in Zimbabwe where Chicken Hut has a branch.

Chicken Hut’s Head of Marketing Florence Mudzingwa speaking to the Chronicle.

How it works

This is a WhatsApp based service. WhatsApp is already Zimbabwe’s favorite chat app, it’s a position it holds in other parts of the world as well. Those in Zimbabwe and those in the diaspora already use it to keep in touch with one another.

According to Chicken Hut those in the diaspora can follow these steps in order to make a purchase.

Save Chicken Hut’s WhatsApp number: +27657067944
Initiate your order by sending a message to the Chicken Hut’s WhatsApp number
Select your order from the menu
Provide the delivery address, contact name, and your email address
Receive payment link via email
After payment is received, the order is processed and delivered

What we think about the service

We haven’t yet personally tested the service but basing an entire online shopping experience on WhatsApp is probably not going to provide the best experience. Diasporans already have access to the internet (you need email?) the delivery part might be done via WhatsApp but online shopping should be point and click.