Amber was born from a simple observation: textbooks are expensive,
and students are struggling. As an IT Software Engineering student, founder
Christiaan Botha experienced firsthand the financial burden of
purchasing new textbooks every semester.
"I saw the struggle of expensive textbooks, but also the disorganization
around the second-hand markets. Hundreds of different groups on different
social media platforms made it impossible to find a well-priced textbook
in good condition as the market was scattered," says Christiaan.
The fragmentation was the real problem - students were willing to buy and
sell, but finding each other across WhatsApp groups, Facebook pages,
Telegram channels, and campus notice boards was a nightmare. Good deals
were lost in the noise, and there was no way to verify sellers or ensure
safe transactions.
"I wanted to create a competitive, sustainable, and centralised market
where every student could access all available textbooks in one place.
A platform that would bring transparency to pricing, safety to transactions,
and efficiency to the entire process," Christiaan explains.
Today, Amber is that centralised marketplace - serving students at
universities across South Africa. We've transformed the chaotic
second-hand textbook market into an organised, trustworthy ecosystem
where students help students make education more affordable.
