Affiliate Marketing is a highly profitable way of making money for publishers and content creators who know how to do it right. We have compiled a list of affiliate marketing programs in South Africa that you can use to find products and services to promote.
Table of Contents
Affiliate Marketing in South Africa
Affiliate marketing is still new in South Africa and even if you know how to make money with affiliate marketing you want to find programs that you can sign up to. This list will provide you with some good options. We have separated the programs into the different categories that apply to the different niches where you can promote the company’s products.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate Marketing is a marketing model where you promote another business’ products or services through a digital channel such as a website or social media platform, and get paid a commission for every successful referral or sale.
The business model is becoming very popular in South Africa because it is has very low start-up costs and can be run from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. It also allows you to get money from anywhere in the world which is favourable when earning in stronger currencies like the US Dollar.
In the past year alone, the number of affiliate programs in South Africa has multiplied with more and more people adopting the business model.
How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?
When signing up for an affiliate program it has to be relevant with the content that your audience is expecting from you. If you are in the money making field you cannot be selling health supplements and vice versa. Otherwise, you run the risk of alienating your audience and losing more than you have the potential of gaining.
When considering affiliate programmes, pay attention to the wording of the offer to make sure you understand how much you can earn and what the conditions are. For example, sometimes programs will pay a commission only for the first time a user clicks your link and buys. Others pay you for every sale that is generated through your affiliate links.
To learn the fundamentals, be sure to read our main article on Affiliate Marketing.
Highest Paying Affiliate Program in South Africa (5%)
List Of Affiliate Marketing Programs In South Africa
Highest Paying Affiliate Programs
SmartMin Energy
The highest paying affiliate program that we use for our websites is SmartMin Energy. They sell solar products and those are in very high demand in South Africa at the moment.. They pay a whopping 5% commission per sale. That’s huge considering that they sell high ticket products (products that cost a lot).
You can see more about their affiliate program on there website here.
The average product sale is about R50,000 for lithium batteries so you are looking at around R2500 per sale and the conversion rate for this is pretty high. Some sales can go as high as R200,000 or more if a customer buys multiple products or a complete home solar power system. So it’s very possible to make as much as R10,000 or more in a single commission
They also have more affordable products like foldable solar panels and portable power stations, but we focus on the more expensive items as those pay bigger commissions.
The reason it is the highest paying for me is because of the high conversion rate, and that it is a two tier affiliate program. This means that if you refer someone who then goes on to promote the product as well, you get 5% of their commissions as well. But his only goes down to 1 level, so you only earn from the people you yourself referred. So you can make commissions from your own sales and from referrals which has made this affiliate program very lucrative.
Travelleeto
This one is worth a mention because it sells one of the most desirable products around, travel. The affiliate program launches next month and will offer commissions on accommodation bookings, travel activities and holiday packages.
According to the developers, the affiliate program will pay between 2.5% and 5% depending on the volume of sales by the affiliate. Given that the average sale price on travel is R5,000, you are looking at between R125 and R250 on average for a single commission.
When they have more expensive hotels, the commissions will be higher so the potential for high earnings is there.
Offerforge
Offerforge is one of the first affiliate marketing companies to be created in South Africa. As far as South Africa goes, I consider them the true leaders in promoting affiliate marketing
They are an affiliate network and have an array of affiliate programs that you can choose to promote. Most of the monetization on our website is through Offerforge and we have been been with them for over 4 years already.
The campaigns that they have on their list vary from R10 a lead to as much as over R2000 for a single commission.
Their niches vary from finance to online shopping so you can sign up to their platform and see what would be suitable for you. Find out more about Offerforge on their website here.
Fiverr
The Fiverr affiliate programme is one of the most versatile affiliate programs out there because of the different products it allows you to promote.
Fiverr is a freelance platform that connects freelancers with buyers. There are a multitude of freelance services that you can buy from web design, to copy writing, film making and many more. With the move to online, Fiverr has grown substantially as more people looking into online business. As an affiliate, you can promote refer people and businesses to Fiverr for freelance services, educational courses,
The commissions are generous and you can make up to R2,000 on a single conversion. Find out more about the programme here.
PureVPN
The PureVPN affiliate program is one of the most lucrative ones available because of how well they convert. VPNs have become increasingly popular in South Africa, specifically after Netflix became more widespread because of affordable broadband.
They convert well in general content ads, and you can market PureVPN over a wide variety of niches as well, especially on tech oriented websites. You can also market it with posts that have wide appeal such as “How to get American Netflix in South Africa” and various topics about accessing content that is region-locked.
The commissions are also quite decent, with the commission for a yearly subscription being around R400, and the best thing is that they are recurring, so as long as your referral keeps buying the product, you continue to earn commissions. Find out more about the program on their website here.
Online Shopping (General)
Zasttra
Zasstra is an online retail store with wide range of products on sale. They sell many things from electronics to clothing to books. The details of their commissions are not on their website but you can join them through their affiliate partner, affiliate.co.za.
Sell-SA
Sell-SA is South Africa’s newest online store. The are a general retail store that sells a variety of items from fashion to electronics and consumer appliances. The range of available products is modest compared to bigger online retailers but their business model is promising and should bring growth.
The affiliate program offers commissions of up to 6% . You can join their affiliate program directly through the website.
Mantality
Mantality is South Africa’s number 1 online store for men, and sell a range of novelty items for men. Their affiliate program pays 10% for each sale that you deliver, as well as a 90-day cookie time. As far as commission rates go, this is one of the best rates available so if the products are relevant to your niche, the commissions are definitely worth it. Mantality also give you a R30 commission just for signing up to their program. Payments are made once a month based on the previous month’s earning, and the minimum balance required for a payout is R470.
Netflorist
Netflorist sells flowers and gifts and is South Africa’s best known online store of this kind. Their Affiliate Programme can be joint through OfferForge. They pay 10% commission for sales and the have a 3-day cookie period. Payments are made monthly by EFT.
Bid or buy
Bid or Buy’s affiliate program rewards you for getting people to sign up on the platform and buy an item at t fixed price or to place a bit in an auction. The program works on a tiered scale where the more users you refer, the more you get paid per user. There are 6 different tiers. At the lowest, If you refer between 1 and 19 users a month, you get R40 per user. At the highest tier, if you refer 100 or more people per month, you get R100 per user.
Loot
Loot is a general online retailer and sells a whole range of products. They have two referral schemes which are the Loot Referral Program and the Loot Affiliate Policy. For the referral program, you earn R50 when a new customer that you refer spends R250 or more. You do not need to have a website and can send the referral to a friend by email or links.
The Loot affiliate program is aimed at prominent websites so you will be subjected to a qualification assessment in order to join. The program pays 5% of the first order that a customer places. If your referral orders after that you will not receive any commissions, even if you referred them again.
Fashion
Zando
Zando is one of the top 2 online fashion retailers in South Africa. They have a large variety of clothing brands from some of the world’s most famous brands. This would be particularly useful for anyone with a fashion blog or a style influencer on social media.
The affiliate programme is managed by AdMarula. So if you want to join the programme and promote Zando’s products, you will have to register on AdMarula. It is worth the effort though because their programme is one of the best in South AFrica The Zando Affilliate Program pays a 9% commission on each successful sale and a once-off R8 commission for newsletter signups.
Health and Fitness
Faithful To Nature
Faithful To Nature specializes in organic products and health supplements. They are one of the largest health supplement stores in south Africa a have over 11,000 products that you can recommend. It would be particularly useful for websites or social media influencer accounts that specialise in health and fitness.
USN
USN is by and far the biggest and most popular supplement brand in South Africa. It can be found on shelves in stores throughout the country so this is an easy sell to your audience if you are in fitness. With the push in technology, USN is making strides in online eCommerce. They now sell supplements through their online store that has their complete range of products.
The way the USN affiliate programme works is through a discount code that is tied to the affiliates account. So when you promote a product, you give your followers your discount code. That discount code between will entitle the buyer to a discount code 10 and 15% that depends on your membership level. You will then also get a commission between 5% and 10% depending on your level. This model is ideal for social media influencers in particular, as you don’t need to have a website that you would need to place affiliate links.
Beauty and Cosmetics
Beauté Affiliate Program
Beauté is a newly launched online store that sells some really popular skincare products. Their products include some well-known names like Ponds, and the Dr Rashel line of products that has been selling like hot cakes lately and has been generating a lot of views on YouTube and social media so these would be some good products to promote.
Their commission is between 8% and 15% depending on the brand and the tier of the affiliate. Beaute’s aim is to increase their product line to eventually include all of the brands found on shops, so their product line will continue to increase as the months go on. We also put this one first because it is the only one with no qualification requirements. Anyone can join. You can visit their website or sign up for their affiliate programs at the link below.
Ever Beauty
Ever Beauty has an affiliate program that influencers can join. The program pays out a 10% commission on all sales that is paid out in cash or store credit. To qualify for the program, all you have to do is spend R350 on the store and then apply through their their website.
As an affiliate, you get a unique promo code so you can promote the products through social media platforms or even if you don’t have a website, which give a lot more South African influencers an opportunity to be affiliates.
VAADI Orgranics
Vaadi Organics sells a cosmetics products and has a 3-tiered affiliate program. The negative about this program is that you have to sell a minimum of R10,000 worth of products in a month to make any money. This is quite a lot and most influencers will not qualify for this. In the other tiers, you get 15% if you generate R20,000 in sales, and 20% for R30,000 in sales.
If you have a high volume of targeted traffic then you can consider this affiliate program, otherwise, it is better to stick with programs that don’t have minimum sales targets and pay you for whatever you sell.
Finance
Wonga
Wonga offers short term credit to clients and has an affiliate program for qualified publishers who bring them clients. If you have a website that relates to personal finance of the financial industry, you can apply to their program. In order to qualify for the program you have to have at least 25,000 unique visitors to your site a month. If you meet this requirement, you can apply to Wonga and they will review your application and determine if you are a good fit.
Travel
Travelstart
The TravelStart Affiliate program is one of the more desirable programs that you can get into. The products are pretty easy to sell and the commissions are pretty good. Their affiliate program can be promoted through text links display banners. You will promote Hotels, Flights, car rentals and holiday packages from TravelStart. Unfortunately, you can only earn commissions from flights and not other products.
The banners that you run from Travel Start are aesthetically pleasing so they don’t hamper user experience. Depending on your agreement with the TravelStart, you can get paid as frequently as daily, and they pay through direct deposit into your South African account. The affiliate program in South Africa is run through Impact Radius, with is administered by AdMarula locally, so you have to sign up with AdMarula to promote TravelStart deals.
Travelleeto
This one is truly the most promising of the travel affiliate programs in South Africa. I was contacted by the creators of it and although it is still in development and not live yet, I definitely think it’s worthwhile to add it because of what the developers are promising to do with the platform.
The affiliate program is going to offer commissions on various products, meaning that you can make commissions from accommodation, car rentals, and activities and tours. This means that if a referral visits for a hotel you suggest and books activities and a car rental as well, you can earn from everything and can make really large commissions. The affiliate programme will start out at 2.5% and go up to 5% for high volume affiliates. So if, for example, your referral books a holiday for two to Dubai that costs R30,000, you can make up to R1500 just for one referral.
They will essentially be like a local version of booking. The big and very important difference is they will have a 60-day cookie duration. This is huge because it means that if your referral visits the site today and only books a month later, you still make the commission. This is a game changer as most of the travel affiliate programs like Booking don’t store cookies so once your referral closes their browser and visits the booking site again, you don’t get any commission, even if they place the order a few hours later.
The have a demo website up which shows how the platform is intended to look when complete. The Travelleeto platform with all of the products and services will be going live in September 2023 and the official launch will be 15th September 2023. They will first launch with 100 products and continue to add more as they get deals with tour operators and accommodation establishments. If you want to be one of their affiliates when they go live, simple sign up for their affiliate program at this link.
Avis
Avis is one of the world’s leading companies. You will make money every time a visitor that you refer books a care hire from Avis through your link. They offer leading commission rates of up to 4% with regular incentives to boost your earnings on certain cars, locations or driving dates. They have a 30-day cookie time which is pretty long for popular companies like this. The affiliate program is a good fit for websites with high authority and for travel bloggers.
Bushmans Kloof
Bushmans Kloof is part of Red Carnation Hotels, an international chain of luxury hotels. Affiliates can earn up to 10% commission with additional incentives and competitions. The hotel is situated in Clanwilliam, Western Cape and is a unique POI that can be referred on a travel blog of hidden gems.
Electronics
TechnoGadgets
TechnoGadgets, as the name implies, sells a variety of electronic gadgets from smart watches to drones. The affiliate program pays 4% on every sale. They allow promotion on websites and all of the major social platforms. As an affiliate you have the choice of getting paid monthly or every two weeks. For more more information on their program, you can visit their website.
Applix
Applix is an online store that sells audio-visual products. The sell high end media equipment like cameras, projectors and sound equipment. This is a good fit if you are a content creator in a niche that relates to electronics, such as a photography page, or a film or music website or social media presence.
Future Light
Future light sells LED lights. The products cover a wide range of applications that you might think, with lights related to vehicles, event locations and household lights. They offer a 7% commission rate and have a 30-day cookie period. Websites related to decor or home decoration can add this program to one of their earning streams. A website related to “green” methods of energy consumption is also a good fit for this.
Natural Wise
Natural wise is a “green” and health online store. They sell a range of kitchen appliances and other products like air purifiers and cosmetics. The affiliate program pays 10% for every sale that you refer.
Other
Linuxweb
Linux web is an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that sells hosting and other website hosting related products like domain registration and SSL certification. They also sell ADSL Internet. The Linuxweb affiliate program pays a commission rate of 10% for product sales that you refer. The cookie-period is 90 days and the minimum balance for payout is R200
Other Affiliate Programs South Africans Can Use
Below are a list of affiliate programs that are open to anybody in the world. But in order for them to convert well, you will have to have a global audience because South Africans don’t do much international shopping.
Amazon
The Amazon Associates Program is the biggest affiliate program in the world and pays commissions to countless affiliate marketers around the world. South Africans are eligible for membership to the affiliate programme so this is a good one to sign up to you if you have a relevant global audience.
Bodybuilding.com
Bodybuilding.com is the world’s leading bodybuilding website. They have an affiliate programme that is available to publishers worldwide. They sell all the major bodybuilding supplement brands and is a very easy sell for affiliates. You can make up to 15% on orders from first time buyers, and up to 5% on orders from existing customers.
Adidas
Adidas is one of the world’s best known sporting apparel brands. They have an affiliate program that accepts affiliates from all over the world. You can read more about the requirements of the Adidas Affiliate Program on their website.
<< Learn How To Build A Lucrative Affiliate Business >>
Noticeable Absence
Some of the more well-known online stores in South Africa and the lack of one is quite conspicuous since many publishers and influencers query about these store.
Takealot
There is no Takealot affiliate program. For an alternative, you can consider that they sell the same stuff as and loot.co.za so there is that alternative.
Superbalist
The lack of a Superbalist Affiliate Program is also a surprise to many people. Superbalist was acquired by Takealot so that you see in one will likely always be the case for the other. If you are looking for an alternative, they sell the same stuff as Zando, and Zando has a good affiliate program so that is an easy alternative solution.
Future Possibilities
The online economy in South Africa is still small but there is always a possibility of the larger retailers coming onboard when the have bigger margins. Sales are what determine these policies so if the market grows and other companies see growth through affiliate marketing, it is possible to see affiliate programs for the big retailers.
Are there any affiliate programs that we missed? If you know of other good affiliate programs, let us know in the comments below and we will add them to the list.
Thank you so much! Etsy also has a great affiliate program and they sell printables and various other items online.
But this list is great!!
Thanks for the kind words Karen. Glad you found it useful.
Beautiful site you have, by the way. If you don’t have one already, you should consider having a .com website where you can reach a MUCH broader audience.
The quality of your work is stellar and it would be much easier to monetize things like your recipes directly with a global affiliate program that has direct relevance to your content.
Yeah nice work man!
Hello Greg,
Can a person have themself signed up to more than one affiliate at a time?
Yes. You can sign up to as many affiliates as you want.
All you have to do is be able to send traffic to whichever product or service that you are promoting.
4aKid offers an affiliate program. You can check it out on the website.
Hi Greg,
Truly an amazing article. We at Technogadgets.co.za also offer an Affiliate Program as well. We do Drones, smart watches etc…
Thank you for the comment. Had a look and the affiliate program looks good and can definitely be useful to tech influencers. We have added it to our list as well.
Your Website does not work
I read a lot of posts but the topic covered in this is the most comprehensive & helpful. This is really wonderful post. I would definitely recommend it to others.
Thank you for sharing this valuable information with us.
I would like to receive newsletters. Thanks
Hi Henry, I don’t have a newsletter, unfortunately.
But if you have any questions about a topic I will gladly answer them if I can.
Thanks
Hi Greg,
Awesome article. Really helpful, I’ve been exploring affiliate marketing for a while now and specifically Wealthy Affiliate, though I’m weary to go premium as I don’t want to be wasting money.
My question is, is Affiliate Marketing a realistic business model? Can you earn a living off it? And what has been your experience with Wealthy Affiliate?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Hi Naadiya.
Affiliate marketing certainly is a realistic business model. But it is not a fly-by-night model where you can supposedly make thousands overnight. It takes perhaps 8-12 months to build a solid income from it if you are putting in the necessary effort.
Secondly, you don’t have to sign up to premium at WA or believe anyone’s opinion online. There’s no way for you to tell if what I say is a truthful assessment or solely for my own benefit. The best opinion is your own, through your own assessment. Sign up for the free membership and have a look around. The level 1 training is free and sufficient to get a good understanding of what’s going on there. If you like what you see there, sign up for premium. If you don’t, then there’s no need to.
As for my experience with Wealthy Affiliate, I have been there since 2018 and this website thing is now my full-time job, so yes, you can earn a living from it.
Great article Greg. It gives as a holistic view on what other companies offer. We are a startup ecommerce store that sells shoes and we included an affiliate program as well. We offer 10% on all converted sales for life. Unlimited cookie tracking for all purchases payable to the affiliate marketer.
I want to be in affiliate program and start promoting and advertising products and/or services but I don’t know how can I reach this goal or where to start.
Please assist and help me.
Thank you in advance
Hi Zimasa. Have a look at the platform where I learned about affiliate marketing. Here is the link
Hi Greg,
Thanks for the information. I followed the link to wealthy affiliate,
I have been trying to get started, after completing the verification, I keep getting an error that the verification has expired and therefore am not able to complete registration.
I have read the Terms and Privacy policy, still no luck
Any guidance please
Try closing your browser and then try to complete the registration. If not, just give it a few hours and it should work.
Would want to be an affiliate marketer
I notice you said Amazon offers an affiliate program in South Africa? Are you sure about this? Because when I checked the website today, S.A isn’t on that list of countries they offer too. Please clear this up if you know
Yes I am sure. I have been promoting Amazon products for a few years.
Great article. Didn’t realise there are so many options for affiliate marketing in South Africa. Stock Market Dynamics also offer an affiliate marketing program
Hi Greg,
Thank you for the great article! I have a home baking business but don’t see many affiliates with kitchen/baking goods. Do you have any recommendations?
Thank you
Elzanne
Hi Elzanne, sorry for the late reply. Things have been hectic. Last time I checked, there wasn’t any affiliate program for kitchen goods.
In the short term, I can’t think of anything to recommend because Affiliate Marketing is only starting to gain gain some recognition in SA recently. In the mid to long term, I would recommend starting a .com website that would target a global audience. That way there would be plenty of affiliate programs you can promote for, and you would have access to a bigger audience to promote to.
Hey greg,
I’ve been struggling to join the bid or buy affiliate program. I’d kindly like your assistance if you’ve managed to join it?
Hi Lerato. I am not on Bid or Buy’s affiliate program. As far as local goes, the affiliate programs I promote are through OfferForge.
What type of products are you trying to promote?
I’ve jst started my blog and I’m not exactly sure on the type of products I’ll be promoting, but the categories I cover are Finance, Fashion, Health, Lifestyle and Travel, so I’ll work around that.
I’ve managed to find the bid or buy affiliate referral link (sigh).
I’ve just started blogging, I thought I’ll cover a wide range of categories until I find my perfect niche. So for now I don’t have a set product type I’m trying to promote.
Greg ! We still have Clickbank, Ebay ,Upwork and Guru. I am an affiliate marketer on all of them, Amazon included.
Hi Lazarus. 🙂
I am a freelancer on Upwork. Do they offer an affiliate programme as well?? 🧐
Hi
I want to try this affiliate marketing program, but I don’t have a blog or website, which program can you recommend?
Where will you be promoting your affiliate links?
Great article and thanks for the mention Greg.
Hi Greg
I would like to consult you regarding affiliate marketing. I want to include it in my websites & possibly have someone manage it for me.
Please let me know how I can contact & possible have a chat.
Regards
Regarding wealthy affiliates i see that most stores to promote are mainly overseas ,or am i not filtering correctly.I haven’t seen any SA stores on here. Why is that?
Great Content
How can i start this affiliate marketing on my website to advertise products and get paid
Hi Greg,
Great program list. I wondered if you’d be interested in featuring the Go2Africa affiliate program, which has just launched on Awin? We’re an award-winning Cape Town-based safari tour operator, and have an average commission per booking of around $600.
Cheers,
Ed
Hi Ed.
Sounds interesting. I’ll email you a bit later on after load shedding has passed.
Hello Ed. 🙂
I am most definitely going to check out your program.
Hi Greg
It sounds like you would have to do a LOT of promoting/writing or have an extensive following to enable affiliate marketing to be lucrative in SA. Could any company with a loyalty program and possibility for referral tracking and commissions be regarded as using affiliate marketing?
Hi Megan.
The referral tracking and commissions part constitutes affiliate marketing, not the loyalty program part.
To your initial statement, “a lot” is relative. A successful affiliate marketer works far fewer hours than a normal worker for the same amount of money. It just comes at the cost of the initial period of putting in more effort to get that traction.
Secondly, there are affiliate programs with commissions of around R50 a sale and affiliate programs with commissions over R1000 for a sale. So it is possible to have one article bringing in a full-time salary’s worth of commissions each month.
Hi Greg,
Awesome to see a content creator so engaged with visitors!
We too have launched an affiliate program, but for Pets. Please contact me, I’ll give you the details.
ps your contact form is broken
Hi Greg – I’d like to have an offline chat to you if possible?
Good day Greg.
Could you contact me regarding the affiliate marketing. I am also looking to get out of the 9-5 daytime job. But are struggling to get started.
Hope to hear from you soon.
If only we could get Eskom to launch an affiliate program to bring the help in keeping the lights on, we would definitely make some sales. 😉
I am most definitely going to check out your program.