What began with a last paycheque and pawn shop loans has evolved into a fast-scaling e-commerce tech business now earning top marketplace recognition.
Romtech Online is a South African company that specialises in premium computing and electronics, built around competitive pricing, strong customer service and efficient fulfilment.
Operating through digital marketplaces such as Amazon, the company has scaled rapidly, achieving 6,878% growth in units sold and 4,872% growth in sales over the past year. The company was recently recognised with the Golden Smile Award for top overall performance and outstanding customer satisfaction at the Amazon South Africa Seller Summit.
“The significant success we’ve experienced on Amazon is a direct result of their commitment to providing excellent value, supported by a team that enables us to sell without friction,” said Jacques Keth, founder of Romtech Online.
Keth said Romtech Online, founded in 2017, was established under significant financial pressure, initially funded through his last paycheque and support from a local pawn shop. In the early stages, he reinvested personal earnings and assets to keep the business afloat while operating in a constrained funding environment.
He noted that while his approach carried considerable risk, it ultimately helped the business gain traction and begin scaling.
Bad reviews can feel like a death sentence, especially when you’re starting out and trying to build your brand. And very seldomly do customers actually go and change that initial review once the issue has been ironed out and everything has been mended
— Jacques Keth, Romtech Online founder
“I set out to use the experience I gained from working in the distribution and retail sector to launch my business with customer service as the focal point, and I started to expand from there,” he said.
Keth prioritised customer service as a key differentiator in a market he feels often underestimates small businesses. He said this focus has remained central to Romtech Online’s approach, particularly in consumer electronics, where tight margins and limited differentiation make it difficult to scale on price alone.
The small Romtech team manages customer engagement and digital responses across platforms, including Amazon, Google and other online channels. Keth highlighted the realities of online feedback, where negative experiences can carry disproportionate weight.
“Bad reviews can feel like a death sentence, especially when you’re starting out and trying to build your brand,” he said. “And very seldomly do customers actually go and change that initial review once the issue has been ironed out and everything has been mended.”
Keth said such reviews can leave a lasting mark on a business, making it critical to get things “right the first time around”.
Against that backdrop, he said customer service remains a key differentiator, describing it as a relatively low-cost input with a long-term impact on customer retention and brand trust in the competitive e-commerce space.
Romtech operates with a core team of around three people. Instead of fixed roles, staff share responsibilities across different parts of the business.
Keth said that in the early days he had to do everything himself, from sales to ordering stock and handling accounts. “There’s a lot of work. That’s the one thing that nobody tells you. You’re going to have to fulfil all of the roles in a business when you’re starting out.”
He described it as a constant balancing act, where all parts of the business had to be managed at once with limited time and resources.
Romtech Online began selling on Amazon following its South African launch in 2024, with Keth noting that the business registered early and was able to move quickly once the platform went live.
He said growth built steadily through 2024 and accelerated significantly in 2025 as marketplace activity expanded. Romtech recorded a 100% increase in sales in the last three months of 2025 compared with the previous quarter, reflecting strong momentum over the period.
Keth said one of the ongoing challenges for the company, both at launch and during its growth, was access to affordable funding.
He noted that traditional lenders are often hesitant to back early-stage businesses, while alternative funding options such as microlenders can come at significantly higher cost and with less flexible repayment terms, making it difficult to build momentum with limited starting capital.
As a broader reflection and recommendation for entrepreneurs, he added: “Every business has its highs and its lows, so it’s imperative you don’t spoil yourself too much in the highs and don’t completely give up in the lows.”
Keth said the company’s five-year focus is on expanding its product range and scaling its presence on Amazon.
He said the platform provides a more cost-effective way to reach a wider customer base than operating independently, allowing the business to grow its portfolio and expand access to more products for customers over time.
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