Square Eats

Square Eats was an online food-ordering and delivery service founded in 2020 in Gaborone, Botswana, by twin brothers Henry Newman and Randall Newman. The business connected consumers with restaurants and other merchants through digital ordering and delivery services, initially concentrating on prepared food. Its launch coincided with a period in which consumers and merchants were rapidly adopting contactless commerce, helping food-delivery platforms become an important channel for ordering meals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The service allowed customers to browse participating restaurants, place orders through a smartphone application or website, and receive meals at their homes or other destinations. During the pandemic, Square Eats introduced operational measures intended to reduce contact and support delivery-worker hygiene. These included providing drivers with gloves and hand sanitizer and offering contactless delivery. The measures were designed to reassure customers and merchant partners while delivery activity continued under public-health constraints. Square Eats later paused operations and undertook a strategic reinvention in 2022. The company subsequently announced a rebrand to Zesta in 2025. The change reflected a broader ambition to move beyond restaurant meals and develop a wider delivery-oriented platform, described as a super app. Under the expanded concept, the business connected customers not only with restaurants but also with stores and providers of groceries, parcels, and other everyday essentials. As a result, Square Eats is best understood as the former identity of a Botswana-originated delivery platform rather than as the continuing consumer-facing brand. Its principal historical significance lies in its early food-delivery positioning, its pandemic-era delivery adaptations, and its transition toward a broader African digital-commerce and logistics proposition under the Zesta name. Publicly available reference material does not establish a separate parent company, ownership structure, listing status, financial performance, or a complete geographic market list for the Square Eats period.

Square Eats originated in 2020 in Gaborone, Botswana, where twin brothers Henry Newman and Randall Newman founded the service at the age of 21. The business entered the online food-ordering and delivery sector, giving customers a digital way to discover participating restaurants, order meals, and arrange delivery. Its initial proposition was focused on improving convenience for consumers while providing restaurants with an additional channel for receiving orders and reaching customers. The company developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when restrictions and health concerns increased demand for delivered meals and reduced-contact transactions. Square Eats responded by introducing contactless delivery and by supplying delivery drivers with gloves and hand sanitizer. These measures formed part of the brand's operating response to the public-health environment and helped present the service as a safer way to obtain restaurant food during a period of heightened concern about physical contact. After its initial operating period, the company halted operations in 2022 and made a strategic decision to reinvent the business. The available reference material does not specify the full financial, organizational, or operational reasons for the pause, nor does it provide detailed information about the duration of the interruption or the precise structure of the subsequent relaunch. In 2025, the company announced that Square Eats would be rebranded as Zesta. The rebrand marked a shift from a narrowly food-delivery identity toward a broader platform model. The expanded service concept included restaurant meals, groceries, parcel delivery, and other essential goods, with customers accessing merchant services through a mobile application for iOS and Android or through a website. The stated direction was to evolve into a super app serving a wider range of everyday delivery needs across the African region. The Square Eats name therefore represents the company's formative brand period. It began as a Botswana food-delivery service, adopted safety and contactless-delivery practices during the pandemic, paused for strategic reinvention, and ultimately transitioned into the Zesta identity. No reliable public information in the supplied material establishes a stock-market listing, revenue figures, funding totals, corporate parent, or detailed executive roster beyond the two named co-founders.

• 2025

  Rebrand to Zesta

  [1]Zestaen.wikipedia.org

  The company moved beyond the Square Eats food-delivery identity and announced the Zesta brand for a broader delivery and super-app strategy.

• 2022

  Operational pause and reinvention

  [1]Zestaen.wikipedia.org

  Square Eats halted operations while pursuing a strategic reinvention of the business.

• 2020

  Foundation and launch in Botswana

  [1]Zestaen.wikipedia.org

  Henry Newman and Randall Newman founded Square Eats in Gaborone and launched it as an online food-ordering and delivery service.

• 2020

  Pandemic delivery adaptations

  [1]Zestaen.wikipedia.org

  The service introduced contactless delivery and supplied drivers with gloves and hand sanitizer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A digitally enabled food-ordering and delivery service built around restaurant access, convenient last-mile delivery, and pandemic-era contactless fulfillment. The brand was later broadened and rebranded as Zesta to support a wider delivery and super-app proposition.

• Food delivery · 2020

  Restaurant ordering and delivery

  Square Eats enabled customers to browse participating restaurants, place meal orders, and receive food at their homes or other destinations. The service was accessible through digital channels, including a smartphone application and website, and represented the brand's core offering during its original operating period.

• Delivery service

  Contactless delivery

  During the COVID-19 pandemic, Square Eats offered contactless delivery as an operational option intended to limit direct interaction between customers and drivers. The initiative complemented the distribution of gloves and hand sanitizer to delivery personnel.

• 2020COVID-19 delivery-safety initiative

  Botswana

  Square Eats responded to pandemic conditions by providing drivers with free gloves and hand sanitizer and introducing contactless delivery. The initiative addressed hygiene concerns associated with delivered meals and supported continued use of the service during the pandemic.

  Outcome. The measures positioned the service as a delivery option attentive to customer and driver safety during the COVID-19 period.

  Source

• 2025

  Rebrand from Square Eats to ZestaStrategy

  Background

  The original food-delivery name no longer represented the company's intended expansion into a wider set of consumer delivery categories.

  Action taken

  The company announced the Zesta identity and broadened its proposition to include food, groceries, parcels, and other essentials.

  Aftermath

  Square Eats became the former brand identity while Zesta represented the company's broader super-app direction.

  Source

• 2022

  Pause operations to reinvent the businessStrategy

  Background

  After operating as a food-delivery service, the company determined that a strategic reset was necessary.

  Action taken

  Square Eats halted operations and began a business reinvention process.

  Aftermath

  The reinvention preceded the later transition to the Zesta brand and a broader delivery-platform model.

  Source

• 2025

  Square Eats rebrands as Zesta[1]Zestaen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company announced a new Zesta identity as part of an expansion beyond restaurant meals into groceries, parcels, other essentials, and a broader super-app proposition.

• 2022

  Square Eats pauses operations for strategic reinvention[1]Zestaen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company halted operations and began a strategic effort to reinvent its business.

• 2020

  Square Eats launches in Gaborone[1]Zestaen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Square Eats was founded and launched in Gaborone, Botswana, as an online food-ordering and delivery service.

• 2020

  Square Eats introduces pandemic delivery-safety measures[1]Zestaen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  During the COVID-19 pandemic, the service provided drivers with gloves and hand sanitizer and introduced contactless delivery options.

1. 1Zestaen.wikipedia.org