New Delhi → Durban · KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
A container from India is cleared in Durban on paper before it is cleared on the quay. If the consignee's agent has the invoice, packing list and arrival notice on WhatsApp before the vessel berths, the box moves; if not, it waits.
For Indian exporters shipping through Durban's port, travel and wedding businesses serving South Africans of Indian origin, and brands selling in KwaZulu-Natal: what a Durban consignee should have on WhatsApp before the vessel berths, which template languages fit, where POPIA's consent rule applies, and what +27 messages cost.
See it work
An Indian exporter has a container of automotive components on its way to a Durban importer. Tick off what the consignee and its clearing agent should already have on WhatsApp; the required items are the ones a delayed box usually turns out to have missed.
The first five items decide whether the container waits on the quay. Each is either a utility template your ERP or forwarder system sends through the developer API when the document is issued, or a reply inside a window the importer opened by asking a question.
The last two are about manners. Arrival news reaches Durban at the start of its day if it leaves India in the late morning, and a payment reminder that slips into a promotion turns a utility message into direct marketing, which POPIA treats differently; the South Africa guide covers the consent rule.
7/7
ticked
Ready for berthing: the consignee has every paper before the ship
Every item ticked.
Ready for berthing: the consignee has every paper before the ship. 7 of 7 ticked.
Market brief
The South African government, the eThekwini municipality and India's High Commission in Pretoria.
The South African government describes the port of Durban as one of the busiest in Africa, and names King Shaka International Airport at La Mercy, north of the city, as the province's airport.[1]
It puts KwaZulu-Natal's population at 12,312,712, 19.5% of the country's, and lists isiZulu as the principal language of 82.5% of residents and English of 12.5%.[1]
The eThekwini municipality, which governs Durban, counts 3.9 million people in the city.[2]
India's High Commission puts India–South Africa trade at about US$18.01 billion in 2024-25, and lists vehicles and components, transport equipment, medicines and engineering goods among India's main exports, along with textiles and rice.[3]
It puts South Africa's Indian-origin community at around 1.7 million, about 3% of the population, and notes that 2010 marked 150 years since Indians first arrived in South Africa.[3]
India has a Consulate General in Durban, alongside those in Cape Town and Johannesburg, and the High Commission lists a Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre in the city.[4]
Port traffic leads; families and the province's consumers follow.
For Indian makers of vehicles and components, engineering goods, textiles and rice whose South African buyers clear cargo at Durban.[3],[1]
For tour operators, wedding planners and jewellers in India serving South Africans of Indian origin, a community of around 1.7 million nationally.[3],[4]
For consumer brands with distributors or customers in a province where isiZulu is the principal language of most residents.[1],[5]
Meta approves each language version separately. Its list includes a South African English code and isiZulu, the province's main language, as well as the Indian languages some Durban families may choose.
Ask at opt-in which language each person wants and store it per contact. isiXhosa is not on Meta's template list, so customers who prefer it get English templates and replies in isiXhosa inside the 24-hour window. InfiQ's own support team works in English and Hindi.
| Language | Meta code | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| English (South Africa) | en_ZA | The default for importers, agents and most customers |
| isiZulu | zu | Customers in KwaZulu-Natal who chose it at opt-in |
| Hindi | hi | Families who ask for it, for example for pilgrimage bookings |
| Tamil | ta | Families who ask for it |
| Gujarati | gu | Families who ask for it |
Prices in ₹ and ZAR
+27 numbers are billed on South Africa's own line of Meta's rate card: ₹0.8369 for each booking, document or arrival notice, ₹0.8369 for each reply to the consignee, ₹3.34 for an offer to someone who consented, ₹0.8369 for a code. Plans start at ₹999 a month.
Snapshot rates · as of 20 Oct 2026, 00:02 UTC
Lite
₹999 / month≈ R 172.96 ZAR
₹833 / month, billed yearly≈ R 144.22 ZAR
Growth
₹2,999 / month≈ R 519.23 ZAR
₹2,499 / month, billed yearly≈ R 432.66 ZAR
Enterprise
Custom volume pricing, custom SLA and dedicated infrastructure.
Per message to Durban · South Africa
| Category | ₹ INR | ZAR |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | ₹3.3385 | R 0.578 |
| Utility | ₹0.8369 | R 0.145 |
| Authentication | ₹0.8369 | R 0.145 |
| Service | ₹0.8369 | R 0.145 |
| Market | Marketing | Utility | Authentication | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | R 0.941₹5.4352 | R 0.396₹2.2874 | R 0.396₹2.2874 | R 0.396₹2.2874 |
| Bangladesh | R 1.11₹6.4397 | R 0.0563₹0.3254 | R 0.0563₹0.3254 | R 0.0563₹0.3254 |
| Brazil | R 0.952₹5.4970 | R 0.104₹0.5981 | R 0.104₹0.5981 | R 0.104₹0.5981 |
| Chile | R 1.35₹7.8162 | R 0.304₹1.7585 | R 0.304₹1.7585 | R 0.304₹1.7585 |
| Colombia | R 0.190₹1.0993 | R 0.0122₹0.0706 | R 0.0122₹0.0706 | R 0.0122₹0.0706 |
| Egypt | R 0.980₹5.6629 | R 0.0548₹0.3167 | R 0.0548₹0.3167 | R 0.0548₹0.3167 |
| France | R 1.31₹7.5588 | R 0.457₹2.6393 | R 0.457₹2.6393 | R 0.457₹2.6393 |
| Germany | R 2.08₹12.0088 | R 0.838₹4.8386 | R 0.838₹4.8386 | R 0.838₹4.8386 |
| Hong Kong | R 1.11₹6.4397 | R 0.396₹2.2867 | R 0.396₹2.2867 | R 0.396₹2.2867 |
| Hungary | R 1.31₹7.5596 | R 0.532₹3.0700 | R 0.532₹3.0700 | R 0.532₹3.0700 |
| India | R 0.163₹0.9435 | R 0.0336₹0.1941 | R 0.0243₹0.1402 | R 0.0251₹0.1450 |
| Indonesia | R 0.626₹3.6133 | R 0.381₹2.1979 | R 0.381₹2.1979 | R 0.381₹2.1979 |
| Iraq | R 0.519₹2.9992 | R 0.120₹0.6943 | R 0.120₹0.6943 | R 0.120₹0.6943 |
| Israel | R 0.537₹3.1045 | R 0.0807₹0.4662 | R 0.0807₹0.4662 | R 0.0807₹0.4662 |
| Italy | R 1.21₹6.9847 | R 0.457₹2.6369 | R 0.457₹2.6369 | R 0.457₹2.6369 |
| Kazakhstan | R 0.919₹5.3098 | R 0.274₹1.5824 | R 0.274₹1.5824 | R 0.274₹1.5824 |
| Kuwait | R 1.21₹6.9671 | R 0.670₹3.8671 | R 0.670₹3.8671 | R 0.670₹3.8671 |
| Malaysia | R 1.31₹7.5644 | R 0.213₹1.2314 | R 0.213₹1.2314 | R 0.213₹1.2314 |
| Mexico | R 0.604₹3.4877 | R 0.129₹0.7471 | R 0.129₹0.7471 | R 0.129₹0.7471 |
| Morocco | R 0.631₹3.6425 | R 0.350₹2.0218 | R 0.350₹2.0218 | R 0.350₹2.0218 |
| Netherlands | R 2.43₹14.0494 | R 0.762₹4.3987 | R 0.762₹4.3987 | R 0.762₹4.3987 |
| Nepal | R 1.11₹6.4397 | R 0.0518₹0.2990 | R 0.0518₹0.2990 | R 0.0518₹0.2990 |
| Nigeria | R 0.786₹4.5421 | R 0.102₹0.5898 | R 0.102₹0.5898 | R 0.102₹0.5898 |
| Oman | R 0.519₹2.9992 | R 0.376₹2.1709 | R 0.376₹2.1709 | R 0.376₹2.1709 |
| Pakistan | R 0.721₹4.1620 | R 0.229₹1.3200 | R 0.229₹1.3200 | R 0.229₹1.3200 |
| Peru | R 1.07₹6.1843 | R 0.457₹2.6392 | R 0.457₹2.6392 | R 0.457₹2.6392 |
| Poland | R 0.556₹3.2105 | R 0.185₹1.0702 | R 0.185₹1.0702 | R 0.185₹1.0702 |
| Qatar | R 0.519₹2.9992 | R 0.183₹1.0547 | R 0.183₹1.0547 | R 0.183₹1.0547 |
| Romania | R 1.31₹7.5596 | R 0.440₹2.5436 | R 0.440₹2.5436 | R 0.440₹2.5436 |
| Russia | R 1.22₹7.0520 | R 0.609₹3.5173 | R 0.609₹3.5173 | R 0.609₹3.5173 |
| Saudi Arabia | R 0.875₹5.0537 | R 0.163₹0.9401 | R 0.163₹0.9401 | R 0.163₹0.9401 |
| Singapore | R 1.11₹6.4397 | R 0.244₹1.4072 | R 0.244₹1.4072 | R 0.244₹1.4072 |
| South Africa | R 0.578₹3.3385 | R 0.145₹0.8369 | R 0.145₹0.8369 | R 0.145₹0.8369 |
| Spain | R 1.08₹6.2161 | R 0.304₹1.7578 | R 0.304₹1.7578 | R 0.304₹1.7578 |
| Sri Lanka | R 1.11₹6.4397 | R 0.0305₹0.1759 | R 0.0305₹0.1759 | R 0.0305₹0.1759 |
| Turkey | R 0.166₹0.9587 | R 0.0137₹0.0792 | R 0.0137₹0.0792 | R 0.0137₹0.0792 |
| Ukraine | R 1.31₹7.5596 | R 0.453₹2.6138 | R 0.453₹2.6138 | R 0.453₹2.6138 |
| United Arab Emirates | R 0.875₹5.0537 | R 0.239₹1.3811 | R 0.239₹1.3811 | R 0.239₹1.3811 |
| United Kingdom | R 0.966₹5.5795 | R 0.335₹1.9346 | R 0.335₹1.9346 | R 0.335₹1.9346 |
| North America | R 0.380₹2.1976 | R 0.0517₹0.2989 | R 0.0517₹0.2989 | R 0.0517₹0.2989 |
| Rest of Africa | R 0.343₹1.9796 | R 0.0609₹0.3516 | R 0.0609₹0.3516 | R 0.0609₹0.3516 |
| Rest of Asia Pacific | R 1.28₹7.4057 | R 0.172₹0.9938 | R 0.172₹0.9938 | R 0.172₹0.9938 |
| Rest of Central & Eastern Europe | R 1.31₹7.5596 | R 0.322₹1.8595 | R 0.322₹1.8595 | R 0.322₹1.8595 |
| Rest of Latin America | R 1.13₹6.5048 | R 0.172₹0.9934 | R 0.172₹0.9934 | R 0.172₹0.9934 |
| Rest of Middle East | R 0.597₹3.4490 | R 0.138₹0.7998 | R 0.138₹0.7998 | R 0.138₹0.7998 |
| Rest of Western Europe | R 0.901₹5.2054 | R 0.260₹1.5019 | R 0.260₹1.5019 | R 0.260₹1.5019 |
| Other | R 0.919₹5.3098 | R 0.117₹0.6769 | R 0.117₹0.6769 | R 0.117₹0.6769 |
Plan prices are monthly, in rupees, excluding GST; yearly billing is two months free. Messages are charged per delivered message on top of the plan, at the rate for the recipient’s country. Full details: InfiQ pricing. A Durban landline, 031, is stored as +27 31 and receives nothing unless it is registered on WhatsApp; use the importer's or agent's mobile number. Rand figures are indicative; InfiQ invoices in rupees.
Work out your own monthly cost by message type.
Calculate your exact costOn InfiQ
Templates that follow the documents, and an inbox for the agent's questions.
A REST API with scoped keys, idempotency keys and per-key rate limits, plus HMAC-SHA256-signed webhooks retried for 24 hours. Included on Growth, an add-on on Lite.
Your ERP or forwarder system sends the booking, document and arrival templates as each paper is issued, with signed delivery webhooks.
Draft, submit and track WhatsApp message templates for Meta's approval, starting from a library of 1,000+ ready templates in 27 categories.
Keep en_ZA and isiZulu versions with document headers for bills of lading and invoices, each tracked through Meta's approval.
One WhatsApp number answered by a team: 10 users on Lite and 25 on Growth, agent and manager roles, transfers, private notes, labels and canned replies.
A clearing agent's question about a Durban container lands in the shared inbox during the Indian working day, with the shipment's history.
Each contact's opt-in source and time are recorded, STOP replies are enforced at platform level (even against later imports), and the audit trail exports.
Records each importer's and agent's opt-in, and any separate marketing consent POPIA requires, with STOP enforced.
Nearby
The nearest city guides on this site, in South Africa and its neighbours.
Durban keeps South African Standard Time, UTC+2, with no daylight saving, so 08:00 to 17:00 in Durban is 11:30 to 20:30 IST every day of the year. POPIA and the South Africa rate apply nationwide; the South Africa guide covers them.
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on the dates shown. Page updated 2026-10-20.
Start a 7-day Lite trial, no card needed, and wire booking, document and arrival templates for +27 consignees to your ERP. If your business is based in Durban, talk to sales about whether InfiQ fits.
