By Amy Musgrave
The government will launch the R500 million Spaza Shop Support Fund in Soweto next week.
The fund, which was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in November last year, will be jointly administered by the National Empowerment Fund and the Small Enterprise Development Finance Agency.
It will provide critical financial and non-financial support to township businesses, including community convenience stores and spaza shops.
The fund will be launched Small Business Development Minister Stella Tembisa Ndabeni and Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau.
The aim of the fund is to support South African-owned township community convenience shops to increase their participation in the retail trade sector in townships and rural areas.
“The opening of the applications for the fund marks another milestone in government’s efforts to stimulate the growth of the rural and township economy in the country…,” Ndabeni said in a statement on Wednesday.
She said these small businesses played an important role in creating jobs, growing the economy and alleviating poverty.
The fund provides various types of support including the initial purchase of stock via delivery channel partners, and upgrading of building infrastructure, systems, refrigeration, and shelving and security.
It will also provide training programmes on point of sale devices, business skills, digital literacy, credit health, and food safety and business compliance.
Tau said the fund not only supported economic inclusion but also aligned with national priorities to formalise informal sectors, safeguard consumers and promote local production.
He described it as holistic approach to revitalising the township economy.
“Beyond individual support, the fund seeks to bolster the broader supply chain by fostering partnerships with local manufacturers, black industrialists and wholesalers.
“Through bulk purchasing arrangements and the promotion of locally produced goods, spaza shops will benefit from reduced costs and increased access to quality products,” said Tau.
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