By Akani Nkuna
Stella Ndabeni, Minister of Small Business Development, has unveiled a R500 million fund aimed at empowering township convenience stores and spaza shops.
This initiative aims to boost local economic growth, create jobs and provide essential support to small businesses, ultimately transforming the entrepreneurial landscape of South African.
“We will now take this initiative to scale with the R500 million Spaza Shop support Fund (R150 million from DSBD and R350 million from DTIC) that will soon be launched to support township convenience shops, including spaza stores,” said Ndabeni.
“The fund will be launched in the next two weeks and a date will be communicated. Other businesses will still benefit from existing departmental funds and programmes including financial assistance by our entity SEDFA and other DFIs.”
Ndabeni addressed the media at the GCIS offices in Pretoria following the closure of the spaza shop and food outlet registration period on Friday, 28 February.
She provided key updates on the registration process, key findings, and details of the R500 million fund aimed at supporting small businesses.
This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s directive last year mandating the registration of all spaza shops and food outlets in response to multiple food poisoning cases and related deaths.
“We also have a range of other interventions and offerings to support township and rural enterprises, including TREP, asset assist, business infrastructure support, as well as wholesale and direct lending, as well as credit guarantees we offer to banks to get them to lend to township and rural enterprises,” said Ndabeni.
According to Ndabeni, the fund aims to boost spaza shops and food outlets by enabling bulk purchasing, providing training, enhancing competitiveness and expanding nationwide.
A multidisciplinary outreach program will connect communities with government services, sharing information on Community Convenience Shops and available support.
“The fund is an intervention to spaza shops owners that have heeded the call by registering, whether you are a previous owner – if you have registered that you have a spaza shop and it has been indeed checked that it exists, [then you are eligible for funding],” Ndabeni added.
Additionally, start-ups will receive R10,000 worth of stock, particularly those launching new spaza shops in areas with string businesses potential, ensuing they can thrive and effectively serve the communities.
“We do not want any South African who has decided to take a conscious decision of embarking on spaza shop industry to be excluded because they cannot afford compliance, that is why we are stepping in. we are stepping for those that cannot afford,” Ndabeni added.
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