PRETORIA, March 3 (NNN-SANEWS) — Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni has announced the creation of a R500 million Spaza Shop Support Fund that aims to enhance market competitiveness to help spaza shops and food handling outlets compete with larger retailers.
Addressing media in Pretoria on Sunday, the Minister said the fund will be launched soon and will support township convenience shops, including spaza stores.
“The fund will be launched in the next two weeks and a date will be communicated,” she said adding that the fund will comprise of funds from the Department of Small Business Development (R150 million) and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (R350 million).
The Minister made the announcement at the briefing that followed the close of the registration period for spaza shops and food-handling businesses to register their businesses with their local municipalities on Feb 28.
She said other businesses will still benefit from existing departmental funds and programmes including financial assistance by the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (SEDFA) and other development finance institutions (DFIs).
The fund aims to achieve economies of scale by linking spaza shops and food handling outlets to buying groups for bulk purchasing; build business capacity through training and support to improve shop operations; enhance market competitiveness to help spaza shops and food- handling outlets compete with larger retailers.
“We are planning a to roll out a multi-disciplinary outreach programme. The purpose of the outreach program is to bring government services closer to the people through disseminating information on community convenience shops and support offerings.
“We will continue to do these things with provincial and local government and will facilitate awareness campaigns in all 52 districts and metros across the country. The awareness campaigns are scheduled to take place from 03 March 2025 to 30 March 2025.”
The awareness campaigns will continue beyond the month of March and the awareness workshops will be facilitated by district champions, SEDFA and business regulation officers.
She said that the Department of Small Business Development has recruited 61 business regulation officers on six -month contracts, each assigned to a District or Metro across the country.
“These officers will be responsible for conducting awareness campaigns, research, and geo-mapping of spaza shops and food-handling facilities among other functions.”
The Minister further added that the country’s regulatory environment needs to be streamlined, and the department has embarked on a Red Tape Reduction Program to include practical solutions.
“As a key strategic intervention to support the red tape reduction efforts, the department will ensure that municipalities are assisted with E-registration systems. We remain committed as government to streamline business licensing in South Africa, reduce regulatory burdens, and foster an environment conducive to entrepreneurship, innovation, and job creation.
“Our amended National Business Licensing Bill, once approved and implemented, will provide clarity, consistency, and transparency in business licensing, enabling businesses to thrive and contribute to the country’s economic growth and development,” she explained. — NNN-SANEWS