Pick n Pay has expanded its partnership programme with independent spaza store owners to the Western Cape. The programme's first spaza to be opened in the region came with the launch of Nozinga Market in Gugulethu.

The spaza conversion programme modernises spaza stores to meet the needs of the customers and communities, is helping to build a new generation of modern retail entrepreneurs.

This marks the launch of phase 2 of the partnership, combining the capability and systems of one of South Africas largest retailers with the spaza owners’ intimate knowledge of the needs of township customers to create a new shopping experience, grow township economies and boost employment.

Pick n Pay has worked with its suppliers to upgrade the store with new refrigeration and IT systems and it will stock 1,300 lines of edible and non-edible groceries, fresh produce and perishables. In addition to having a liquor licence, once approved, Nozinga Market will offer a full Value Added Service range, including money transfer, ticketing, airtime and data, bill payments, lottery tickets and the sale of prepaid electricity. 

Impacting lives of township entrepreneurs
Owners of converted stores in Gauteng, where the programme was piloted last year, have reportedly performed well and their customers have benefited from a significantly expanded range of quality products at competitive prices, close to where they live.

For Gugulethu businesswoman Pumla Rudah, who calls herself a “born entrepreneur who was always trading this and that”, the opening of Nozinga Market has turned a burning ambition to own her own business into reality. Rudah left the corporate world in 2008 to follow her dream, trading pre-packed fruit in the informal market, before she turned to catering and then to helping other entrepreneurs to formalise their businesses.

Despite these strong entrepreneurial roots, she says the training she’s received from Pick n Pay in preparation for the store opening has been a “great learning curve”, giving her new insights into owning and running a sustainable business. She has taken on 15 permanent staff, most of them from Gugulethu and Langa, and a share of her profits will go to the previous owners of the store, well-known traders in the area since the 1960s.

A collaborative success
This collaborative effort between Pick n Pay, the Old Mutual Foundation, Masisizane Fund, Brimstone Legacy Fund, the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the City of Cape Town follows the success of the same model in Gauteng.

Pick n Pay deputy CEO Richard van Rensburg said: “We are delighted to be opening our first market store in the Western Cape. This very successful project is about creating the business leaders of the future. The success of the project lies in helping independent entrepreneurs stay independent, but even more successful with a range of trading and financial assistance.

“Successful township businesses help the broader community by providing great services, creating jobs and building vital skills in technology, customer service, and more traditional retail areas such as learning to be butchers and bakers. We are helping independent entrepreneurs to make their businesses successful and play a greater role in growing our economy.”

Alan Winde, Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities, said his department was “delighted to partner with Pick n Pay and local entrepreneurs in this programme”.

“This is the kind of public-private collaboration we need to stimulate economies across the Western Cape, grow small businesses and create jobs. I am particularly encouraged by the support we are providing to new, independent store owners to enhance their business skills. This partnership shows the opportunities we can unlock when big business and emerging entrepreneurs work together. It’s an exciting model that holds a lot of promise for the future.”

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