Spaza shop with a difference opens
Unique retail partnership to boost job creation in townships
RETAIL giant Pick n Pay has opened the first independent spaza store in the Western Cape, as part of its expanded innovative programme, which is set to create much-needed jobs especially in disadvantaged communities.
Nozinga Market in Gugulethu yesterday became the first spaza in the province to be opened by the retailer. The programme aims to modernise spaza stores to meet the needs of the customers and communities by helping to build a new generation of modern retail entrepreneurs.
The programme is a 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 and follows the success of the same model in Gauteng.
The opening of the store marks the launch of phase 2, combining the capability and systems with the spaza owners’ intimate knowledge of the needs of township customers to create a new shopping experience, grow township economies and boost employment.
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. She said that, despite these strong entrepreneurial roots, the training she has 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.
Pick n Pay has worked with its suppliers to upgrade the store with new refrigeration and IT systems and will stock 1 300 lines of edible and non-edible groceries, fresh produce and perishables and, 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.
In addition, customers will be able to benefit from the Pick n Pay Smart Shopper