Innovative plan for spazas pays off at Ndwamba
Pick n Pay helps puts Nyanga on the map
NYANGA businesswoman Khosi Liwani is well on her way to fulfilling her late father’s legacy by expanding her business, thanks to the Pick n Pay’s spaza modernisation programme.
Well over 100 Nyanga residents eagerly awaited the opening of her upgraded spaza store Ndwamba Market, which offered convenience and job opportunities for locals.
Liwani joined the Western Cape family of independent store owners taking part in Pick n Pay’s innovative spaza modernisation programme, which combines cutting-edge systems and retailing techniques with the traditional format to create a unique township shopping experience.
She told the Cape Argus that her passion for working in her father’s shop, sacrificing playing with her peers, had made things easier for her when she took over the store after his death 22 years ago, when she was just 21 years old. She is excited to take her business to the next level.
Liwani said at the time of her father’s death she was studying towards a diploma in Retail Business Management at Cape Technikon (now Cape Peninsula University of Technology).
“We were thinking of how to expand when Pick n Pay approached us, and this is the fulfilment of a dream. We’ll be the only branded supermarket in Nyanga,” she said.
With the upgrade of her store, she has now employed 15 additional people to take her staff complement to 23.
Liwani’s employees have received expert training in information technology systems, customer service, hygiene and more traditional retailing skills such as baking and butchery, opening fresh opportunities for them.
Her store follows the successful opening of Nozinga’s Market in Gugulethu in October, which marked the expansion of the programme to the Western Cape from Gauteng.
The opening of Ndwamba is part of phase two of the spaza modernisation programme, following the highly successful pilot phase in Gauteng last year.
It’s a collaborative effort between Pick n Pay, the Old Mutual Foundation, Masisizane Fund, Brimstone, the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the City of Cape Town.
Pick n Pay has worked with its suppliers to kit out Ndwamba with new refrigeration and IT systems, and it will stock more than 1 000 lines of edible and non-edible groceries, fresh produce and perishables, while services such as money transfers, ticketing, airtime and data, bill payments, lottery tickets and prepaid electricity add to the convenience.
Pick n Pay deputy chief executive Richard van Rensburg said the programme was proof that there is space for both large and small retailers in the modern economy.
“This shows we can work together to unlock new opportunities. We’re delighted to bring this model to the Western Cape, where we’re getting the full support of the provincial and city authorities.”
Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said he would like to see more of the public-private collaboration that made the programme possible.
Chris Reed, group executive for franchise at Pick n Pay, said the group still had another three stores to open in the Western Cape.
“We will be evaluating the success of the franchisee and from there we will be doing a significant roll-out programme in the Western Cape and Gauteng.”