‘Business in box’ boost for youth

City in joint venture to alleviate unemployment by offering retail-sector start-up opportunities

SMALL business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs in Nelson Mandela Bay’s townships could get help to open or expand their spaza shops through a new partnership between the municipality and CocaCola Bottling South Africa.

The project is targeted initially at young entrepreneurs from Motherwell and Uitenhage, before it will be rolled out in other areas.

The youth empowerment partnership between the city and CCBSA is aimed at reducing unemployment in the city, particularly among the youth.

Qualifying small business owners will be required to pitch feasible business concepts to obtain the support.

From the plans submitted for approval, 45 young entrepreneurs will be chosen to receive a business starter pack – which is a smart container with start-up stock for their spaza shops.

The partnership was announced at the economic development, tourism and agriculture committee meeting last week by department head Anele Qaba. The process to identify qualifying SMMEs will start next month.

Qaba said the project was aimed at setting up spaza shops which would be owned by young entrepreneurs in their respective townships.

“The 45 young people who are going to benefit will be given stock and a container as a starter package, which is a brilliant programme for the youth because they don’t need to worry about capital and renting space for their businesses,” Qaba said.

The idea was to revive traditional retail shops in townships which were currently owned largely by foreign nationals.

“The retail sector used to be the main sector in the townships which sustained livelihoods,” Qaba said.

“After some time, it has really collapsed and we have seen an influx of foreign-owned shops in the areas.

“The idea with the Coca-Cola partnership is to see how we [can] bring that back and ensure people in those communities are participating in that space again.

“In line with high unemployment in the city, Coca-Cola has seen this as one area to support youth.”

Qaba said the Business in a Box youth empowerment programme was intended to transform unemployed youth into entrepreneurs.

“They will be provided with business skills training and support in setting up their own spaza shops,” he said.

“The key issue is that owners of the shops will be young people from those townships.

“It is something that was done by their parents in the past but has since collapsed.”

Asked if this would not cause competition as many foreign nationals had set up spaza shops in townships, he said: “Our focus as the city is to create jobs and opportunities for our people in the city.

“We will do anything legally possible to ensure that they are able to participate in each and every sector, and that includes in retail.

“We don’t look at who is there, but we open them all up to opportunities.”

Coca-Cola representative Nolundi Mzimba said that to qualify, entrepreneurs should be between 24 and 35 years of age, be living in the communities in which the spaza shops are to be located and have entrepreneurial experience.

At least 30% of the participants would be women, Mzimba said.

The starter packs would include a new spaza shop structure, or fittings and refurbishment, signage, equipment and tools for existing structures, enterprise and skills development assistance, and access to funding.

She said the access to funding was an opportunity, not a grant.