By KOPANO MONAHENG
FOR more jobs to be created and the economy to grow in townships and rural areas of Mzansi, we need entrepreneurship.
This has been the call by those in leadership positions trying to help support businesses operating in these areas to thrive.
But according to Annelene Dippenaar, chief business officer at Shop2Shop, what is missing in these areas is infrastructure, access to stock, working capital and access to markets.
She said many of these businesses don’t last more than three years because of these challenges.
Dippenaar told Ezimtoti News:
“These business owners need to be enabled to create sustainable businesses. And that is then where the standard of living can actually improve,” she said.
“Because when a trader can build a sustainable business, they can grow, they can employ people, they can procure locally, and they can keep money circulating within the specific community that they operate in.”
The township economy is estimated to be valued at around R900 billion to R1 trillion, and 56% of South Africans today live in townships and rural areas.
“So this really is not a marginal economy. Traders are running sophisticated, high-volume businesses on razor-thin margins.”
“Every business that becomes viable enough to hire employees converts a household from grant dependency to earned income. In communities where poverty sits above 55%, that is probably the single biggest mover of standard of living.”
Dippenaar concluded by saying that creating jobs and business opportunities for people in the communities can reduce the need to travel long distances to work.
She said for those who come from disadvantaged families, transport is often their biggest expense after food.
