Cape Town – The government will roll out a R500 million spaza shop support fund within the next two weeks to assist small businesses in need of financial and non-financial support.
Announced by Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams on Sunday, the initiative aims to help spaza shops comply with food safety standards following the February 28 registration deadline.
“We will now take this initiative to scale with the R500 million spaza shop support fund that will soon be launched to support township convenience shops, including spaza stores. The fund will be launched in the next two weeks and a date will be communicated,” the minister said during a press briefing.
[WATCH] Small Business Minister, Stella Ndabeni has announced that R150 million will be provided by the Department of Small Businesses and Enterprise, and R350 million by the Department of Trade, to assist small businesses and spaza shops. The initiative – set to launch in the… pic.twitter.com/lk4xHSPU5f
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) March 2, 2025
The fund will provide R10,000 for start-ups, R40,000 for bulk-buying, and R50,000 for infrastructure upgrades, with a total financial package of R100,000 per business, she said.
Additionally, non-financial support will be extended over the next six months to assist shops in becoming compliant.
The fund seeks to improve market competitiveness by linking spaza shops to bulk purchasing groups and enhancing business capacity through training.
WATCH | Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams Minister of small business development at Tshemedisong house in Hatfield, Pretoria.
Video: @Moloi_Herman1 pic.twitter.com/J1nHPI7Pw5— Sowetan LIVE (@SowetanLIVE) March 2, 2025
Meanwhile, Gauteng MEC Lebogang Maile reported that 17,617 spaza shops registered, but 15,478 were found non-compliant, leading to the immediate closure of 498 businesses.
The City of Joburg had the highest number of registrations, while Ekurhuleni recorded the most foreign national applicants (2,543).
“As of the 28th of February, 2025, the total number of applications for the registration by spaza shops and food handling facilities across the Gauteng province is 17 617. This includes 7 107 applications by foreign nationals across all municipalities, with the city of Johannesburg having the highest number of applications,” said Maile.
GAUTENG FINAL UPDATE ON SPAZA SHOP AND FOOD-HANDLING FACILITIES REGISTRATION PROGRAMME
As of the 28th of February 2025, the total number of applications for the registration by spaza shops and food-handling facilities across the Gauteng Province is 17 617. This includes 7107… pic.twitter.com/7sBv5b4m1k
— Lebogang Maile (@LebogangMaile1) March 2, 2025
“The City of Ekurhuleni has the highest number of applications by foreign nationals, with a total of 2543 applications received. Applications are approved following inspections. A total of 29 116 inspections have been conducted thus far.”
Authorities continue to issue certificates of acceptability to ensure compliance, with 4,610 certificates granted, including 128 to foreign nationals.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
