TOWNSHIP and rural economies have been highlighted as major contributing factors to the upliftment of emerging business owners.
This emerged at a council meeting on September 30, where the eThekwini council approved the implementation of a strategic intervention to assist and empower local tuckshop owners in eThekwini Municipality.
Ward 68 councillor Aubrey Synman said the main objective is to assist and empower tuckshop owners.
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“The council has come to realise that tuckshop owners play a crucial role in helping those in need in our communities. All tuckshop owners who are South Africans with valid documents of citizenship can apply.
“The cost of living in South Africa is high, therefore it is crucial that the municipality assists the emerging businesses in our communities.
The municipality facilitated access to grants and micro-loans specifically tailored to support spaza shop owners, working with other government departments and various commercial banks. This initiative aims to enhance local economic development, support entrepreneurship and ensure sustainable economic growth within the municipality.
According to the database of eThekwini, there are about 4 700 tuckshops with valid permits to operate in the Durban areas.
The interventions aim to address challenges facing tuckshop owners through a comprehensive support framework that includes stakeholder engagement, access to opportunities and capital, ownership of township and rural markets and empowerment, bulk buying programmes, leveraging foreign ingenuity, and skills development and capacity building.
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