Social market for local brands to be held in Orlando
A social market for small businesses is set to take place on the 20th of December at the Ubuntu Kraal in Orlando West, Soweto.
A social market for small businesses is set to take place on the 20th of December at the Ubuntu Kraal in Orlando West, Soweto. The event is organized by the HashtagLend-A-Hand foundation with the aim to help local businesses bounce back from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
This was according to Actor and Director at the HashtagLend-A-Hand Foundation, Charles Mafafane.
“These small businesses are the backbone of any community, and so with this initiative, we’re saying: ‘let’s come together as Soweto and support our local brands who’ve served us all these years, and help them keep their doors open’. At the end of the day, these are the businesses contributing to our economy, these are the businesses serving our community, providing goods and services,” he said.
South Africa, like most countries, spent most of 2020 in hard lockdown, effectively sending almost all businesses to a standstill, with the exception of ‘essential businesses’. Most had to close down, leaving thousands unemployed, while the rest are still hanging on by a thread.
Mlungisi Madlala, also a Director at the HashtagLend-A-Hand Foundation, said South Africa’s unemployment crisis was one of the reasons behind the event.
“The harshest part of the collapse of local businesses was that so many people lost their jobs, and that was a big factor behind this initiative. If we can revive local businesses then more people can be employed through it. We looked at the climbing unemployment rate, the businesses that were forced to shut down, and asked what can we do as a community to help, and that’s how the event came about,” Madlala said.
In addition to providing locals with a networking platform, people in attendance can also look forward to music entertainment. All proceeds from the initiative will be used for HashtagLend-A-Hand’s Back-To-School project that will see 200 kids bought school shoes and backpacks at the start of 2021. The Local Brands social market is supported by Maia Maiden Productions and in partnership with Klique. for more information you can get in touch with the HashtagLend-A-Hand Foundation on Instagram.
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