Spaza shops , also called tuck shops, are small, informal retail outlets often operating from shipping containers, selling mainly soft drinks, cigarettes, paraffin, candles, maize meal, bread and alcohol. There are estimated to be 100,000 spaza shops in South Africa with a collective turnover of over R7 billion per annum. It is estimated that each spaza shop employs 2 to 3 people, who in turn support 4 family members, on average. (SpazaNews)
As townships and informal settlements grew in South Africa without the accompanying development of formal shops and malls, so spaza shops stepped in to fill the convenience store gap.
A spaza shop in Zulu is ‘ispaza’. Inspired by the entrepreneurship of spaza shops, we replaced the ‘i’ with an ‘e’ for e-commerce and called our social enterprise e-spaza.
We took to the streets of Cato Manor this week to document some of the spaza shops closest to us.
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Hi,
I have a fantastic product that I would like to market to Spaza shops. Do you know how I can go about doing this or where I can get details for owners of spaza shops.
Thanks,
Louise
Dear Louise
We do not have a database of spaza shops, but you may find these links useful:
http://www.spazanews.co.za/
http://www.supergroup.co.za/divisions/supply_chain/sg_spaza/
http://www.uatn.co.za/index.php?mid=170325
You might also find this useful:
http://www.tradeintelligence.co.za/Publishing/commspowerpack.aspx
I need your help.i’ve got a smalla busness that we call spaza shop .i’m living in rural area.indeed ineed your help.
Dear Isaac
We work with crafters to develop new products and sell them via the internet. I wonder if you are looking more for assistance with how to run your business? I know that Unilever has a Trader Value Club which includes a publication published by Trade Intelligence.
Try contacting Mohammed Uzair Abubakar who is the Project Manager of the Trader Value Club Magazine
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mohammed-uzair-abubakar/43/22a/857