A recent two-day entrepreneurship workshop in Matatiele has equipped about 100 street vendors with practical skills to grow their businesses. The initiative, facilitated by the local municipality in partnership with the Wholesale & Retail SETA, focused on crucial areas such as financial management, stocktaking, and formulating business plans. This training aims to help informal traders transition into formal commercial enterprises.
The training program has inspired vendors to dream big about becoming legitimate business owners. For instance, Pinky Nkosana, a 32-year-old vendor, shared her experience of helping her mother sell goods on the streets as a child. After studying electrical engineering, she quit her studies to take over her mother's street stall. Nkosana's story is similar to many vendors who have been surviving hand-to-mouth in harsh weather without proper shelter.
The workshop was an eye-opener for many vendors, including Nkosana, who learned about the importance of saving, counting stock, and calculating profits. She now aspires to run her own formal business, such as a fruit and vegetable market. Noxolo Bobe, a 58-year-old mother of five, also benefited from the training. She has been selling fruit and clothes on the street for over two decades but never thought about doing banking or having a registered business.
Vendors highlighted long-standing struggles, including daily hand-to-mouth survival, weather exposure, and rigid permit conditions. Bobe mentioned that she would love to diversify but is limited by the municipal trading permit issued this year. Ndumiso Luphindo, who sells cold drinks and chips, dreams of a container with a solar-powered fridge or a mobile kitchen to sell at social events.
Matatiele mayor Patrick Stuurman emphasized that equipping the informal sector is a strategic investment in the town's broader economic growth. He praised the partnership between the council and the Wholesale & Retail Sector Education and Training Authority in rolling out training programs aimed at accelerating small business development.
The training program is part of a broader effort to empower informal traders and promote economic growth in Matatiele. Stuurman reaffirmed the municipality's commitment to strategic partnerships that enable local entrepreneurs to grow beyond survivalist businesses and create sustainable livelihoods.
The partnership between the local municipality and the Wholesale & Retail SETA aims to provide essential business support services to informal traders. By equipping them with practical skills and business knowledge, the initiative seeks to make them competitive and sustainable role players in the wholesale and retail sector across the municipality.
Key points
- Empowering informal traders is an investment in the local economy.
- The training program equipped vendors with vital practical skills, from financial management to stocktaking.
- Vendors now aspire to expand beyond survivalist trading into formal retail ventures, including fruit markets and mobile kitchens.
