Latest news with #R500m
IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Spaza shop fund under fire: Questions over R500m initiative
The R500m Fund, launched to bolster South African-owned spaza shops in townships and rural areas with stock, infrastructure upgrades, and training, has come under intense scrutiny. Image: Itumeleng English/Independent Newspapers A VIRTUAL briefing by the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) on the progress of the R500 million Spaza Shop Support Fund descended into chaos last week, with MPs from across the political spectrum lambasting officials for 'lacklustre' responses, unresolved corruption risks, and a controversial 'middlemen' supply model that critics warned could hijack the initiative. The Fund, launched to bolster South African-owned spaza shops in townships and rural areas with stock, infrastructure upgrades, and training, was under intense scrutiny. Only 3 000 to 5 000 applications have been received — a fraction of the estimated 200 000 spaza shops nationwide — raising concerns about exclusion, bureaucratic hurdles, and whether foreign-owned shops were being sidelined. The most explosive revelations centred around the Fund's reliance on three unnamed Delivery Channel Partners (DCPs), private wholesalers tasked with supplying spaza shops. Opposition MPs accused the state of creating a 'monopoly' for connected insiders. 'Why are these DCPs not listed in the presentation? Who are they? What are their markups? This is a middlemen scheme!' charged the DA's Nico Pienaar, demanding the Gazette records detailing their selection. FF+'s Henk van den Berg echoed concerns: 'Do spaza shops have to buy from these DCPs? Who pays them, the Fund or the shop owners?' DSBD Deputy Director-General Qinisile Delwa sidestepped specifics, stating only that DCPs were 'vital intermediaries'. Lwandiso Makupula from the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (Sefda) later admitted that 58% of spaza shops are Somali-owned and 25% Ethiopian-owned, leaving just 8% eligible for the Fund. But MPs were unmoved. 'This is a recipe for fronting. Cartels will use locals as fronts to access funds,' warned the ANC's Peter Mabilo. Pienaar slammed the Fund's 'reckless' exemption of spaza shops from immediate Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) and tax registration, calling it a 'free pass for abuse'. 'We're bleeding taxpayers, yet here's a state fund allowing six months' grace before registration. This is anti-formalisation and anti-growth,' he said. DSBD offered no justification, deepening suspicions of lax oversight. With Gauteng dominating applications, rural provinces risk being left behind. 'Your roadshows are failing. Rural spaza shops are lifelines, why aren't they prioritised?' asked chairperson Sonja Boshoff (DA). The ANC's Moses Modise blasted the DSBD's 'pathetic' outreach: 'Where are the community radio ads? The local newspaper campaigns?' Municipal licensing emerged as another crisis point. Many townships lacked digital systems, leaving spaza shops in limbo. 'Some municipalities don't even have licensing capacity. Is DSBD engaging the South African Local Government Association (Salga)?' Boshoff pressed. Delwa conceded that only the Northern Cape was piloting e-licensing, while KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape lead. Despite Makupula's assurance that 'misused grants convert to loans', MPs remained sceptical. 'Where are the anti-corruption measures? Who monitors officials?' Boshoff asked. The MK Party's Sarah Mokoena highlighted registration chaos: 'The online system crashes constantly. Shop owners think they're registered when they're not.'
IOL News
27-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Lessons from Microsoft: what Starlink can learn about entering the South African market
Elon Musk has previously claimed Starlink was barred from operating in South Africa because he is not Black, an allegation South African officials refuted. Image: AFP 'In 2011 as MD of Microsoft SA I signed one of the first Equity Equivalent deals in the ICT sector worth about R500m. The Equity Equivalent deal paved the way for more than R25 billion Microsoft has invested in SA under the leadership of Lillian Barnard. The R25 billion direct investment by Microsoft was about building of cloud data centres in SA in the process creating youth employment and buying material from local businesses. It was never about dishing that money to individuals.' wrote Mteto Nyathi on the 25 May 2025 on X. There's a lot to learn from what Nyathi has shared on this matter in view of current debate about Starlink. The first lesson is that it is incorrect to suggest that it was impossible for Starlink to enter South Africa without handing over shares to a black business person. The post by Nyathi reminds us that a number of US tech companies entered the South African market without being required to do something impossible and unreasonable. South African technology history tells us that Microsoft has been involved in a number of skills development initiatives that were aimed at empowering black people with technology skills. Those technology skills development initiatives were done partly to address a challenge faced by young black people in the technology sector. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ We do not get the sense that there was any pain felt by Microsoft in the process of empowering young people. Instead, Microsoft has benefited in the sense that Microsoft products have been adopted across the board in South Africa. The second lesson from Nyathi's post is that few years down the line Microsoft has invested a significant amount of money in infrastructure that will benefit both South Africa and Microsoft in the form of data centres that will be developed in the country with the R25 billion investment. The lesson here is that it was possible to get investment based on the current version of the law designed to empower local people and economy. The R25 billion investment did not require any change in law. It's also important to note that Microsoft is not the only US tech company that observed local laws and still benefited in the process. Now, with those lessons in mind one has to ask, why was it necessary for current law to be tweaked. Was it not possible for Starlink to follow the same model followed by Microsoft and other US technology companies? In my view, the debate about what has been preventing Starlink from operating in South Africa is neither here nor there. It's not clear to me why there was a need to tweak the law to enable Starlink when the regulatory environment was already enabling. At the same time one can't say the majority of South Africans will not benefit from an existence of Starlink, now that policy provisions that were designed to enable them are no longer in place. We know that perhaps local businesses may not get the necessary skill to maintain or support Starlink in the long run. This partly creates a risk that South Africa will forever be dependent on Starlink to have such a technology. The process behind empowerment also entailed developing local capacity which is crucial in enabling continuity. Elon Musk needs to appreciate that there's something positive about developing others. The fact that such a technology will enable connectivity in rural areas is something worth celebrating. More technologies such as Starlink should be enabled in South Africa. The Amazon Project Kuiper should be enabled aswell as the Chinese version, SpaceSail (also known as Qianfan). This moment however raises a need to reflect as follows, where is Sentech? Is it not Sentech's role to provide what will ultimately be enabled by Starlink and others? Wesley Diphoko is a Technology Analyst and the Editor-In-Chief of FastCompany (SA). BUSINESS REPORT Visit:
The Citizen
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Spaza shops ask for more than R32m worth of stock
According to the presentation, spaza shop owners applied for a combined total of R32.4 million for machinery and stock. Spaza shop owners across the country have submitted applications requesting more than R25 million worth of machinery and stock from the government, as part of efforts to revitalise the informal retail sector. This comes after the launch of the R500 million Spaza Shop Support Fund by the Department of Small Business Development. In a recent briefing, it was revealed that the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) received more than 3 269 applications from spaza shop owners seeking support through the Spaza Shop Support Fund. However, only 387 of these applications have been processed so far. Most applications came from KwaZulu-Natal, with 142 submissions and the least from North West with eight. ALSO READ: Government's R500m spaza shop support fund gets thumbs up Funding requests According to the presentation, spaza shop owners applied for a combined total of R32.4 million for machinery and stock. Of this, machinery accounts for more than R16.4 million, while stock requests make up R16 million. 'The fund seeks to enhance food safety, improve competitiveness, and strengthen locally-owned spaza shops,' the department said. ALSO READ: Illegal spaza shops 'still proliferate' despite warnings R52 million disbursed to partners To ensure efficient delivery, three Distribution Channel Partners (DCPs) have been contracted and are working across various provinces. According to the department, R52 million has already been disbursed to two of these partners to begin processing and distribution. 'The approach also provides bulk buying (wholesale network) opportunities that will propel the spaza shops to exploit economies of scale and enjoy competitive pricing and packaging,' it said. Furthermore, geo-mapping and registrations of spaza shops have commenced, with 1 411 shops verified. 'Awareness workshops will be conducted in all provinces between 23 May and 1 July 2025, covering one district per province,' it said. Online applications can be accessed on the Spaza Shop Fund website. NOW READ: Government offers R500m spaza shop support fund – Here's what you need to know
The Citizen
11-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
MunMEC aims to foster collaboration
On a mission to foster collaboration between the provincial and local spheres of government, the MEC for economic development and tourism, Makhosazane Masilela, convened a virtual MunMEC on April 22. The MunMEC is a structure, comprising provincial municipalities and Masilela, which ensures mutual consultation, policy co-ordination and aims to achieve a coherent government for effective provision of support to rural and township businesses. In order for the seventh administration to realise its key priorities – to drive inclusive economic growth and reduce poverty, as a department and as municipalities – we need a deliberate a coherent approach as we deal with economic development matters in the province. Working together with our municipalities we should be able to drive meaningful economic growth that will, in turn, contribute towards creating much-needed jobs and the eradication of poverty,' said Masilela. This structure has been established to ensure that interaction and engagement are strengthened between MMCs for local economic development and the department, in order to improve the functioning of local economic development and the manner in which support for small enterprises is co-ordinated. The MunMEC deliberated on the township revitalisation programme. The department has already developed a red tape reduction strategy to provide support to municipalities aimed at simplifying doing business with small enterprises and the broader informal sector. ALSO READ: WATCH: Mpumalanga Nursing College students demand better studying environment The department has committed to strengthening partnerships with municipalities, to ensure that the regulatory environment in the townships and rural areas is conducive for businesses to thrive, without experiencing cumbersome red tape. The feedback on this was that more emphasis should be placed on economic transformation through the continued support and nurturing of the informal sector. Masilela urged municipalities to assist spaza shop owners, who are compliant with the relevant regulations, to apply for financial support from the R500m Spaza Shop Fund recently launched by the Department of Small Business Development. ALSO READ: Mpumalanga premier releases investigation report on R2m laptops 'Let us take advantage of the fund, meant to support spaza shops that are compliant with the regulations. We have a responsibility to assist them to register, because the fund is meant for the whole country and Mpumalanga must also benefit from it,' said Masilela. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
26-04-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
EU fines Apple and Meta millions for digital violations
EU spokesperson Thomas Regnier said both Apple and Meta have 60 days to comply or face even higher fines. Both Apple and Meta have 60 days to comply or face even higher fines. Picture: Canva The European Union (EU) has announced a €700 million fine on both Apple and Meta for the violation of digital competition rules. The EU accuse the two US tech giants of breaching the recently passed Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple and Meta fines EU spokesperson Thomas Regnier said both Apple and Meta have 60 days to comply or face even higher fines. 'So today, the commission has imposed fines of 500 million euros to Apple and 200 million euros to Meta for breaching the Digital Market Act. Now, Apple is indeed breaching its anti-steering obligations under the DMA by imposing a number of restrictions on app developers to steer their customers to alternative offers outside the Apple App Store. 'Meta, with its binary pay or consent advertising model, is breaching the DMA obligation to give consumers the choice of a service that uses less of their personal data,' Regnier said. Apple might have to remove technical and commercial restrictions that prevent app developers from steering users to cheaper deals outside the App Store. ALSO READ: Google to study Competition Commission report on R500m payment After numerous exchanges with the Commission, Meta introduced another version of the free personalised ad model in November last year, offering a new option that uses less personal data to display advertisements. The Commission is currently assessing this new option and continues its dialogue with Meta, requesting the company to provide evidence of the impact of this new 'less ads' model in practice. Regnier added that the fines for Apple and Meta are the first ones under the DMA. WATCH: Apple apologises for controversial iPad Pro 'crush' ad Meta and Apple react angrily The two tech firms have reacted angrily, with Meta accusing the EU of 'attempting to handicap successful American businesses' and Apple saying it was being 'unfairly targeted' and forced to 'give away our technology for free.'+ The EU started both investigations last year under a new law brought in to promote fairness in the tech sector. ALSO READ: Zuckerberg downplays Meta's alleged abuse of power to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp [VIDEO]
