Spaza shops, also known as tuck shops, originated in

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

-era

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

when enterprising historically disadvantaged individuals were restricted from owning formal businesses, they began setting up informal, micro-convenience shops from their homes to serve their communities' daily needs in the

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

.Lamb et al (2019
Lessons from Foreign Owned Spaza Shops in South African Townships
Journal of Reviews on Global Economics. 8, 1351-1362. Retrieved 12 August 2024. Spaza is a generic

Northern Sotho Sepedi, also known as Northern Sotho, is one of South Africa’s twelve official languages and belongs to the Bantu language family, specifically the Sotho-Tswana group. The language is spoken mainly in Limpopo Province, and to a lesser exten ...

colloquial term, meaning hidden or camouflaged.

Unregulated Transformation

Since 1994, these shops have continued to transform and develop in popularity and necessity along with the sprawling townships where people live long distances from the more expensive, formal shopping areas.Kgaphola, Tawodzera, & Tengeh (2020) An Assessment of the Structure and Operation of Spaza Shops in a selected township in South AfricaCharman et al (2012)
From local survivalism to foreign entrepreneurship: the transformation of the spaza sector in Delft, Cape Town
Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa. 78. 47-73. Retrieved 12 August 2024. Initially selling daily essentials like mielie meal, bread, and sugar over time, they've expanded their offerings to include a variety of goods, from small furniture items to toiletries, and even some electronics. South African banks are trying to win spaza shops as "bank shops" offering minimal banking services at lower costs than full bank branch offices. The link to the bank's back office is mostly via

mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...

based mobile banking.

Continental Migration

With the fall of apartheid came an inflow of migrants from across the continent, seeing many undocumented Ethiopian and Somali asylum-seekers coming to South Africa and opening spaza shops, creating tension between local and foreign micro-entrepreneurs. South Africa received 778,000 asylum applications between 2008 and 2012 alone and now more than 60% of spaza shops in townships today are run by foreign nationals. This tense situation between shopkeepers and local residents is helping to drive a culture of xenophobia and social conflict.

Food poisoning epidemic

In September 2024, there were 890 reported incidents of food-borne illnesses and spaza shops were identified by President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

as being responsible.

Pesticide Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all p ...

s and

organophosphate In organic chemistry, organophosphates (also known as phosphate esters, or OPEs) are a class of organophosphorus compounds with the general structure , a central phosphate molecule with alkyl or aromatic substituents. They can be considered ...

s such as Terbufos and

Aldicarb Aldicarb is a carbamate insecticide which is the active substance in the pesticide Temik. It is effective against thrips, aphids, spider mites, lygus, fleahoppers, and leafminers, but is primarily used as a nematicide. Aldicarb is a cholinest ...

were found to contribute to some of deaths. On 15 November 2024, all spaza shops were told they had 21 days to register with their local municipality. Those shops which were implicated in 22 children's deaths were shut down. The South African Informal Traders Alliance
SAITA
agreed that the issue of food safety was vital;, however, the root causes were that the

City of Johannesburg The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality () is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite se ...

had cut budgets and neglected health inspections. Government regulations pertaining to th
Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants act (1972)
had not been followed or enforced. Health inspections had not been a priority for all levels of government. Spaza shop owners were instructed to register for a trading permit. Deadline dates for registration was supposed to be 13 December. Confusion about registration deadline has emerged and the government has apologized for the misunderstanding. Final registration dates was announced as 17 December 2024. By this date 43,000 applications had been received and approximately 19,300 approved. On the 18th of December, the deadline for Spaza shop registration was extended to the 28th of February 2025.https://mg.co.za/business/2024-12-18-government-pushes-deadline-for-spaza-shop-registration-to-28-february/

References

External links

{{Commons category, Spaza shops in South Africa Supermarkets by culture Business in South Africa