SMME NEWS - JAN 2018 ISSUE

SMME
NEWS
10
January 2018
I Heart Market takes centre stage
Marvellous Zondi
hether you
love shopping,
socializing, selling
or just having fun
n the sun, ‘I heart market’ is an
deal place for you to be at. ‘I Heart
arket’ provides a platform on the
rst Saturday of the month for local
oodies and designers to showcase
heir products.
n Saturday, 06 January the first
arket of 2017 took centre stage
t Moses Mabhida Stadium with
esigners from across KwaZuluatal
showcasing their work to
otential customers. According to
arketing Director Anna Savage,
he market has been around for
-years and has about 120 stalls of
ocal crafted masterpieces to choose
rom. Items range from locally made
lothes, utensils and accessories
ust to mention a few. “We want to
uild a local economy and to keep
he money flowing within the local
conomy while also showcasing the
alent that we have. It is all 100%
outh African and probably about
80% KZN.” Said Savage.
The ‘I heart market’ project started
with 12 stalls and has grown over the
years to accommodate more local
SMMEs. For emerging businesses
who wish to join this forever
expanding family can go online and
follow the application process. “The
kind of products that we are looking
for are the kind of products that are
extraordinary, something that we
haven’t seen anywhere else. We have
a lot of people who do apply to be
part of the market but we decline a
lot of them because we have a very
limited space and we are very strict
on what we are looking for” Said
Savage.
The success of the market in Durban
has led to a new endeavour as the
organisers have recently opened a
new one called ‘I heart market north’
which takes place at Blythedale in
Ballito, KwaDukuza. “I heart market
is like a mini pop up shop where
people get to showcase their work
for a very small fee. You also get
feedback from the customers, its
ideal for people starting up because
overheads are so expensive it can
cripple your progress.”
For those who wish to be part of
‘I heart Market’ can contact the
organisers through their website or
social media platforms. Tables for
showcasing your work range from
R490 to R670.
Street vendors - Nontombi Zwane
Spaza shops are the cradle of SMMEs
Nomcebo Mncube
Ms. Nontombi Zwane
Nomcebo Mncube
Ms. Nontombi Zwane is the mother
of two children, and takes care of
her family as a street vendor who
sells grilled chicken feet, gizzards
and chicken livers in the streets
of Durban. Zwane has kept many
people hooked on her grilled meats
and shared her secret with SMME
News. “We all know that it’s January
and this is a tough month. So, people
they don’t have money to go buy
food from the restaurants. So, they
come to buy from us because we are
cheaper. Some just can’t resist the
smell of our food”, said Zwane before
advising other street vendors about
the importance of hygiene.
“It is important to look clean and
presentable – no one is going to
want to buy food from someone
whose clothes are dirty and hasn’t
been washed in a month. Hygiene
is important when you are handling
food”, she explains. “The streets
of Durban are not safe, and street
vendors face numerous challenges.
From crime and bad weather, but
that doesn’t stop street vendors from
selling their food”, said Zwane before
sharing that she was once mugged
at knife point and the perpetrators
took all the day’s earnings.
Despite that horrific experience,
Zwane continues to push her small
business and has even bought
pepper spray for protection. Zwane
concluded by urging the community
of Durban to support street vendors
and said that she wishes to buy a
caravan so that she can sell food in
taxi ranks.
After Mr Musa Lucky Mthembu
lost his job, he realised that there
were no Spaza shops close by. In
March last year he opened his own
shop called FK Spaza Shop.
FK spaza Shop is situated at 338
Spencer road, in Clare Estate
opposite Lake Ridge flats.
Mthembu is offering convenience
shopping for his community, selling
things such as fruits and vegetables
as well as groceries and snacks.
The Spaza opens every day at 6:
30am and close at 20: 00pm to make
sure that even those who leave their
homes early or come back late from
work still get something to eat.
Mthembu told SMME News that
after realising that the people were
supportive, he decided to sell fried
chips, eggs, yababa sausages, polony,
because he noticed that most shops
around were not selling these things.
That made his spaza to be unique
and different from his competitors.
He took us to back when he started
his Spaza and pointed out that at the
beginning it was not easy to run his
business due to people taking goods
on credits and some of them never
paid.
“I would advise the people to
support small businesses and stop
asking for discounts because they do
not ask for discount when they go to
the big shops.’
Mthembu’s Spaza is currently doing
well, but he feels that he is not there
yet.
“I feel good about the direction
I’m heading in. as I’m planning on
helping people, which is what I love
to do, and I’m having to put my
strengths out there for the world
Mthembu’s Spaza Shop
to know about” said Mthembu
before adding that he plans to move
forward and start a project where he
can give back to the community.
Mthembu also said that he wishes to
grow his shop into supermarket and
be able to create job opportunities
for unemployed people.
“Be persisted, never give up and
focus on what you want” concluded
Mthembu