Creating a network of Spaza Shop owners with core business skills on a group buying programme
Thu, 17 December 2009
““Now I know how to handle my business and how to save money and improve the business”
REPORT 2: Triple Trust Shop-Net Programme Spaza Market Development Project
The Triple Trust Organisation (TTO) provides spaza shops , in Cape Town with assistance in business and market development. The Spaza Market Development Project is designed to strengthen existing markets within impoverished areas and to increase the buying power of Spaza Shops. This project is intended to provide business skills training for 200 Spaza Shop owners over a 12-month period and to build up the Spaza and House-shop Owners Partnership Network (Shop-Net) programme in Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain, Manenberg, Delft, Langa and Elsies River. The project started in April 2009 and has reached the halfway stage. This report refers to the first 6 months of implementation.
Outputs and impact
In the period between July and October a total of 78 spaza owners completed training on costing and pricing, business management, conducting a business health check as well as using the customer and Shop-Net systems. The training was well received by the participants who particularly enjoyed the module on costing and pricing because it highlights areas where losses are incurred and suggests ideas for increasing profits. Some Spaza Shop owners who could not attend in person nominated a household member who is also involved in the running of the Shop to attend.
The project has encouraged owners to run their businesses more professionally and is already beginning to show results. Agencies and institutions like Red Door, ESM and Standard Bank have attended graduation ceremonies and have indicated an interest in assisting and advising Spaza Shop owners.
The marketing materials developed in phase one of the project are used as a recruitment pack by staff, and assist in promoting the Shop-Net brand and the benefits associated with becoming a member, such as the Voluntary Buying Group. The Recruitment Package has Shop-Net brochures, Business Record Keeping Aid and Pricelists. The materials are used at all possible recruitment contacts and provide a range of information that enables Spaza Shop owners to make an informed decision about joining the network.
Feedback from the staff using the material is that it creates a professional image, makes the training easier to market and takes a snapshot of the capacity and state of the business. All owners trained during this period were recruited using the material. Participants use the material to market the training to friends and family who own or want to start Spaza Shops. In the period between June and September, 39 Spaza Shop owners were recruited for the Shop-Net Programme. The information sessions with community development forums that coordinate the sector were mainly aimed at consulting and getting buy-in and gaining support. The sessions with the owners are mainly to explain the training and the objectives and specific outcomes. So far one session was held in Khayelitsha and another in Philipi a third session is planned for 2010 in Gugulethu.
The voluntary buying group has remained stable with a slight increase in the value traded through the Shop-Net Bulk buying strategy which is to get stock delivered to a Spaza Shop owners’ place of business at the best possible price. A total of R 870,674 was spent through the Voluntary Buying Group, in the period June to September 2009 compared to R 851,294 spent in the period February to May 2009. The number of repeat orders by Spaza shop owners recorded through the Shop-Net system has increased by 34 orders to 1146 from June to September 2009 from March to May 2009.
As part of the planned activities of the first phase, a digital projector has been purchased to be used for presenting the Shop-Net Programme to Spaza Shop owners by Shop-Net recruiters and for training.
As a supplement to the programme triple trust convened a train-the-trainer workshop to capacitate 11 staff with facilitation skills in order to improve the quality of the programme and systems and for skills transfer. The train-the-trainer workshop was aimed at capacitating other staff members to play a supporting role at the courses as well to familiarise themselves with the project. The half day training session was conducted internally on 7 September 2009 with minimal cost. Staff who have experience in the running of the programme conducted the training. The workshop topics included understanding the different admin forms (commitment, baseline, registration, health check, attendance register etc.); the training modules and roles and functions.
Expenditure
The total cost of the project is R 437 642 with R 113,711 still to be paid.
| Description | Total Budget | Total Expenses to date |
| Preparatory activities | ||
| Source and purchase notebooks | 40 000 | 39,942 |
| Source and purchase data projector | 10 000 | 9,188 |
| Review marketing materials | 35 000 | 21,390 |
| Finalization of training materials | 20 000 | 16 125 |
| Training activities | ||
| Conduct training, recruitment, servicing existing members and client follow up | 227 000 | 118 890 |
| Training materials | 5 000 | 1 626 |
| Venue hire | 16 000 | 370 |
| Travel | 37 500 | 3 705 |
| Catering | 10 000 | 693 |
| Administration | 7 142 | 9 033 |
| TOTAL | 437 642 | 220 962 |
Challenges
The bad weather during the month of August along with Industrial strikes resulted in poor attendance and a need to reschedule some of the training days to suit participants. A concerted recruitment effort by all involved resulted in a recovery with 37 participants only completing their training on the 2nd of October instead of September as planned.
The effect of the economic recession has affected the project to a degree. Increase in unemployment levels mainly due to the recession has resulted in less buying and drop in sales; consequently the price increases of food resulted in owners buying less stock.
Monitoring and evaluation
Evaluations are conducted at the end of each workshop which reflects on the quality of the course content, training material, venue, and facilitator. It also reflects the participants’ expectations and course objectives. Follow-up visits by staff members after the training are used to identify challenges and possible solutions. The impact of the training is also measured during these visits.
Workshop reports are completed by the facilitator and approved by the project manager. A planning sheet is used to record information from each workshop including objectives and action points. The report also covers actual against planned activities around marketing, logistics, facilitation, participation, assignments, comments from participants, evaluation and assessment and recommendations. All information is captured electronically and hard copies are filed.
Conclusion
The training activities have been implemented with few disruptions to the original plan. The combination of the training and the use of the Shop-Net system seems to be providing the required support to the Spaza Shop owners who are more aware of how pricing and costing affects their profit margins. The voluntary buying groups are stable and beginning to show growth, which will ultimately result in reduced prices when purchasing stock.
