Ndabeni’s R3bn Budget Targets Township Economy to Unlock Jobs and Grow SA’s GDP
- Mpho Dube
- 26 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact
CAPE TOWN – Minister of Small Business Development Stella Tembisa Ndabeni has tabled a R3.036 billion Budget Vote that puts township and rural enterprises at the heart of South Africa’s economic recovery, arguing that unlocking the potential of small business is the fastest way to create jobs and grow GDP.
Delivering the Department of Small Business Development’s 2026/27 Budget Vote in Parliament on 19 May 2026, Ndabeni said the department’s mandate was clear: cut red tape, expand access to finance, and protect local entrepreneurs from unfair competition so they can scale, hire, and contribute more to the national economy.
“This budget is about turning township and rural economies from survival spaces into growth engines,” Ndabeni told the House. “When small businesses grow, communities grow. When they employ, the country moves forward.”
The budget builds on measurable delivery in 2025/26, where the department disbursed more than R8.29 million to over 111 small and medium enterprises under its township and rural economic development and revitalisation portfolio.
Ndabeni said those results would now be scaled up, with a sharper focus on enterprises that can move from informal survival to formal, bankable businesses.
A flagship intervention is the Spaza Shop Fund, implemented with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. To date, 1,316 spaza shops have received R79.6 million for stock acquisition, formalisation, compliance and operational sustainability.
With R70.4 million of the R150 million allocation still to be spent this year, and a further R350 million held by the DTIC, the fund is positioned to reach thousands more shops that form the backbone of township retail.
The department is also targeting 50 cooperatives for financial and non-financial support this year, strengthening a sector that sustains jobs in agriculture, manufacturing and services at community level.
Ndabeni said government had developed a new township and rural economic development and revitalisation policy to address the pressure local entrepreneurs face from illegal foreign-owned businesses and large retailers encroaching on township markets.
The policy is designed to reduce unfair competition and create space for South African-owned businesses to expand, formalise, and reinvest locally. By keeping more money circulating in township economies, the department argues, the multiplier effect on jobs and local supply chains will be significant.
“Supporting local entrepreneurs is not only about fairness. It is about growing domestic demand, expanding the tax base, and reducing reliance on imports for goods that can be made and sold here,” Ndabeni said.
A key priority in the R3.036 billion allocation is reducing regulatory barriers that slow down small businesses. The department will expand non-financial support such as compliance assistance, market access facilitation, and business training to make it easier for informal enterprises to enter the formal economy.
Economists have long argued that South Africa’s small business sector holds the key to lowering unemployment, with SMMEs accounting for the majority of new jobs in emerging economies. By formalising more enterprises and linking them to supply chains, Ndabeni said, the department was directly contributing to GDP growth and fiscal sustainability.
The 2026/27 Budget Vote positions small business development as a core part of government’s economic transformation agenda. For Ndabeni, the goal is to ensure that township and rural entrepreneurs are not left behind as the country pursues industrialisation and export-led growth.
“This is about inclusive growth that is visible in the streets of our townships and rural towns,” she said. “When a spaza shop formalises, when a cooperative gets a contract, when a young entrepreneur gets funded, that is the economy growing from the ground up.”
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