The Spatial Evolution of Spaza Shops since the Inception of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Saldanha

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to establish the link between the official announcement of the Saldanha Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) and consequently the gradual concentration of foreign traders and the steady fading of native residential spaza shop owners. This research focus on the existing literature on informal trading in Africa and specifically on micro level. Special prominence is given to the entrepreneurial culture of both the foreign and residential informal traders. Informal trading forms a substantial component of any economy in providing employment, secure sustainable livelihoods and income for millions of workers and business owners. Research in South Africa lack the aptitude to investigate and divulge the root causes of informal trading and how informal trading contributes to individual and household income, and to lay the platform for policy formation and intervention. This article envisages the major informal trading structures in Saldanha town, the underlying cause (-s) of doing business and its socio-economic impact on individuals, households, and the community. Central to this study will be the identification of various informal institutional economic activities and the situation, its evolution, their contribution to individual and household survival, and their relationships with the formal economy. The research followed a mixed methods approach (the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods). The application of semi-structured interviews, focus group and follow-up discussions reveals the deeper perceptions of doing business and their means to survival, despite current challenges of Covid-19 and evolving competition challenges. In contrast, the quantitative methods deal largely with the questions of “what” or “how many”.