#ThankfulTuesday: This tuckshop helps make food affordable for low-income households
Now this is what we call innovative thinking bespoke to community life...
One of the greatest things that we can be thankful for is the way local entrepreneurs are using their experience to help with local problems.
A wonderful example of this is being practiced in Alexandra, Johannesburg by entrepreneur Miles Kubheka. He is the owner of Gcwalisa, a unique tuckshop that helps offer people an option to buy food.
Many South Africans are struggling to make ends meet, so finding money to buy the basic essentials has become a challenge.
Kubheka "uses refillable dispensers to allow customers to buy a selection of basic food items through a weigh-and-pay model, for as little as R5." (MSN)
Since starting this practice at his shop, it has proven to be extremely successful. The truth is that stores and retailers have their own set of regulations, and most of the time they work on a business model that relies on profitability.
"Customers bring their own containers and plastic bags. And are able to purchase food items such as maize meal, maize rice, sugar beans, rice, samp, sugar, tea, coffee, spices and herbs, cooking oil, peanuts, flour, salt, beef and chicken stock. Kubheka told Vutivi News that there was a great need for this model in the community due to the current social and economic climate." (MSN)
He also noted that with the positives of this business model comes certain challenges. But he is determined to make it work for the community. Kubheka and his team have received positive feedback from the community and he hopes to apply this model to other townships.
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He was recorded saying: "We constantly have to remind ourselves to have an empathetic approach when looking for solutions to better serve our customer, and for me, empathy allows us to provide solutions that actually speak to the problems. Knowing that we are achieving our mission to democratise access to nutritious food within low-income houses gives us great comfort.” (MSN)
We are really, really happy and thankful to hear that entrepreneurs like Kubheka are also serving the people in the townships.
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