MTN SA has committed R10 million to support qualifying spaza shops in KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng that were decimated in the unrest. In the days following the unrest.
MTN SA CEO Godfrey Motsa made a public plea for big businesses to work closely with small and micro-businesses to help re-establish and support those entities that were amongst the hardest hit during the rioting and looting.
MTN has completed its review of the spaza shops with which it already has existing relationships, that were impacted by the unrest.
Next week, MTN will open applications for other spaza shops that may be requiring support and are looking to become mobile money (MoMo) agents.
Interested parties should please email SpazaRelief@mtn.com , following which the necessary criteria will be shared for further communication
“Spaza shops help drive local economies, they create jobs and are often hubs of business activities, and they bring basic foods and services directly into communities that have historically been desperately underserved. We want people to be able to buy airtime and cash-in or cash-out on MoMo but importantly, we want these communities to return to a sense of normalcy and pride, which is why we will be partnering with identified stores to help with their rebuilding and restocking,” says MTN SA chairman, Mike Harper.
“Our help will extend beyond just MTN products, will also help with restocking some of the of the more traditional merchandise sold in these stores,” says Harper.