The South African Informal Traders Alliance, which represents over two million informal traders, kicked off its one million jobs campaign.
THE SOUTH African Informal Traders Alliance (Saita) has announced the launch of its job creation campaign, which aims to create one million jobs by 2023.
Saita, which represents over two million informal traders in South Africa, said the campaign is supported by the government.
It is also supported by corporate partners, including Absa and Vodacom, who have all assisted in launching the campaign.
Saita said this partnership places particular focus on KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, where traders were most affected by the looting and unrest earlier this year.
The alliance said that in order to reach its target of one million jobs, it is geared to partner with other national stakeholders to assist in turning around the country’s economy.
“When each informal trader can grow their business to a point where they are able to employ others, the movement from formal to informal becomes a natural progression. The partners who have assisted in starting off this project, also buy into the reality that informal businesses can be formalised, such as the unbanked become banking clients, and at the same time be a part of the fourth industrial revolution where technology becomes a valuable tool in running a successful business,” said Saita’s national president Rosheda Muller.
Tshiwela Mhlantla, the Absa managing executive: physical channels, said the bank’s partnership with Saita supports one of its key strategic pillars of playing a shaping role in society.
“We are privileged to help bring possibilities to life to the country’s informal traders. Absa will be providing financial and non-financial support to each participant in the initiative. Each informal trader will be enrolled in a business coaching and mentoring programme to better equip him or her for the next level of business growth and economic participation,” said Mhlantla.
Saita said the organisation’s footprint across the nine provinces in SA allows for activities to be simultaneously running across all the provinces, while capitalising on focusing on the sectors where the informal economy needs the most assistance in each province.
Saita called on all informal trader alliance partners within the provinces to ensure that their members are represented in this exciting phase.
