The Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Ndabeni-Abraham, explained why the KwaZulu-Natal province received more approvals under the Spaza Shop Support Fund compared to Gauteng. The reason cited was the faster verification of business licenses by the municipalities in this province.
The Minister disclosed this information during a parliamentary response after an ActionSA MP, Lerato Ngobeni, questioned the reasons for the differences in funding approval between provinces, why 350 applications were rejected, and whether information on approved recipients and allocated amounts would be published.
KwaZulu-Natal leads in spaza shop approvals
The Minister stated that KwaZulu-Natal had the highest number of applicants who uploaded business licenses during the application process, and local municipalities promptly verified these licenses. She clarified that the criteria for participating in the fund include having a registered spaza shop that complies with municipal bylaws and other legal requirements.
She emphasized that the KwaZulu-Natal province has a well-established licensing system for spaza shops, which resulted in the province having the largest number of applicants with uploaded licenses at the application stage, and municipalities quickly verifying valid licenses.
Regarding rejected applicants, Ndabeni-Abraham stated that their names will not be disclosed in accordance with privacy laws, including the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). Instead, the department provided application numbers and justifications for the rejection.
The Minister also assured that no funds were disbursed to applicants before final approval. Concerning the publication of the list of approved beneficiaries, Ndabeni-Abraham noted that the department is obligated to protect the personal and commercially sensitive information of the applicants. The list of approved spaza shops includes application numbers, provinces, districts, and municipalities, but not the actual enterprise names.
Furthermore, the Minister reported that as of July 16, 2026, the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDFA) had approved funding for 1386 spaza shops totaling R83.9 million. She added that the limited publication of beneficiary names and incentives is regulated by national legislation, such as the Constitution, POPIA, and PAIA, due to the obligation to protect the personal data of subjects or applicants, as well as commercially sensitive information.