Transforming township economies: The digital future of SA's SME retailers
These pillars are foundational to any credible national growth strategy. But they cannot become abstract economic ambitions disconnected from the everyday realities of the millions of South Africans who earn a living through small and independent businesses.
Across South Africa, small and medium enterprise (SME) retailers form a critical layer of the national economy.
They include township spaza shops, informal grocers and stokvel-linked merchants, but also independent stores in suburban malls, family-run outlets in city centres, early-stage e-commerce brands, and micro-retailers operating in residential neighbourhoods.
Collectively, these businesses sustain households, circulate money within communities and create employment where formal sector opportunities are limited.
The township economy alone contributes an estimated R900bn, according to the Standard Bank Township Informal Economy Report. But beyond that headline figure lies a broader truth: SME retail in all its forms remains one of South Africa’s most resilient and distributed economic engines.
Yet many of these businesses – whether in townships, small towns or shopping centres – remain excluded from the digital financial services, discovery tools and ecosystem support structures that increasingly define modern commerce.
Sona acknowledged the need to drive inclusive growth through infrastructure investment and stronger private sector participation.
However, if growth continues to be measured primarily through macro indicators such as GDP performance, credit ratings or investor sentiment, there is a risk of overlooking the micro-economies that quietly power local communities.
Real inclusion requires recognising that economic participation begins at small-business level.
Digital discovery has become one of the most important gateways to participation. Today, if a retailer cannot be found online, cannot transact digitally, or cannot integrate into broader commerce networks, their ability to grow is significantly constrained.
This applies as much to the independent store in a large mall as it does to a township-based retailer. Customers are increasingly digital-first, and SMEs need affordable, accessible tools that allow them to meet that shift.
South Africa’s broader digital transformation agenda – including the rollout of digital IDs and platforms such as MyMzansi – signals progress toward more inclusive systems. But inclusion does not happen automatically.
It requires intentional design that takes into account uneven broadband access, high data costs and varying levels of digital literacy across different communities and business environments.
When digital tools are simple, affordable and embedded within trusted networks, SMEs adopt them rapidly. They use them to drive loyalty, manage inventory, analyse sales data, offer delivery or in-store collection, and access new customer segments. The impact is tangible: improved cash flow, increased visibility, and greater resilience.
This is where platforms like Flood, A-Super-App-to-Service play a catalytic role, not by replacing existing systems, but by enabling trusted service providers such as financial institutions and telecommunications companies to extend digital commerce capabilities to the SME retailers already within their ecosystems.
By embedding marketplace functionality, loyalty programmes, payments and analytics into platforms that businesses and consumers already trust, barriers to entry are significantly lowered.
The constraint in emerging markets is rarely the absence of technology. It is the gap between trust and transaction. Many small retailers are willing to digitise, but they need pathways that are practical, cost-effective and aligned with the realities of their operations.
If South Africa is serious about inclusive growth, the conversation must expand beyond policy commitments and headline economic indicators. It must focus on building systems that make every SME retailer – from township entrepreneur to suburban shop owner – visible, accessible and digitally enabled.
These businesses matter not because they are marginal, but because they are foundational. Funding the future of commerce is not simply about moving transactions online. It is about designing infrastructure that strengthens resilience, unlocks growth and ensures that small retailers across the country remain central to South Africa’s economic story.