Armien and Yasmina Adams today became the third local entrepreneurs in Cape Town to join Pick n Pay’s spaza modernisation programme with the opening of Something Nice Market in Blue Downs.
The programme upgrades spaza shops to meet the needs of customers and communities and aims to grow a new generation of modern retail entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs remain independent with both mentorship and training supplied by Pick n Pay.
The opening of Something Nice marks the third store modernisation in the Western Cape; 14 have already opened in Gauteng, where the programme was first piloted in 2016.
The Adams’s entrepreneurial journey began in 1995, through a partnership with a bakery owner. Six years later, they had accumulated sufficient capital to purchase the flagship bakery in Blue Downs.
In May, Adams was told he’d been selected to participate in Pick n Pay’s spaza modernisation programme. The programme’s partners include the Old Mutual Foundation, Masisizane Fund, the National Empowerment Fund, the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the City of Cape Town.
This meant that the Adams’s store would be modernised and equipped with new refrigeration and equipment, cutting-edge systems and retailing techniques.
With their newly upgraded business, Something Nice Market, the Adams’ will continue to offer their customers their established bakery offering and hot food deli section, but the 300sqm store will now also include a new butchery and grocery offering (stocked with 1,300 lines of edible and non-edible groceries, fresh produce and perishables).
Services like money transfer, ticketing, airtime and data, bill payments, lottery tickets and prepaid electricity have also been introduced to the store.
Pick n Pay deputy CEO Richard van Rensburg says, “When we began this journey, we set out to help retail entrepreneurs achieve their potential without ever losing their independence, providing the means for them to create real, sustainable businesses. Empowering them in turn helps empower communities through employment, supplier development and access to outstanding retail shops. We’re really proud of the programme’s success to date.
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