You always hear “support local,” “local is lekker,” “local is the way to go bruh.” I know you’ve heard it all, and honestly, do we even know what it means and why we should do it? Supporting local doesn’t just mean buying from Yoyo’s, Sealand, Plum, Pool Pillow or Slab. It means supporting Chris on the corner who sells bananas, Tannie from down the street who sells rusks and Randy who sells zaza on the corner (I’m just kidding obviously). I’m a proud Saffa sure, but that’s not the only reason I say this; there’s some logic here. Let’s dive into the economics of South Africa for a second.

To put it simply, here’s a little story. Nandi walks to her local grocery store down Main Road, Frikkie’s Food Grocer. She goes in to buy oranges and naartjies. Frikkie sources these from his buddy Nelson in Hoedspruit. Nelson employs his son John to drive the truck with this produce all the way to Cape Town. John does two trips per month for a bunch of farmers in the area, to cut down on costs and fuel.

John convinces his dad to hire his friend Liam, as he needs help with offloading produce. When Nandi pays for her oranges, her money is circulating only within the informal sector, locally, going towards paying all the above people. Plus Frikkie’s carbon footprint is massively reduced.

Frikkie might not know much about business, but University of Cape Town Economics Professor Haroon Bhorat certainly does. He says we are massively under-utilising South Africa’s informal sector. This will be the difference maker when it comes to growing our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and creating more jobs. The informal sector and local businesses are South Africa’s biggest hope for innovation and entrepreneurship to combat the growing unemployment problem. By supporting local, you are supporting this very incentive and helping feed back into the community. However, it’s not just about buying. It’s about changing our attitudes towards informal businesses and encouraging others to do the same.

Yes, their make-shift stalls on the side of the road are not pretty but the fruit they are selling, the biltong and arts and crafts are how they as our fellow South African’s work to make an income. As the little guys, we cannot change the legislation or what others have to say about this but what we can do is support them. Those of us who have small businesses can choose who we invest in, choose who we outsource to and make small decisions which stimulate our economy instead of draining it. Prior to the pandemic, 22% of South Africa’s turnover was from small businesses and in one year created more than 10 million jobs.

There are so many small choices you can make that support local and you wouldn’t even know it. Supersport for example is South African and by paying a subscription as opposed to using some illegal streaming site, you are supporting local. By buying your stainless steel bottle from Orial Outdoor, and not Stanley, you are supporting local. By opting for a Castle Lager instead of a Heineken, you are supporting local (maybe that’s a bit far). You get the idea. Let’s opt for the small guys so the big guys don’t push them out. Thanda imikhiqizo yendawo. Ondersteun plaaslike besighede. Love local. Rata selegae.