Spazas are neighbourhood convenience shops that are not fully formal. From a room in a house, a stand-alone building or a lightweight structure on the edge of a property, spaza shops bring in income while providing cheap and convenient local shopping.

What attracts customers to a particular spaza shop is its proximity. Prices do not vary strongly across shops. Only particular items or extended opening hours will attract customers beyond the spaza's immediate radius. The range of goods is limited: fruits, vegetables and airtime are the most common; cigarettes, public phones and games machines are rarer features. Spaza shops cater to the floating schedule of their customers, opening as early as 6 am, closing as late as 10 pm, long after formal shops have closed (see figure 19.1).

Spaza shop owners can be categorised into three types: entrepreneur, surviving entrepreneur and survivalist (see table 19.1). Types are very fluid: it is possible to change from one type to another rather quickly. These portraits illustrate the spectrum of spaza shop owners in Yeoville.

OWNER: King

AGE: 26

GENDER: Male

EDUCATION LEVEL: Degree in Mechanical Engineering

FORMER JOB: Never worked

Business profile

OPENED: 2008

DELIVERY: No

GET GOODS FROM: Jamaica and Jumbo Cash and Carry

LEGAL STATUS: Applied to City Council

TRADING HOURS: 8 am–8 pm

GOODS: Airtime, cigarettes, public phones and household goods

INCOME: Undisclosed

KING: I started with selling cigarettes, sweets and chips. I stocked up, selling little by little. I like making friends and talking to different people. I don't like when customers complain about my service or my workers. I already own more than three spaza shops, and I would like to see them grow. I want to make my businesses bigger, like Shoprite.

CUSTOMER: I am a loyal customer; you can ask him, I buy here every day, mostly airtime. It is close to my house and his prices are reasonable. I can just run to the spaza when I need something.