Heritage Month: RCS urges South Africans to back SMEs and strengthen communities

With nearly three million SMEs employing over 13 million South Africans, RCS is calling on consumers to back local businesses this Heritage Month, highlighting how daily shopping decisions directly impact jobs, culture, and economic resilience

Sandi Richardson | image supplied

“Every rand spent locally is a vote for jobs,” says Sandi Richardson, HR executive at RCS. “This Heritage Month, we’re urging South Africans to prioritise local businesses.”

SMEs as the backbone of the economy

According to the FinScope MSME South Africa 2024 report, SMEs remain critical to economic growth, particularly in townships and rural communities. Around 56% of SMEs operate informally, making them especially reliant on community support and visibility.

Despite strong consumer sentiment — with 97% of South Africans saying they like to support local brands — the rise of international online retailers has displaced more than 8,000 jobs over the past five years, according to the Localisation Support Fund.

“Supporting local isn’t just patriotic, it’s powerful,” Richardson adds. “Every rand spent with a South African business is an investment in our people, our culture, and our resilience.”

Six million women empowered

Through its partnership with the Small Enterprise Foundation (Sef), RCS has supported nearly 6 million women in rural areas with access to finance, skills development, and non-financial support since 1992.

The Sef model is based on group lending, where cohorts of women apply collectively for loans to start small businesses. This solidarity system, inspired by the Grameen Bank, creates shared accountability and sustainable growth.

Non-financial support extends to business education, savings initiatives, and programmes addressing HIV and gender-based violence. The ripple effects, RCS says, have helped transform rural communities across South Africa.

Four ways consumers can make their spend count

RCS is encouraging South Africans to make deliberate choices this Heritage Month:

Buy local first: Prioritise proudly South African products.

Click local: Support home-grown online retailers.
Talk up entrepreneurs: Share local business stories on social media.
Show up: Attend community events that support small business.

Richardson challenges consumers to take the Heritage Local Challenge: for the rest of September, choose one local alternative for every purchase.

“If we all did this, we wouldn’t just be celebrating our heritage, we’d be building it,” Richardson says. “Thriving local businesses drive innovation, preserve traditions, and ensure our heritage remains vibrant for generations to come.”