Transformation has to do more than open doors. It has to give people the ability to walk through them, develop what they find on the other side and, ultimately, create opportunities for others. For business leaders, this means recognising transformation not simply as a compliance responsibility, but as a strategic investment in people, organisational capability and long term business sustainability.
That is particularly important in an economy where too many people remain excluded from meaningful participation. According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey, the official unemployment rate stood at 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026, with 8.5 million people unemployed. Among young people aged 15 to 34, the unemployment rate reached 47.4%.
These numbers make it clear that transformation cannot be limited to creating access. It must also be about building the capabilities, confidence and connections that allow people to participate meaningfully and sustainably in the economy.
This is where the move from paternalism to partnership becomes important. Paternalism tends to position people as recipients of opportunity, with institutions deciding what support they need and providing it to them. Partnership starts from a different premise where people are active participants in their own development, while business has a role in creating the conditions that allow them to grow and contribute.
For business, this means looking beyond individual interventions and considering how skills development, employment, leadership and entrepreneurship can connect to one another. It also requires leadership accountability for ensuring that these investments translate into meaningful opportunities and career progression. A training programme is more valuable when it leads to practical experience or employment. An entrepreneurial initiative has greater impact when it helps a business owner develop the capabilities to build a sustainable enterprise. Leadership development matters when it creates a pipeline of people who are ready to take on greater responsibility.
This approach is particularly relevant in sectors such as retail, where the workplace can become an important pathway into economic participation. The trade sector, which includes retail and wholesale, was the largest employer of young people in the first quarter of 2026, accounting for 23.6% of youth employment, while the sector added 70,000 jobs in the second quarter, according to Stats SA.
The opportunity is therefore broader than employment alone. Retail can provide people with exposure to operations, technology, customer service, merchandising and management, while creating an environment in which skills and experience can develop over time.
At SPAR, this is central to how we think about people and the future of the business. From a people leadership perspective, transformation must be embedded in how we attract, develop and retain talent, build leadership capability and create pathways for growth. Developing talent, strengthening leadership pipelines, supporting youth employment and creating opportunities for skills development are not separate from the sustainability of the retail ecosystem. They are fundamental to building a resilient, competitive and sustainable business.
That extends beyond the corporate environment. SPAR’s independent retailers are entrepreneurs operating businesses that are deeply connected to the communities they serve. Supporting the capability and continuity of these businesses is therefore part of strengthening the wider ecosystem in which people work and create economic value.
Entrepreneurship is an important part of this conversation. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor found that 15% of South African adults were starting or running a new business in 2025, up from 11% in 2023. Yet only 4% owned an established business, compared with 6% in 2023. GEM continues to identify constraints around infrastructure, policy support and access to finance.
The gap between starting and sustaining a business shows why partnership matters. It is not enough to encourage entrepreneurship; entrepreneurs also need access to skills, markets, networks and practical support that can help viable businesses grow. In a retail environment, this can include strengthening supplier capability, creating routes to market and helping smaller enterprises understand what is required to participate successfully in a larger value chain.
The other dimension to this is succession. Across the SPAR ecosystem, there are multigenerational businesses where the transfer of knowledge, leadership and responsibility is central to long-term continuity. Preparing the next generation is not simply about handing over a business. It is about developing the capability and leadership required to take that business forward while retaining the experience that has helped it succeed.
This is why transformation should also be measured differently. Counting how many people participated in a programme or completed training tells only part of the story. As business leaders, we need to hold ourselves accountable for what happens beyond intervention. The more important questions are what people are able to do afterwards, whether new skills translate into employment or progression, whether entrepreneurs can build sustainable businesses and whether those businesses are able to create opportunities for others.
For SPAR, investing in people is therefore not separate from investing in the future of the business. Building skills, developing leaders and supporting entrepreneurship contribute to a stronger retail and wholesale ecosystem, while creating pathways for greater economic participation.
No organisation can address South Africa’s employment and transformation challenges alone. Government, business and civil society each have different responsibilities and capabilities, making meaningful partnership essential. Business cannot replace the role of government, but it can use its own capabilities, networks and economic reach to help create opportunities that are connected to real-world outcomes.
Ultimately, moving from paternalism to partnership requires a change in the question we ask. Instead of asking only what we can provide to people, we should ask what we can enable them to build, achieve and contribute.
That is where transformation becomes sustainable. When people leave an intervention with greater capability, stronger networks and a clearer pathway to participation, the value extends beyond the individual. It strengthens businesses, communities and the broader economy by creating the conditions for people not only to benefit from opportunity, but to create it for others. Ultimately, the measure of transformation is not simply how many opportunities we create today, but how many people we enable to lead, succeed and create opportunities for others tomorrow.
By Brigitte Da Gama, Chief People Officer, SPAR Group