infrahub.africa

Background

Miles Kubheka is a food entrepreneur and founder of Wakanda Food Accelerator. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, he pivoted his business model to address pressing community needs, launching Gcwalisa: a weigh-and-pay food retail model aimed at democratizing access to nutritious food in low-income communities. He also seized the opportunity presented by South Africa's regular power outages to extend Gcwalisa's services to include energy provision, demonstrating his commitment to addressing societal challenges with creative solutions.

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Approach

In Alexandra, Johannesburg, Gcwalisa food dispensaries tackle the dual challenges of food access and packaging waste in informal areas by selling essential household food items via conveniently located upcycled shipping containers. A weigh-and-pay model allows low-income communities to align purchases with budgets and reduce single-use packaging by bringing their own refillable containers. Additionally, the dispensaries provide affordable backup electricity during power outages at R5 per hour for lights and R10 per hour for plug points, reducing disruptions to essential activities.

Environmental Impact

The food dispensary reduces environmental impacts by promoting by minimizing single-use plastic packaging. Customers are offered biodegradable packaging if they don't bring their own. Unlike large-scale retailers that only sell in specific package sizes and encourage purchasing more than is needed through special offers, selling food by weight reduces food waste by allowing customers to purchase only what they need. Additionally, using upcycled shipping containers to house the food dispensaries minimizes their environmental footprint and enables swift placement in areas of need. The use of solar PV instead of diesel generators for electricity further reduces their environmental impact.

Success Factors

The initiative's success can be attributed to a combination of factors, including strategic partnerships with Wakanda Food Accelerator, which provides a GROW and SCALE platform for food start-ups. Partnerships with Unilever, Pepsico and other major food manufacturers have allowed Gcwalisa to purchase goods at a reduced cost, making staple foods more affordable for the community. In terms of electricity provision, the self-governed system of power sharing has enabled efficient use of solar-generated electricity to meet basic needs in the community

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