Survive

A grocery basket at Morrisons in Britain came out R3.09 cheaper than Checkers, but South Africa still won on meat and fresh produce prices locally.

Branded cake flour cost R21.99 in 2021 and R44.99 today. Sugar is up 70%, a dozen eggs up 83%, and the minimum wage rose 39%.

Changa Mathebula in Tzaneen is selling cassava products before the government approves the crop, and claims one hectare earns more than three times what maize does.

Western Cape taxi fares will rise on 18 May. In Philippi East, a R5 increase on one local route may cost a woman her formal housing.

Government has set aside hundreds of millions for township businesses, but 67% of small business funding applications in South Africa are rejected or go unfunded.

While maize meal and rice prices have fallen over the past year, protein costs are rising and three in ten South African boys under five are stunted.

Small technology businesses in South Africa are struggling to survive because customers pay late while suppliers demand money upfront for monthly software and cloud services.

Two sisters from Lesotho are selling cow heads and pap on the streets of Gauteng to support their families, but rising meat prices and struggling customers are making it harder to survive every month.

A Soweto trader sells R10 herb packs outside Maponya Mall to feed a family of five, taking home just R60 on a bad day.

A 24-year-old Soweto mother was spending R3,700 of her R4,500 monthly salary on her son's nursery school fees and transport before the costs forced her to make a change.

A Pretoria woman turned heartbreak and money struggles into growing food businesses that now inspire young women to survive the tough economic conditions every day.

South African families are wasting thousands of rands by taking out up to four funeral policies that hit them with extra fees and waiting periods.