Building the next generation of informal retail entrepreneurs.
I-RED — the Informal Retail Entrepreneurship Development programme — exists to unlock the potential of township, rural and street-side retailers across South Africa.
Our mission
We believe informal retailers are the beating heart of our economy. Yet most are locked out of skills training, formal finance and reliable supplier networks. I-RED closes that gap with a single, connected pathway from learning to capital to community.
What we do
- • Deliver a 12-week entrepreneurship accelerator built for informal retailers.
- • Provide seed funding between R1 000 and R50 000, matched to real growth plans.
- • Connect verified entrepreneurs to investors and partners through a Kiva-style platform.
- • Mentor graduates for 12 months after they complete the programme.
We start with respect for what entrepreneurs already know and have built.
We remove the language, paperwork and finance barriers that hold shops back.
Every rand invested is tracked and reported to our partners and community.
From spaza to scale.
I-RED was founded to answer a simple question: what would it take for a spaza shop, a hair salon, a street vendor or a tuck-shop to double their revenue in a year? The answer we kept hearing was training, capital and community. So we built a programme that delivers all three — in one place, in the languages entrepreneurs actually speak, and on terms they can meet.