Cape Talk

Five entrepreneurs in the Western Cape could receive a branded container-based business unit, access to genuine Shell lubricants, promotional materials, and business support. Today, we're joined by Ingrico Mahuchana, Channel Development Manager, Route to Market at Shell Downstream South Africa, to unpack what this program means, why it was created, and who can apply on Cape Talk. A very good morning to you, Ingrico. Welcome to Cape Talk. Good morning.

Good morning, Jacob. How are you? I'm good. Thank you for asking your listeners as well. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Can you tell us what inspired Shell to launch the PowerShops program for automotive entrepreneurs in the Western Cape? Jacob, Shell decided to launch this initiative because we need to drive inclusivity within the lubricants sector while incorporating emerging entrepreneurs into the lubricants network. The initiative was launched in 2022.

And we have touched on many other provinces such as Gauteng, Limpopo, Eastern Cape. And this year, our focus is on the Western Cape. And so far, how have things been going in terms of the support for this program? Now, the support for this program is great. We are very intentional in terms of how we support entrepreneurs. One, it's to provide them with a container-based retail unit because we know.

That space is a challenge for entrepreneurs. A lot of entrepreneurs struggle to find space, and that's why we are driving this initiative because rent is expensive, space is expensive, and that's the gap that we want to bridge by driving this initiative. So, then, what can entrepreneurs expect if they're selected to participate in this program? Jacob, one, we know that entrepreneurs face many challenges. So, the first, it's the container unit, secondly, it's

Technical support. Lubricants is a very technical based product to sell. So it's very important that an entrepreneur who's trading lubricants has the technical backing and support from the business that they are working with. And another form of support that we provide is that we fully understand that a lot of entrepreneurs within the motor space fully understand how to sell their products, they fully understand how to engage their customers. But what is commonly missing

Is sometimes just the basic understanding in terms of how they run their businesses. We all know that some entrepreneurs face challenges when it comes to their bookkeeping. A person can be a very good mechanic, a person can be a very good workshop owner, but sometimes there are gaps in the process, such as understanding the bookkeeping. So we'll hold their hand, we'll link them to a mentor, a business mentor, as part of the LiveWire program. And then who is eligible to apply? And what should entrepreneurs consider before submitting?