Research Question 2

Are there local suppliers who we can work with?

A major question the team anticipated before arriving in Langrug was “what suppliers are in the area?”  One way the group approached this was doing some background research on the major chains in South Africa.  While this research was helpful, it left many questions unanswered.  What are the major retail companies in Cape Town?  Are they involved in informal settlements?  What does their corporate social responsibility plan look like and is there any room for expansion?

A way that the team planned to gather knowledge on this issue was communicating with Sizwe Mxobo, our sponsor liaison, on the ground in Langrug.  The team believed his knowledge would be extremely valuable due to his experience in Langrug as well as other informal settlements.  In the first few days the group hoped to reach out to potential companies we identified as possible suppliers in order to establish a supply chain.  Team memberswould also ask the residents of the community for their input on which companies they believe would be most helpful or the ones that they frequent the most in order to get the most effective goods for the kiosk.

Lastly, the team planned to talk to our sponsor about any other ventures that have been attempted in Langrug or in other informal settlements that are similar to the current project.  In doing this, the team hoped to gain valuable information from first hand sources and experiences.