Venda’s decentralised fuel market signals a new era for South African entrepreneurship

IT’S FUNNY how life has a way of drawing curious parallels, almost as if the universe enjoys a bit of irony. Recently, we each travelled to Venda, unknowingly within weeks of each other.

- BOITSHOKO SHOKE AND LONDANI MPHARALALA

When we returned, we realised our experiences were strikingly similar stories of a region quietly redefining what local enterprise looks like. Those shared observations culminated in this coauthored article.

Across South Africa’s northern reaches, something remarkable is quietly unfolding an entrepreneurial shift that challenges long-held assumptions about who can participate in traditionally centralised industries.

Travelling more than 150 kilometres through the area reveals a fuel landscape unlike any other: not one dominated by the familiar big-brand petrol stations, but a diverse network of independent and locally-owned operators.

Names unfamiliar to most South Africans line the roads from regional brands, black-owned enterprises, small partnerships, and even a few international entrants from as far as Australia. What seems at first like a regional anomaly is, in fact, a powerful reflection of how decentralisation and local entrepreneurship are beginning to reshape sectors once reserved for major corporates.

The fuel industry has long been one of the most centralised and capital-intensive in South Africa.

Entry barriers from licensing and compliance to supply chain infrastructure have traditionally made it inaccessible to small or emerging players.