As the BRICS Summit enters its second day, some small business owners say the summit hasn’t had any positive impact on their businesses.
The 15th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit, is currently underway at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg.
Street vendors say although business is still slow, they remain hopeful that as the day progresses, things will change.
A Kenyan businessman who’s selling traditional South African art, hand-made souvenirs and other traditional items, says unlike the previous BRICS Summit, this time around there’s very little to celebrate.
“Business is still slow. As you can see, people aren’t buying. During the last summit, by this time, all my items were sold out. But now I don’t know what is happening,” he adds.
Another vendor who identified himself as John has blamed the slow start to the global poor economic condition.
“Many people have lost jobs that’s why even during this summit you don’t see many coming to buy,” he adds.
Meanwhile, those who are selling food say their business is booming.
52-year-old Joyce Mokoena says since Saturday, her business has been doing well.
She adds that over the weekend she was forced to close earlier than her usual time because all her food items were sold out.
“At the weekend, I had to close early because people were coming to buy in larger numbers. From law enforcement officers to foreign journalists, everyone was here looking for food,” adds Mokoena.
She says she has since increased her stock to avoid missing out on profit.
Wednesday’s BRICS programme kicked off at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
Earlier, some locals gathered outside the Sandton Convention Centre with the hope of seeing some of their favourite world leaders.
“I’m here to see Chinese President Xi Jinping … I’m disappointed that Russian President [Vladimir Putin] is not here. I wanted to see him.”
“I wanted to see Putin but I heard he didn’t come. He’s my favourite President – I love him.”
Below is the gallery of vendors’ goods:
