Bulelwa Maphela is an associate professor in the School of Economics at the University of Johannesburg.
She recently published an opinion article that first appeared in the Sowetan on 29 October 2025.
Next month, as SA hosts the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, it is a timely opportunity to amplify the voices of township entrepreneurs who sustain our communities but are often on the periphery of the economy.
Among entrepreneurs are township funeral directors whose work is about affirming life, defending dignity, and strengthening the resilience of communities.
Imagine two young girls who wake in the middle of the night to find their grandmother and sole guardian has passed away. In their grief and confusion, they turn to the only person they know can help, the owner of a funeral parlour just around the corner.
With assurance, he offers comfort, guidance, and a plan. As a funeral director rooted in this township, he understands the weight of loss and the burden of poverty. His first task is not to ask for payment but to ease trauma by removing the human remains with dignity and care.
This act of care is part of a broader, often invisible work that funeral directors perform daily. In moments of crisis, they uphold public health, provide psychosocial support, and offer stability when institutions falter. Yet despite their essential role, funeral directors remain marginalised in policy, regulation and economic development frameworks.
Township funeral parlours operate with limited resources but command deep community trust.
As a researcher working on local economic development, our fieldwork shows that local undertakers are frequently the first responders in emergencies.
According to the South African Law Reform Commission’s 2020 report, the exact number of funeral parlours operating in SA is unknown. The commission projected that more than 20,000 funeral parlours operate informally without a Certificate of Compliance.
One reason the number of operating funeral parlours remains unknown is the constraints imposed by regulations and the compliance challenges faced by emerging businesses, which are often impossible to meet.
SA’s funeral industry generates an estimated R10-12bn annually, with the bulk of operators comprising small, informal businesses, which are primarily based in townships and rural areas.
The industry sustains thousands of jobs, from catering and transport to coffin-making and tombstone production. It is a decentralised economy rooted in culture, yet it remains overlooked and undervalued.
SA’s funeral sector is deeply stratified. Large, well-resourced businesses dominate the formal market, often pricing out the poor. In contrast, township funeral parlours operate with limited resources but command deep community trust.
As township economy strategist Mongezi Mtati puts it: “Trust is the currency of the township economy.”
These businesses have earned that trust through years of service, often under difficult circumstances.
However, trust alone cannot sustain them. Regulatory frameworks, designed with large urban enterprises in mind, often hinder emerging business owners.
For example, refrigeration standards usually do not consider frequent power outages and the financial constraints faced by small operators.
Zoning laws and property regulations make it difficult for these business owners to secure premises. Delayed payments from underwriters force them to cover burial costs upfront, straining already thin margins.
The 2013 regulations under the National Health Act (Regulation 363) required funeral directors to meet standards that are often unattainable for small businesses. These include backup power systems, gendered change rooms, and drainage infrastructure, all necessary but rarely feasible in under-resourced settings.
The proposed 2022 amendments go further, requiring Certificates of Competence not only for premises but also for vehicles and trailers used to transport human remains. This change risks excluding those who operate showrooms and outsource cold storage, which is a common model in townships. If implemented, many would no longer qualify as funeral directors under the law, despite being the ones communities rely on most.
Recently, at an event hosted by the University of Johannesburg’s College of Business and Economics and the Library, pioneers in human remains management shared their experiences navigating these challenges. Their stories revealed entrepreneurs who are resilient and innovative yet stifled by bureaucracy.
To unlock the developmental potential of township funeral parlours, we must move from punitive to supportive systems. This means creating a phased compliance pathway or recognising shared-resource models.
It is a call for policymakers, funders, and financial institutions to recognise these businesses as partners in public health and economic resilience. This is not a plea for charity; it is a demand for justice and recognition.
Supporting township funeral parlours through impact-driven research aligns with this promise. It is a chance to invest in the very fabric of our communities and an opportunity to bring to the forefront voices that are often marginalised and unheard.
As the world gathers in Johannesburg for the G20 Summit and SA celebrates its entrepreneurs, it is time for policymakers, funders, and regulators to engage directly with emerging funeral directors, not to impose but to listen. This engagement must lead to tangible reforms that reflect the realities of township economies and honour the trust these businesses have earned.
The views expressed in this article are that of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect that of the University of Johannesburg.
