The South African Funeral Practitioner Association (SAFPA) fostering change in Africa
SALM TEAM 
The funeral parlour industry is a thriving business in Africa that inevitably
everyone will be involved in. It creates entrepreneurs by the score, but is plagued by poor
regulation, fraud, and theft. This is the rough, tough, and unpredictable business of dying.
According to research and markets, the funeral services industry in South Africa has been
growing at around 12% annually. The industry contributes between R5 billion and R10 billion
annually. There are at least 70,000 undertakers who are active in the domestic death care
market and that is approximately 15,000 funeral parlours that are operational. While
undertakers and funeral parlours play a critical role during death for mourners, the industry
remains faced with many challenges, especially for small funeral operators. The bulk of the
industry is made up of small businesses serving local communities. A significant number of
these do not have certificates of competence and operate in the informal funeral services
sector.
The South Africa Funeral Practitioner Association (SAFPA) now calls for industry players to join
it in establishing sustainable solutions to curb these challenges, as it hosts its first annual Africa
Funeral Convention and Expo.
“The South Africa Funeral Practitioner Association seeks to align the funeral industry in
professionalizing the practice, compliance for the industry to be recognized as a commendable
business”.
“The association has a national footprint and has purposely aligned itself with provincial that
seek to empower individual undertakers with municipal by-law compliance and most of all in
providing world-class customer services to families and mourners,” says the President of SAFPA
Libo Mnisi.
As it fosters this growth, the groundbreaking event is open to SAFPA and non-SAFPA members
to come network, connect, and learn to take their businesses in the African landscape to
greater heights.
“For the past 22 years we have been having closed conventions and expos for members only,
and we have seen the impact it has had on their businesses,” says Mnisi.
Mnisi adds that the association has now decided to extend its invitation to all funeral parlours
and operators in Africa to ensure that industry players are aware of technological trends that
are making waves in the funeral industry. “As an association, we best believe that this will best
align the funeral services in Africa”.
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