EVERYONE agrees that small business is one solution to Mzansi’s poverty problems.
But research by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor shows that Mzansi does badly when it comes to small businesses. Entrepreneurs do not get the support so many need to succeed.
Sinethemba Mafanya, manager of Diageo Empowerment Trust South Africa, said Mzansi participated in 16-years of research that revealed it has consistently low levels of entrepreneurial activity compared with other countries.
“The numbers of new businesses entering the market have dropped by more than a third since 2013 and almost 50% since 2010. Our rate of small business activity in Mzansi is 2,5 times lower than the rate for the rest of Africa as a whole.”
He said while the country has a good record for producing world-class entrepreneurs, there is no support.
“Of the small businesses that do not fail, many do not progress any further from their started – this can be seen in the many spazas in South Africa’s bustling townships – they aren’t dying but they aren’t growing.”
Small business looks to be South Africa’s only way of poverty and unemployment but that’s not going to work at the way small businesses are being treated. Despite political speeches, its clear that politicians are not going to help.
To build a healthy small business community, owners and operators need to work and support each other instead of complaining
Life is not a soap opera and it is not a world where dog eats dog – that’s how lizard brains work. Life will succeed for us when we work together as social networks in favour of stable, long-term growth.
