SMME development in Johannesburg's Southern Metropolitan Local Council: An assessment

Henry Rwigema and Peter Karungu

Development Southern Africa, 1999, vol. 16, issue 1, 107-124

Abstract: This article addresses the development, management and needs of small, micro- and medium enterprises (SMMEs) in Johannesburg's Southern Metropolitan Local Council (SMLC), with particular focus on business development by previously disadvantaged South Africans. The article comprises an introductory section on the small-business sector in South Africa and internationally, as well as the results of a field survey of a sample of 841 SMMEs in the SMLC. Many of the respondents were located in areas like Soweto, Orange Farm, Eldorado Park and Lenasia. Given the areas' poverty and a history of neglect, the bulk of respondents were small, micro- or survivalist enterprises. In part, the survey confirmed some generally held notions about small businesses. Among these were funding difficulties, a strong desire for business-related training and serious informational problems. The study revealed a shortage of management skills and poor record-keeping. At the same time, some evidence emerged of business potential, including high survival rates and a determination to succeed. Key recommendations include training programmes in such areas as record-keeping, marketing, customer relations, inventory control and tendering procedures. Mechanisms are also suggested for facilitating access to finance.

Date: 1999
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03768359908440064 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:deveza:v:16:y:1999:i:1:p:107-124

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/CDSA20

DOI: 10.1080/03768359908440064

Access Statistics for this article

Development Southern Africa is currently edited by Marie Kirsten

More articles in Development Southern Africa from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().