Tourism,business linkages and small enterprise development in South Africa

Although considerable attention is given to the prospects for developing small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa's tourism economy, very little relevant research has been undertaken in this regard. In this article, the findings are presented from over 60 detailed interviews conducted with key enterprises and entrepreneurs involved in tourism, outsourcing and small enterprise development in South Africa. The aim is to examine opportunities for outsourcing and business linkage development in South Africa's tourism economy, and to investigate the difficulties that confront the tourism SMME economy through examining the status of business linkages between large tourism enterprises and SMMEs in South Africa. The South African research is located within the context of existing works on tourism and small enterprise development in developing countries.     

Information communication technologies and the potential for rural tourism SMME development: The case of the Wild Coast

This article explores how information communication technologies (ICTs) can help tourismbased small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) address their constraints to growth and development in rural South Africa. More specifically, it reports on research conducted in the Wild Coast region of the Eastern Cape province focussed on the constraints, and related information needs affecting the success of rural SMMEs operating in the tourism industry, and explores how ICTs might address these limitations. Within the context of the constraints faced by rural SMMEs, this article examines the information needs and current patterns of communication that impact on the development of the sector, the nature of tourism SMMEs in the case study area, and the potential use of ICTs to support tourism-based SMME development in rural areas.     

Cookie cutter cooperatives in the KwaZulu-Natal school nutrition programme

This article examines an initiative by the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government to increase the income opportunities emerging from the school feeding programme. Since the inception of the programme, small medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) have been enlisted to provide schools with ingredients. However, in 2006 the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government replaced some SMMEs with women's cooperatives. By 2009, 12 of the original 42 cooperatives had collapsed, and some schools serviced by the cooperatives complained of unreliable delivery of ingredients. This article examines the interface between policy and implementation through a case study of four cooperatives in one district. Our data suggest that some cooperatives struggled to take root as a result of a variety of factors which we discuss under the themes of viability, membership and skills. The top-down creation of these cooperatives according to inflexible guidelines also resulted in significant problems.     

Enhancing small,medium and micro enterprise development: Exploring selective interventions by the Lesotho government

Through a survey conducted among 219 businesses in Lesotho, this paper reports small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) owners' and managers' perceptions of strategies implemented by the government to enhance SMME development, as well as identify shortcomings, if any. It was ascertained that although there are a number of initiatives – inter alia, the creation of a ‘one-stop shop’ to simplify the procedures required for registering an enterprise – the respondents perceive that operating informally is the alternate solution, the consequence being possible loss of taxes by the government which impacts on economic growth. It also became evident that access to finance is still a hurdle to SMME establishment in Lesotho. SMMEs also find taxes too high and are therefore compelled to declare false turnover figures, to avoid being taxed or to pay minimum taxes. The findings of this research could assist SMMEs since there will be greater awareness of the initiatives by the Lesotho government to develop the sector.     

Manufacturing enterprises and marketing planning in a mining area of the North West Province,South Africa: lessons for local business support centres

This paper examines the extent to which manufacturing SMMEs (small, medium and micro enterprises) see marketing planning as important for their businesses in the area of the North West Province known as PKOSH (Potchefstroom, Klerksdorp, Orkney, Stilfontein and Hartbeesfontein). It identifies lessons for local business support centres, based on a case study of manufacturing businesses in this region. The literature suggests that appropriate marketing planning will increase profitability, but it was found that most manufacturing industries in this area do not plan their marketing appropriately. This is largely because of their close relationship with and dependence on the mining industry, which is at present extremely volatile, with mine closures imminent. Against this background, the authors argue that local business support centres should have a much better understanding of local business trends and should provide information to help businesses open up markets beyond their immediate environment.     

论我国商业银行小微企业信贷风险控制

我国银行对小微企业的信贷风险控制普遍存在着信贷风险评估建设滞后、贷款类型单一、贷款审查制度欠规范、缺乏针对小微贷款风险控制机制等问题,主要是由于信息不对称、微型贷款的成本较高、银行缺乏信贷风险控制思想、小微企业自身的内部控制不健全等原因所造成的。针对小微企业不同的信贷风险类型,运用各种风险防范手段,严格控制小微企业信贷业务流程的创新优化思路,并从经营管理思路、贷款营销、贷前调查、贷款审查、贷款审批、贷后管理方面提出了科学可行的对策。本文对小微企业信贷风险控制进行了系统深入的研究,力求对我国商业银行未来小微贷款的发展起到一定的指导作用,对其他银行发展小微企业贷款也具有借鉴意义。     

江苏区域农村中小企业借贷特征比较——基于江苏省的调查

本文在对江苏农村中小企业融资现状调查基础上,分析了苏南、苏中、苏北地区农村中小企业金融需求特征,并运用多无回归分析探讨了影响农村中小企业金融需求的主要因素。本文研究认为,农村中小企业金融需求意愿受到抑制,但各区域经济发展程度不同,农村中小企业需求的影响因素存在差异。经济发达地区农村中小企业借贷主要与企业资产规模、企业年龄相关,而在经济较为落后的地区,企业资产规模、企业年龄与企业盈利能力等因素都会影响到农村中小企业的借贷。     

小微企业培训外包研究

小微企业基于自身的内部因素和外部环境的因素,进行培训外包势在必行。但是培训外包是个复杂的系统,如果没有进行正确的管理,就容易导致培训外包的失败。针对培训外包过程中可能出现的风险,小微企业应采取积极的防范措施,并且把培训外包作为一个学习的过程,为日后企业的发展奠定坚实的基础。     

Investment‐led entrepreneurship development

Spatial development initiatives are characterised by intensive intervention in an identified area in order to fast‐track investment. The key objectives of SDIs are the generation of growth and development through private sector investment, the stimulation of small, medium and microenterprises (SMMEs) and the empowerment of local communities. This report is part of a series of guiding papers which contribute towards understanding and achieving the principles of the Spatial Development Initiatives (SDIs) programme as operating in South and southern Africa (De Beer & Arkwright, 1997; De Beer & Elliffe, 1997; De Beer & Wheeler, 1997; De Beer et al, 1997; Elliffe et al, 1997). The article builds on the foundations provided by these earlier studies and specifically focuses on the stimulation of SMMEs and the associated empowerment of local communities as principles that underlie all SDI interventions.     

温州小微企业景气与预警体系建立与实证分析

文章通过对温州市近千家小微企业的问卷调查,运用层次分析法构建了包括市场信心、市场、经营成本、融资、创新、投资的小微企业景气指标体系,为各指标赋予权重,建立了温州小微企业景气指数模型,分别计算出2012年、2013年度温州小微企业景气指数。并通过建立预警体系以灯号形式展示11个行业的景气状况,为温州小微企业的发展提出科学合理的建议。     

Constraints facing tourism entrepreneurs in South Africa: a study in the Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces,South Africa

The current study is an investigation into tourism entrepreneurship of small, medium and micro enterprises in Gauteng and Mpumalanga. Through Principal Factor Analysis, the paper identifies a three-factor instrument that could be used as a diagnostic tool to investigate how government policies and support, the tourism industry's products and services, and perceptions about South Africa could advance or constrain the development of small, medium and micro tourism in South Africa. Such a tool can be used to identify problematic areas in order to take remedial action to manage sustainable tourism in South Africa and prevent the leakage of profits.     

Problems and training needs of small business in Transkei

This note reports the findings of a survey of the problems and training needs of 121 small business owner‐managers in Transkei The average response rate was 83 per cent, with 63 per cent of the towns achieving a response rate of over 70 per cent Retailers made up the largest part of the sample (45 per cent). It was ascertained that the owner‐managers experienced management problems and that existing training was not meeting their needs.     

The frontier in flames: Contacts between the inhabitants of Kainuu and Pielis-Karelia with Russian Karelia from the Age of the Count to the Homespun War (1650–1712)

Abstract

Determined efforts to ensure the preservation of the business records of private enterprises and commercial and industrial organisations are a feature of this century. The task has been tackled in various ways: in some countries special national or regional business archives have been set up to which enterprises can transfer their records for safe keeping; in others, records are deposited with the normal state record offices, which may be either national or provincial archives; in others again, there are central institutions which draw up lists of the records available at the various individual enterprises themselves. At the same time efforts are generally made to persuade concerns to ensure that their records are preserved.     

Road construction and small enterprise development: The experience of the N4 Maputo corridor

The problems and support needs of small road contracting enterprises and of the prospects for entrepreneurship and enterprise growth in the South African road construction sector is the focus of this investigation. This study examines the building of the N4 toll road which is the anchor project for the Maputo Development Corridor. It draws on a wide range of source material, including existing secondary sources, primary project documentation relating to the N4 anchor project, a set of interviews with key individuals and business associations involved with implementation of the project, and a questionnaire survey that was administered to 30 emerging contractors that had successfully secured contracts for work on the Maputo Development Corridor. Overall, the article investigates the progress and workings of South Africa's targeted procurement approach towards stimulating small contractors in road construction.     

Unpacking tourism SMMEs in South Africa: structure,support needs and policy response

Small enterprise (SMME) support policy in post-apartheid South Africa has traditionally involved support initiatives in the form of ‘generic’ packages that overlook the specificities of particular sectors. In this article the specific issues concerning SMME development in tourism are investigated. Against a backcloth of a review of international scholarship on tourism small firms, the article presents findings from recent empirical investigations into the progress and problems of tourism SMME development in South Africa. Within the international scholarship and policy debates on tourism, it is argued that the South African experience is particularly distinctive in two respects: (1) the support of particular groups of tourism SMMEs linked to objectives of transformation and (2) the introduction of dedicated tourism-specific support programmes for SMME development.     

Small Enterprise Growth and the Rural Investment Climate: Evidence from Tanzania*

Abstract: This paper analyzes characteristics of nonfarm enterprises, their employment growth patterns, and constraints in doing business in rural Tanzania. Using unique survey data, we describe a low‐return sector struggling to compete in a challenging business environment. However, about one‐third of rural enterprises are growing fast. Most enterprises engage in agricultural trade. Due to a rapidly growing agricultural sector in recent years, limiting demand‐side constraints, rural enterprise constraints in Tanzania mainly operate from the supply‐side, suggesting that in particular access to finance, road infrastructure and rural cell phone communication is associated with employment growth. A major finding is that subjective and objective measurements of business constraints are broadly comparable. We discuss a number of factors that would help to unleash the full potential of private sector‐led growth in rural areas. Marginal improvements of the rural investment climate matter for growth.     

The role of small enterprises in the household and national economy in Kenya: A significant contribution or a last resort?

Based on a nationwide survey, this article addresses the contribution of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) to employment, national income, and household income in Kenya. One-third of all working persons are employed in MSEs and the sector contributes 13% to national income. Despite their large contribution as a whole, returns to individual MSEs vary tremendously. Among those MSEs that represent the sole source of income for the household, 72% make less than the absolute poverty line in urban areas and none of the MSEs in rural areas make above the absolute poverty line. Comparing hourly MSE returns to average earnings in the private sector, the majority make below the average earnings while a minority make significantly higher earnings.     

Effects of gender on the performance of micro and small enterprises in Malawi

Women are increasingly venturing into ownership of micro and small enterprises, either on their own or in partnership with male entrepreneurs. Using national survey data from Malawi, this study compares the performance of enterprises owned by females with those owned by males. The results show that the relationship between gender and business performance is complex. While there are no significant differences in profit margins, female-owned enterprises tend to grow more rapidly in terms of employment than male-owned ones. Gender-based regression results also show that while there are common factors that affect the performance of both kinds of enterprise, there are also differential effects in which education is a critical factor for the success of female-owned enterprises.     

Desegregation in Pietersburg after the repeal of the Group Areas Act

Since the Group Areas Act was repealed in 1991, black people have for the first time become legal home‐owners in previously whites‐only areas of South African cities. This survey is concerned with residential changes in Pietersburg between June 1991 and May 1993. The residential location of black people was monitored and mapped, and the first new black home‐owners were interviewed to determine their reasons for moving to Pietersburg. The survey shows that only blacks in the middle‐ and high‐income groups made the move, and that property values were not a deciding factor in the purchase of a home.     

An assessment of survivalist enterprises in the Capricorn District Municipality

This study aims to reconcile diverging views on public-sector support for survivalist enterprises. The study assessed all 566 survivalist enterprises in the records of the Capricorn District Municipality of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Data on variables such as demographic characteristics and the types of items traded were collected through questionnaires and analysed by means of cross-tabulations in the SPSS software program. The study found that most survivalist entrepreneurs had obtained at least a secondary education. Women ran the majority of these enterprises, and youth participation was also substantial. The study recommended providing these entrepreneurs with training in technical and financial management skills, but employing differentiated training strategies for urban and rural enterprises, as well as specifically targeting young entrepreneurs. Training should be conducted at a time that suits the entrepreneurs, for instance when business activity is lower.