Number of South African SMMEs growing
As an emerging country boasting more than 5.6-million small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs), South Africa needs to find ways to increase the contribution of these game changers to the nation’s economic structure.
While there is a lack of reliable data available to help government conduct sector analysis and design policy interventions to assist SMMEs, existing data sources showed there was an indicative upward swing in the number of SMMEs scattered across the country, said Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) Gauteng provincial manager Colin Leshou.
Speaking at the Small Business Indaba, in Kempton Park, on Monday, he said comprehensive surveys revealed that the number of SMMEs had increased from 1.6-million in 2000 to 2.4-million in 2007 and to 5.6-million in 2010.
Of the 5.6-million SMMEs, 3.3-million were survivalist businesses, 1.7-million microenterprises and 554 000 small enterprises.
Further statistics showed that 64% of the survivalists are run by women, while 98% of survivalist businesses are informal business.
Around 92% of microenterprises and 82% of the small businesses are black owned, 75% of microenterprises are informal businesses and 87.3% of small businesses are formal businesses.
With 90% of jobs expected to be created by small businesses, Leshou reiterated the vital role played by SMMEs in the economy.
In future, it would not be multinationals that lead the charge, he said, it would be small private companies that would be able to provide the number of jobs the country required to grow its gross domestic product (GDP).
SMMEs’ contribution to GDP in 2007 was 35% – a target that will be increased to 60% to 80% over the next 10 to 15 years.
Leshou also pointed out that the formal or registered businesses comprised 1.3% survivalists, 24.6% microenterprises and 76.3% small businesses, the latter of which were registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission and which Seda aimed to further develop under several programmes, including the National Gazelles.
The National Gazelles is a national three-year small business growth accelerator funded by Seda and the Department of Small Business Development.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation