Small Business Development

Promoting Small Business Development through Our SMME Incubator Process

Small business development has vast growth potential on the African continent; the focus has become the development of what is today known as SMMEs (small, medium and micro enterprises).  SMME development empowers local communities and creates employment opportunities, stimulating poor communities and assisting with the process of undoing some of the most prevalent social ills, examples of which are:

• disease
• social dysfunction
• unemployment
• poverty
• crime

It also assists in stimulating economic development.

Small Business Development through Enterprise Development

There are several approaches to small business development and it is achieved by allowing those smaller, community-based enterprises to flourish and affording them the opportunity to create jobs and to develop within their communities.  One of the approaches is through business development services, whereby we aim to build those markets in services that aim to improve the performance of certain of the individual enterprises and teach them to become self-sufficient; these may include:

• training
• consultancy
• marketing
• information technology

Women's Development

Small business development should also focus on women, who are still being discriminated against and excluded from business in some domains.  The aim is to empower women to not only overcome the stigma, but also to gain access to the necessary skills and knowledge that will help them become entrepreneurs in their own right and with their own flourishing small enterprises.

Green Development and Community Development

Another two approaches to small business development are the environmental (“green”) approach and uplifting communities at grass-roots level.  The green movement has gained a lot of momentum of late and the shift towards a green and environmentally responsible approach has been widespread; companies are contributing towards the environmental cause and raising funds in the process.  This outlook can be favourable not only to the environment, but also for empowering the impoverished and generating jobs.  On its part, community development starts with an analysis of the economy of the region and of what the community can offer.  Opportunities can be targeted once they have been identified, transforming and enhancing into self-sustaining businesses.

Private Partnerships

Do not underestimate the power of private partnerships in small business development, because many emerging enterprises are supported by private industry.  These private sector partners may be actively working in emerging enterprises, developing skills; these partnerships are more likely to produce successful businesses if we assist with providing financial aid and skills.

Benefits of Investing in Small Business Development

Unemployment and poverty can be combated successfully by supporting SMMEs and investing in these enterprises can yield many benefits; some of them are:

• Training programmes (to enhance entrepreneurial skills and business development – teach the steps to evolve from a basic subsistence business to an income-generating, growing business)
• Growing opportunities (from the original idea to an actual, functioning business – practical support and advice on financing, business management and tendering are required to start a business)
• Assisting in providing vocational skills to marginalised groups (like women, rural or disable people and the unemployed – the creation of income-generating opportunities)
• Education on business (to assist community members and informal traders to manage their businesses and finances – a critical building block to small business development)