SMALL MEDIUM AND MICRO ENTERPRISES

Aliber, M. (2006) Small-scale agriculture and micro-enterprise remain best hope for rural poor. HSRC review. 4(1):6-7.

Employment is declining in the commercial farming sector, aggravating an already difficult situation in rural areas. MICHAEL ALIBER shares the findings of a report that investigates the impact of this decline in four provincial cases studies.

Aliber, M.A. (2002) Overview of the incidence of poverty in South Africa for the 10-Year Review. (Paper commissioned by the President's Office).

Booyens, I. (2011) Are small, medium- and micro-sized enterprises engines of innovation?: the reality in South Africa. Science and Public Policy. 38(1):67-78.

This paper examines the relationship between innovation activity and firm size in the South African context. Based on data from the National Innovation Survey (2002-2004) the paper looks in particular at the nature of innovation by small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs). The main finding is that the innovation rate of SMMEs is relatively high, with small enterprises reporting the hig...

Booyens, I. & Visser, G. (2010) Tourism SMME development on the urban fringe: the case of Parys, South Africa. Urban Forum. 21:367-385.

Tourism is increasingly regarded as a viable avenue for local economic development. Small towns on the urban fringe have benefitted from tourism development in South Africa, the town of Parys being one of them. Parys has experienced tourism development over the past few years which has resulted in local economic growth, as especially reflected in the trade industry, amidst the decline of sector...

Chao, L., Szrek, H., Peltzer, K., Ramlagan, S., Fleming, P., Leite, R., Magerman, J., Ngwenya, G.B., Pereira, N.S. & Behrman, J. (2011) A comparison of EPI sampling, probability sampling, and compact segment sampling methods for micro and small enterprises. Journal of Development Economics. September:Online.

Finding an efficient method for sampling micro- and small-enterprises (MSEs) for research and statistical reporting purposes is a challenge in developing countries, where registries of MSEs are often nonexistent or outdated. This lack of a sampling frame creates an obstacle in finding a representative sample of MSEs. This study uses computer simulations to draw samples from a census of business...

Chao, L., Pauly, M., Szrek, H., Pereira, N.S., Bundred, F., Cross, C. & Gow, J. (2007) Poor health kills small business: illness and microenterprises in South Africa. Health affairs. 26(2):474-482.

Hadland, A. (2004) The people's voice: the development and current state of the SA small media sector. (Paper presented at the SACOMM Media Conference, UPE).

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Hadland, A. & Thorne, K. (2004) The people's voice: the development and current state of the South African small media sector. Cape Town: HSRC Publishers.

The study provides an overview of relevant legislation and policy in South Africa, pre- and post- 1994, as well as a review of international research that reveals global trends in small media development. It sketches the distribution of the sector in South Africa, revealing the topography of service providers and key stakeholders. The report identifies the interests that are common to small ind...

Hadland, A. & Thorne, K. (2003) The people's voice: the development and current state of the South African media sector. (Compiled on behalf of the Media Development and Diversity Agency).

Hart, T.G.B. & Vorster, H.J. (2006) Smallholder potato production activities in South Africa: a socio-economic and technical assessment of five cases in three provinces. (Commissioned by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), December).

Khosa, M.M. (ed). (2001) Empowerment through economic transformation. Cape Town: HSRC Press.

Empowerment through Economic Transformation is the third in a trilogy studying the transformation process in post-apartheid South Africa. It follows two studies published in 2000, Infrastructure Mandates for Change and Empowerment through Service Delivery. This volume examines some of the theoretical issues around the concepts transformation and empowerment, supplemented by 15 case studies. ...

Kraak, A.H., Paterson, A.N.M., Visser, M.M. & Tustin, D. (2000) Baseline survey of industrial training in South Africa. (Commissioned by the Department of Labour: labour market skills development programme, October).

McGrath, S. (2005) 'Skills for productive citizenship for all': the place of skills development for micro and small enterprises in South Africa. Journal of education and work. 18(1):111-125.

Three important elements of a South African vision for high skills must be spreading skills improvements across the population in general, creating policy coherence and constructing new institutions. This article examines these issues through an investigation of the micro and small enterprise (MSE) sector and, in particular, through an analysis of the evolution of policies for this sector over ...

McGrath, S., Martins, J., Smith, J., Cachalia, F. & Kane, K. (2005) Skills development in South Africa's very small and micro enterprise sector. Journal of vocational education and training. 57(4):499.

McGrath, S. (ed). (2005) Skills development in very small and micro enterprises. Cape Town: HSRC Press.

Nonetheless, in this volume, which draws together two studies for the Department of Labour, a picture of the dynamism of many such firms emerges. Considerable learning is going on amongst the highly diverse VSME population and the challenge for the state lies in how to support what is already going on: how to spread it, and how to avoid over-interference in enterprises whose success has typical...

McGrath, S. (2004) Skills development in very small and micro enterprises: issues for policy and practice. (Paper presented to a HSRC-NSF workshop, Pretoria, 30 November).

McGrath, S. & Martins, J. (2004) Training in the very small and micro enterprise (VSME) sector. (Commissioned by the Bureau of Market Research).

McGrath, S.A. (2003) Building skills for very small and micro-enterprises: 10 years of South African experience. (Presentation at the Danida Africa Advisors Meeting, October 8th 2003, Wilderness).

Moodley, S. (2003) E-commerce and export markets: small furniture producers in South Africa. Journal of small business management. 41(3):317-324.

The objective of this paper is to provide a preliminary analytical foundation to help focus the policy debate. The discussion that follows is based on insights gleaned from an exploratory, qualitative survey, undertaken between January and March 2001, of SWFPs that currently are exporting. One hundred five exporting SWFPs listed in the South African Wooden Furniture Trade Directory (2000) were ...

Morphet, T., Davids, Y.D., Prosalendis, S. & Hadland, A. (2006) "Red door" SMME development strategy: impact study report. (Prepared for Department of Economic Development and Tourism, Western Cape, October).

This HSRC report on the impact of the Red Door intervention begins with an assessment of SMME needs and performances in South Africa set in an international context, incorporates both qualitative and quantitative analyses of the 9 offices in the Western Cape and ends with some recommendations, especially in the light of new national SMME initiatives. The Red Door faces the challenge of dealin...

Phaswana-Mafuya, N. & Gasche, J. (2005) Management of HIV/AIDS among small to medium hospitality businesses in Buffalo City, Eastern Cape, South Africa. African journal for physical, health education, recreation and dance (AJPHERD). 11(3):228-248.

Sanchez, D. (2008) Transformation in small, medium and micro enterprises. In: Habib, A. & Bentley, K. (eds). Racial redress & citizenship in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press.

Even if the ANC government has demonstrated an increasing interest in fostering Transformation in small and micro enterprises as part of a broader economic empowerment strategy, the role of SMMEs in this process and the impact of transformation strategies on economic efficiency remain unclear. Considering that an informed debate on the opportunities and challenges faced by these enterprise eme...

Sanchez, D. (2007) Transformation in South Africa: black economic empowerment and small businesses. In: Southall, R. (ed). Conflict and governance in South Africa: moving towards a more just and peaceful society. Lyttelton: Conflict and Governance Facility. 179-201.

Sanchez, D. (2006) Socio-economic transformation in South Africa: black economic empowerment and small, medium and micro enterprises. (Paper presented at a public lecture on Socio-economic transformation after apartheid: black economic empowerment and affirmative action in South African and Namibia, the Nordic African Institute, Uppsalla, June).

Sanchez, D. (2006) Socio-economic transformation in South Africa: black economic empowerment and small, medium and micro enterprises. (Paper presented at the BEE or not BEE workshop: South Africa's Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), Corporate Governance and the state in South Africa, Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen, June).

Schwabe, C.A. (1999) Small market areas (SMAs) for South Africa. (Contact GIS Centre for access rights on 012-3022014).

The Small Market Area (SMA) product of the GIS centre provides all the information needed for planners and businesses to evaluate their present position and especially in defining new areas for growth in South Africa.

Vass, J. & Phakathi, S. (2006) Managing HIV in the workplace: learning from SMEs. Cape Town: HSRC Press.

Awards for excellent performance in mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on the workplace are often handed out to large, well-resourced companies in South Africa. On the other hand, small- and medium-sized companies are often castigated for their relatively poor performance and capacity in such efforts. This study provides an in-depth analysis of the opportunities and constraints faced by six smal...

Vass, J.R. (2008) The role of HIV/AIDS committees in effective workplace governance of HIV/AIDS in South African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Sahara J: Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS. 5(1):2-10.

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the role, status and scope of workplace HIV/AIDS committees as a means of effective workplace governance of the HIV/AIDS impact, and their role in extending social protective HIV/AIDS-related rights to employees. In-depth qualitative case studies were conducted in five South African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that were actively i...

Wilkinson, I. (2009) Innovation comes in small packages. HSRC Review. 7(4):23.

Small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs), a central policy focus area in South Africa, specifically with regard to economic growth and employment creation, have the potential to become engines of innovation. But lack of funding hampers the sector's innovation development. Irma Wilkinson believes that current SMME policies and programmes need to be broadened to stimulate innovation.