Entrepreneurship In South Africa Research Articles

The Financial Literacy of Micro Entrepreneurs in South Africa

The research investigated the level of financial literacy of the owners of new micro-enterprises in South Africa. This study used financial planning, analysis and control, book-keeping, understandi...

Immigrant Entrepreneurship in South Africa: Current Literature and Research Opportunities

Immigrant entrepreneurship is significant for employment creation and economic growth in South Africa. The study reviewed the current literature on immigrant entrepreneurship in South Africa. Twent...

Working Capital Management Practices of Immigrant Entrepreneurs in South Africa

The study investigated the working management practices of immigrant entrepreneurs in South Africa. Effective working capital management is critical to the survival of firms. Data was collected through the use of self-administered questionnaire in a survey. Convenience sampling and the snowball sampling methods were used. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis. The results showed that immigrant entrepreneurs on the average keep accounting books. The use of computer for operations is limited. Most of the respondents have bank accounts, do not bank their takings daily and do not prepare cash budgets. Most of the respondents buy and sell on credit. There is no written credit policy in place. Recommendations to improve the working capital management practices of immigrant entrepreneurs are suggested. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n10p52

Overview of Women Entrepreneurs in South Africa

This paper provides an overview of women entrepreneurs in South Africa. The paper also investigates the contribution and significance of women entrepreneurs to the South African economy. Government support strategies offered to women entrepreneurs are also discussed. Literature review from various sources was used to gather data. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n9p127

An Analysis of Local and Immigrant Entrepreneurs in South Africa’s SME Sector

This study was undertaken to investigate the motivation, intention, culture and business performance of South African and immigrant entrepreneurs in the small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) sector. The effect of these factors on entrepreneurship was assessed. This was necessitated by the continued low competitive ranking and poor performance of South African entrepreneurs compared to other nationals in studies such as the GEM reports. Questionnaire was used to collect data through interviewer and administrated and a self-administered survey from 500 SMMEs and 93% questionnaires were returned. The results of the study showed that there is no significant difference between motivation to start a business and the origin of the sampled SMME owners in the retail industry of Gauteng province. The results show that a significant difference does not exist between the owner’s origin and culture. This implies that the variable “origin of owner(s)” is not a determining factor in one’s culture to start a business. Results also showed that there is no significant difference between the mean scores of the origin of the owner and business performance. This implies that the performance of business is not informed by whether the owner is local or foreign. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n9p189

Factors within the Business Regulatory Environment Affecting Entrepreneurial Activity in South Africa

The existing literature on factors affecting the level of entrepreneurship in South Africa has focused mainly on factors such as lack of finance, lack of education and business skills, crime, poor infrastructure and support system, among others and their influence on starting and survival of new businesses in South Africa. Despite the widely held contention that the business regulatory environment is among the chief factors hindering the entrepreneurial activity in South Africa, there is no/little empirical evidence to support this contention. Therefore, this paper investigates the factors within the businesses regulatory environment and their impact in the process of starting new businesses in South Africa. For this purpose a triangulation that involved both quantitative and qualitative research methods was employed. The results of the investigation revealed that bureaucracy, corruption, policy credibility, policy compliances and labour restrictions are the chief factors within the business regulatory environment that affect the process of starting new businesses. Furthermore, the study also found a positive and significance correlation between bureaucracy and corruption. Therefore, the study recommends policies to curb bureaucracy and corruption, flexibility in labour regulations, favourable compliance procedures as well as a more stable and credible policy environment that reduce hurdles in the process of starting new businesses. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n6p109

The Impact of Gender on Start-up Capital: A Case of Women Entrepreneurs in South Africa

In South Africa, women entrepreneurs do not enjoy the same opportunities as men in accessing start-up capital due to a number of discriminatory practices embedded in lending models. This study seeks to understand the gender-specific barriers to raising start-up capital, and adopts a mixed methods approach that includes semi-structured interviews with experts and a survey of women entrepreneurs. All participants were from the small business sector in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The findings revealed the gendered nature of start-up capital for women entrepreneurs in South Africa, and the difficulty women face in venturing into non-traditional industries. The findings build on previous research by focusing on the intersection between women’s contribution to the economy and their production activities in the informal and domestic context. This study calls for the activities of women entrepreneurs in these sectors of the economy to be recognised within lending models, and as constituting a valuable area of economic growth.

Entrepreneurship in South Africa: looking beyond funding

Purpose – In the past years, several initiatives were implemented in South Africa to encourage entrepreneurship. In this paper, we try to answer the question: what services South African entrepreneurs want? In order to do so, the services offered by Enablis, a Canadian NGO whose purpose is to encourage entrepreneurship in South Africa are analyzed. Design/methodology/approach – Using a qualitative case study approach, this paper presents the point of view of entrepreneurs in South Africa. Findings – Surprisingly, we found that entrepreneurs want first and foremost networking opportunities. Human capital, expressed through training and developing entrepreneurs' skills is another key issue. Finally, access to financing is only the third priority for South African entrepreneurs. Originality/value – This research allowed the identification of the needs of entrepreneurs and provides an insight into entrepreneurship in South Africa.

An Insight into the Human Resource Management Practices Adopted by Entrepreneurs in South Africa

Journal of Anthropology and Archaeology is a peer-reviewed international journal, which publishes original papers promoting theoretical, methodological and empirical developments in the discipline of socio-cultural anthropology.

The Competitive Intelligence Activity of Immigrant Entrepreneurs in South Africa

The objective of the study was to investigate empirically the competitive intelligence activity of immigrant-owned businesses in South Africa. Immigrant-owned businesses in South Africa face severe competitive pressures. Competitive intelligence is one of the ways to gain and sustain competitive advantage. Da ta was collected through the use of self-administered questionnaire in a survey. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and the T-test. The results indicate that immigrant entrepreneu rs ha ve a good attitude towards competitive intelligence. However, there is no formalised competitive intelligence gathering process. Recommenda tions on how to improve the competitive intelligence process are suggested.

Entrepreneurship in motion: Towards an interdisciplinary and an eclectic perspective

<p>During the past two decades there has been a heightened policy and research interest in the entrepreneur and entrepreneurship in South Africa and other countries. The recent focus on entrepreneurship has made an understanding that the nature or role of entrepreneurs is essential for economic growth and business development. Without entrepreneurs, there cannot be any entrepreneurship, whether in a large or small venture. It is increasingly realized that SMME entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship are critical to the generation of output growth, employment creation, wealth expansion, revenue generation and poverty alleviation for individual and national prosperity, when many large firms are downsizing and retrenching labour, amidst a background of recessionary circumstances and fiscal stress. Entrepreneurship has been conceptualized by different schools of thought, stressing different functions, under diverse circumstances in different historical times. This paper critically examines the nature of entrepreneurship by selectively drawing from the economic, management and psychological schools. It then presents an eclectic view of entrepreneurship related to decision-making ability under conditions of uncertainty by individuals who have access to and can control the utilization of resources in response to opportunities. The paper offers some pointers for enhancing the supply of effective entrepreneurship at the national level in South Africa, and suggests that an interdisciplinary approach is needed to gain a better understanding of entrepreneurship.</p>

An Investigation into the Financial Bootstrapping Methods Used by Immigrant Entrepreneurs in South Africa

This study investigates the financial bootstrapping methods used by immigrant entrepreneurs in South Africa. Access to formal debt and equity markets is limited for immigrant entrepreneurs. Data was collected through the use of self-administered questionnaire in a survey. Factor analysis identified five bootstrapping methods used by immigrant entrepreneurs. The methods are owners' resources, management of accounts receivable, sharing resources, delaying payment and minimising investment. Recommendations on how immigrants can improve the use of financial bootstrapping are suggested.

The Determinants of Immigrant Entrepreneurs’ Growth Expectations in South Africa

The objective of the study was to investigate empirically the determinants of growth expectations of immigrant entrepreneurs in South Africa. It is of significance to understand the characteristics and attributes of growth-oriented immigrant entrepreneurs in order to further understand the features associated with firm growth. Growth-oriented firms are vital to employment creation. Data was collected through the use of self-a dministered questionnaire in a survey of one hundred and nineteen new immigrant entrepreneurs. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used for data analysis. The results indicated that high education, managerial experience, related experience, motivation and networking are entrepreneur's/founder's attributes that are significant predictors of growth expectations. In addition, the results indicated that innovation and adequate access to finance are firm- level attributes that are significant predictors of growth expectations.

Are Northern Practices for Supporting Entrepreneurs Transferable to the South?

The authors explore the question of model transferability from North to South through a case study of a Canadian non-governmental organization (NGO) which supports entrepreneurs in South Africa. The analysis shows that the transfer to the South of an entrepreneurial support model developed in the North has significant limitations because of country specificities. It becomes apparent that adaptations are necessary to ensure the adequacy of the model in the particular context of the targeted country. Success factors and adaptation strategies were identified based on the limitations to transferability. These limitations relate to consideration of the local business sectors, consideration of lenders' and stakeholders' expectations, establishing partnerships with local players, internal capacity building, segmentation of services according to entrepreneur types, activities targeted at entrepreneur service customization and, finally, the use of quantitative and qualitative indicators and the balance between expansion and consolidation of the organization.

Continuity and Change: Black Entrepreneurship in South Africa

One of the most under-appreciated consequences of the transition from apartheid to non-racial democracy in South Africa is the unprecedented rise in the number and relative economic and political power of entrepreneurs in various sectors of the economy from which they were previously excluded by over 800 laws and by social conventions. This change is occurring probably faster than was the case for previously excluded populations in the United States, Brazil, Malaysia, and certainly in Namibia, Zimbabwe and even several other non-settler African countries at comparable periods in their post-liberation experiences. This runs counter to the deafening but short-sighted claims that business development or black economic empowerment (BEE) specifically, has benefited a few politically-connected fat cats. Along with about 400,000 new entrants into the salaried middle classes each year, entrepreneurs are darkening the face of South Africa's economy, even though wealth is still disproportionately concentrated in the hands of the 9 percent white minority. Yet, a balanced and long-term view of these transformations suggests that the rise of enterprise into the economic mainstream will have tremendous implications for political struggles and for South Africa's democracy overall.

For whom the Bells Toll : Unemployed Youth and the Compelling Case for Entrepreneurship in South Africa

This paper examines the extremely high rate of unemployment amongst the youth in South Africa and then makes a compelling case for the development of entrepreneurship. Throughout economic history, theoretical explanations of the inextricable relationship between unemployment and entrepreneurship have been shrouded in uncertainty. There are proponents who opine that unemployment stimulates entrepreneurial activity and those who advocate that higher levels of entrepreneurship reduce unemployment. This paper uses the latter position as a theoretical framework for analysis. The final section concludes by recommending that the South African development state together with the private sector makes a concerted effort to deliberately encourage the development of entrepreneurship with the express hope that the process will reduce the rate of unemployment in the country.

Influence of the Institutional Environment on Entrepreneurial Intentions in an Emerging Economy

Building on the literature on institutions, this paper examines the regulatory, normative and cognitive institutional dimensions that may influence entrepreneurial intentions in an emerging market context. Recognizing that idiosyncrasies and barriers in the institutional dimensions of emerging economies contrast with those of the developed market economies, hypotheses are formulated and tested using correlation and regression analyses. Results from a sample of 199 respondents indicate that perceptions of the different institutional dimensions are positively but not significantly correlated with entrepreneurial intentions. These findings suggest that public policy makers and market entrants need to be aware of the less than favourable conditions for entrepreneurship in South Africa, and of the numerous and often conflicting institutional pressures and constraints faced by potential entrepreneurs.

Barriers to Student Entrepreneurship in South Africa

As rising unemployment levels continually erode job opportunities in South Africa, it is sensible to assume that entrepreneurship would be considered as the next-best career option; however, university graduates show very little interest in becoming entrepreneurs. Having observed this disinterest, South African economic policies have put in place initiatives encouraging youth entrepreneurship; however, these have failed to significantly affect the willingness to engage in entrepreneurial activities. It is against this background that this paper investigates barriers to entrepreneurship as experienced by students. A survey of 235 university students was conducted. Their views regarding entrepreneurship were collected by means of self-completion questionnaires and studied using cluster analysis. It was concluded that a taxonomy of two distinct categories of student exist – sceptics and optimists – based on respondents’ predispositions to entrepreneurship barriers. The author identifies the themes that underlie the formation of the taxonomy, namely, family and social influence, exposure to entrepreneurial activity, entrepreneurial support, and education. The paper concludes with a discussion of practical solutions and strategies to mitigate the problem of a lack of student entrepreneurship.

University entrepreneurship in South Africa: Developments in technology transfer practices

Although formalised practices of technology transfer at research institutions are well established in many developed countries, these practices are still very much in their infancy in South Africa. The country is however currently focused on improving technology transfer activities and measuring the performance thereof, as exemplified by the recent implementation of a new intellectual property act. In support of the latter and in an effort to obtain an accurate overview of the status quo of technology transfer in South Africa, it was decided to evaluate organisational structures and key factors determining successful technology transfer at 13 publicly funded research institutions. It is recommended that technology transfer practices in South Africa be further strengthened through the expansion of dynamic collaborative networks and communities of practice. Crucial to these objectives is the development of appropriate metrics for measuring the successes and impact of technology transfer, taking into account the socio-economic and institutional specificities in South Africa.

South African University students' intentions to establish social Enterprises

<p>Stimulating social entrepreneurship in South Africa has the potential to address not only the high youth unemployment rate in the country, but also other pressing social and environmental challenges. This study was conducted as part of the 2011 Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students’ Survey and focused on South African university students’ intentions to start social enterprises. The findings, based on 673 responses to an online questionnaire, reveal that the majority of respondents had such an intention. However, less than half of this group mentioned the specific type of environmental or social mission that they would like to pursue. Despite more males than females being currently engaged in social entrepreneurship activities in South Africa, no statistically significant difference was found in this study between the intentions of male and female respondents in starting a social enterprise. African language speakers and students enrolled for qualifications in the social sciences were, however, statistically more likely to start social enterprises. Education is a critical factor in achieving increased levels of social entrepreneurship activity; however, fundamental interventions in the education system are required to achieve this objective.</p><strong>KEYWORDS:</strong> Entrepreneurship education; Environmental challenges; Generation Y; HIV and AIDS; Social challenges; Social entrepreneurship; Social enterprises; South Africa; Youth unemployment