Small businesses ‘a viable career option’

PERCEPTIONS around entrepreneurship in South Africa need to change, as more people regard it as a back-up plan if they are unemployed, rather than a viable career option.

This is according to Mark Paper, chief operations officer at Business Partners International, following the recent publication of the 2017/18 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s Report, which ranked South Africa’s entrepreneurial spirit at 42 out of 54 countries.

The positive news is that total early-stage entrepreneurial activity in South Africa is at 11%, which is an improvement of more than 4 percentage points compared with 6.9% recorded in 2016. Despite entrepreneurial activity showing such a substantial increase, it is ranked only 27th of the 54 countries surveyed.

Paper said South Africa’s low ranking was an indication that more needs to be done to lay the groundwork for entrepreneurship and small business development in the country. “We believe that some of this improvement is due to the slight uptick in the economic outlook in South Africa during 2017.

“There has also been a realisation of the need to promote small businesses in the country, as well as tax relief for small businesses. A lot of work has also been done to improve access to business funding and to create an easier regulatory environment,” said Paper.

He added, however, that there were still some significant barriers that could continue to keep South Africa’s GEM ranking at its disappointing level. “This research highlights that the quality of entrepreneurship in South Africa is weaker than in other African countries.

“Looking at the calibre of South African SMEs’ housekeeping, governance, innovation and ability to function in a regulatory environment, I would, however, disagree with this notion. We need to change the way we view entrepreneurship as a country, getting over the mindset that entrepreneurship is a back-up plan and rather see it as an inspiring and viable career choice,” said Paper.

He said entrepreneurship should be celebrated and rewarded, and these exceptional people should be rewarded for their contributions to the economy. Paper said while all stakeholders needed to continue to work together to lower the barriers to entry for SMEs in the country, the report provided hope for the industry in the coming years.