Requirements put in place by funding institutions continue to hamper positive growth of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME). This was said by Deputy Minister Thabethe at the conclusion of the two-day National Small Business Summit that was hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) and the Mpumalanga Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (Dedet), in White River, Mpumalanga this week.
The summit, which concluded yesterday, aimed to provide a platform for stakeholders using the mandate of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME) development in order to engage on government SMME programmes and to possibly find solutions to challenges facing small enterprises in South Africa.
Day two of the summit consisted of four breakaway sessions where delegates deliberated on four themes ranging from infrastructure development as a stimulant for economic growth, creating demand for small enterprise products and services, increasing supply for financial and non-financial support and the reduction of regulatory constraints and seeking possible solutions.
“In my observations from the commission reports it is evident that there are many issues that still pose problems to the SMME sector. The ones that stood out most are issues around lack of coordination between the three spheres of government, the need for micro finance at micro-finance level and the need to establish more youth driven cooperatives,” said Thabethe.
She added that all programmes both at provincial and national levels should give preference to women, children and people living with disabilities. Some of the key points mentioned in the reports were barriers to market entry, lack of capacity to tender for big projects and transparency by government on tender projects.
“We have deliberated about various challenges over these past two days. We will receive reports from this year’s Summit. We will also look at additions where there are and will implement the resolutions in order to enhance our small enterprise sector,” stated Deputy Minister Thabethe. .
The summit was attended by more than 500 entrepreneurs, 50 exhibitors; small business financiers, academia, consultants and experts, as well as small business policy-makers from the three spheres of government attended the summit. The theme for this year’s summit was “The role of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises in South Africa’s Industrialisation Path”.
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Sidwell Medupe, departmental spokesperson
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