Johannesburg – President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasized the critical role of Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and cooperatives in stimulating economic growth and job creation in South Africa. He shared these insights while addressing the 2nd National Presidential SMME and Cooperatives Awards in Johannesburg on Friday night.
According to South African Government News Agency, supporting entrepreneurs and SMMEs and strengthening the ecosystem around them is essential for the country’s economic development. The current global volatility, including supply chain disruptions, high inflation, and depressed market demand, have hindered recovery efforts post-COVID-19, posing challenges for governments to stimulate the economy with limited fiscal resources.
Ramaphosa highlighted the progress made by the Department of Small Business Development since the introduction of the country’s third iteration of the SMME strategy almost a year ago. The National Small Enterprise Development Strategic Framework is designed to build practical partnerships within the broader ecosystem to promote entrepreneurship and growth of SMMEs.
The President announced the formation of a new one-stop small enterprise agency, which will consolidate the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA), the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA), and the Co-operatives Banks Development Agency (CBDA). This strategic framework focuses on four key areas: reducing red tape and regulatory burdens, addressing market concentration and enabling market access, increasing access to finance and support for entrepreneurship.
Addressing the business licensing process, Ramaphosa mentioned the upcoming gazetting of the Business Licensing Amendment Bill. He acknowledged the need for further efforts, particularly in supporting tech start-ups with foreign exchange controls and local registration of intellectual property.
The President also pointed out the administration’s target of establishing 100 new small enterprise incubators, with 110 already established and another 11 under development. He cited the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, noting the increase in the working-age population involved in business start-ups in South Africa, from 6.5% in 2001 to 17.5% in 2021.
This growth aligns with the National Development Plan’s vision of creating 11 million jobs by 2030, with small enterprises expected to generate nine million of these jobs. Ramaphosa called for scaling up interventions to create a conducive environment for SMMEs and urged the private sector to contribute.
He concluded by congratulating the award winners and runners-up at the event, recognizing their role in revitalizing the economy and improving South Africa’s global competitiveness through their innovation and entrepreneurship.