...role that small businesses play in the economy of South Africa. It discusses the role of small businesses in creating jobs, developing of new products and new markets, the flexibility of small businesses to changing markets as well as their aggregate taxes. Promoting small businesses makes sense as an economic development strategy, but with some qualifications. Small businesses are potent job creators, but so are large businesses. The attribution of the bulk of net job creation to small businesses arises largely from relatively large job losses in large firms, not to especially robust job creation by small firms. More importantly, data show that large businesses offer better jobs than small businesses, on average, in terms of both compensation and stability. Further, there is little convincing evidence to suggest that small businesses have an edge over larger businesses in innovation. However, research and experience show that pursuing large businesses is likely to be a poor economic development strategy, which suggests that promoting and fostering small businesses may offer a more viable alternative. Small businesses also contribute to the tax returns in the country. Although their contribution is far lesser than those larger companies provide, it still counts. The competition that small businesses stimulate is a driving force in the economy, as well as a challenge to the larger companies. Background Reading Small, medium and micro-enterprise (SMME) development was identified...
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...INTRODUCTION There is no universally agreed definition of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Some define them in terms of their total revenue, while others use the number of employees as an indicator. The European Union defines a medium-sized enterprise as one with a headcount of 250, a small firm as one with a headcount of less than 50 and a microenterprise as one with a maximum of 10 employees. The National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) which is the regulatory body for SMEs in Ghana defines SMEs in terms of both fixed asset and number of employees. It defines an SME as an enterprise with turnover greater than US$200,000 and not more than US$5 million equivalent (NBSSI) The SME market constitutes the vast majority of businesses in Ghana and over the years has evolved to become the key supplier and service provider to large corporations, including multinational and transnational corporations. Principally, SME’s has contributed to: Expanding output; Providing value-added activities in the manufacturing sector; Creating employment opportunities especially in the services sector; Contributing to broadening Ghana‟s export base; Increased competition; Innovation; SMEs are important to almost all economies in the world, especially to those in developing countries. They contribute to productivity and job creation; they serve as a nursery for larger firms constituting the next step for micro enterprises (Palma and Gabriel, 2005). In addition, SMEs...
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...Institute of Technology mnmnm THE ROLE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH - A CASE STUDY OF MATORI LGA IN LAGOS, NIGERIA By Patrick Onuorah Supervisor Klaus Solberg Söilen [pic] ABSTRACT This study, the role of small and medium sized enterprises for economic growth, was undertaken to find out how SME sub-sector in Nigeria has performed and its impact on the economic growth of the country. Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) is accepted globally as a tool for empowering the citizenry and economic growth. It has been associated with the rapid economic growth of countries in Asia and North America. In Nigeria efforts have been made by successive governments to reduce poverty and accelerate economic growth by increasing foreign direct investment, diversifying the economy, enacting policy frameworks which favour small business ownership and sometimes initiating employment and entrepreneurship programmes. Specifically this study tends to figure out: how profitable SME business is; whether infrastructural development could be attributed to the presence of SMEs; if significant number of people are employed within the SME sector; whether the SME market has attracted banks and financial institutions with increase in loans and incentives; whether there is increase in information Technology related businesses due to presence of SMEs and if there is need for the government...
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... KOSHYS INSTITUTE OF MANGEMENT STUDIES NO-31/1 , HENNUR BAGALUR ROAD KADUSONNAPPANAHALLI , KANNUR POST, BANGALORE – 562149, KARNATAKA Email- akashbh89@yahoo.com , subhadeepm@yahoo.in Mobile No- 8892722750 , 8892722760 Social, Environmental and Economic responsibilities of Business in India Abstract :- This paper focuses on business social responsibility by small businesses in small towns. We use the term “business social responsibility” instead of the more common term, “corporate social responsibility,” in order to expand the frame of reference to all for-profit businesses, not only corporations. The paper is organized as follows. We begin by explaining why small businesses and small towns are important for business social responsibility. We develop a conceptual framework as a way to organize, and provide a vocabulary for, the review of the literature on small town and small business social responsibility that follows. We consider antecedents and consequences of business social responsibility for small businesses and businesses in small towns. Finally, we discuss the state of knowledge on this subject and identifying issues for future research. This paper emphasize that businesses...
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...The Differences between Entrepreneurship and Small Businesses; Strategies to create a Strong Entrepreneurs Shakarra Warner Principles of Management 27 January 2015 The Differences between Entrepreneurship and Small Businesses; Strategies to create a Strong Entrepreneurs In the modern world, people do not always rely on the traditional aspect of working for someone or a company. Many individuals want more control and power over their lives and money. With inspiration from a hobby or skill, some people decide to become entrepreneurs. According to Bateman and Snell, 2013 “…an entrepreneur is an enterprising individual who pursues a lucrative opportunity.” Entrepreneurs increase job development and decrease unemployment amounts that affect the economic growth. With all the benefits of entrepreneurship, state agencies strive to promote the awareness of resources available to build a better economic system while distinguishing an enterprise from a small business. Sometimes there is confusion between the meaning of entrepreneur and small business owner. Entrepreneurs are managers just as small business owners, but in a less formal aspect and without a hierarchy of management levels (Bateman and Snell, 2013). Entrepreneurs make an effort for growth and high profitability as their principal objective, whereas small businesses expect regular to reasonable sales and fixed growth (Bateman and Snell, 2013). It is important to know the difference between the two when deciding the types...
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...this introduction on Nigeria’s economic development challenge, this paper reviews business economics, outlining the relationship with innovation and social entrepreneurship. It also presents a holistic framework for economic development covering the individual, firm and macro levels, and outlines the roles of stakeholders at each level, in fostering national development. It concludes by calling on all stakeholders to play their part in leveraging entrepreneurship and all aspects of business economics to unleash the wealth of human capital that Nigeria is endowed with so that more people can participate in the transformation of Nigeria. Nigeria as the most populous country in Africa is naturally endowed with millions and millions of acres of arable land, 38.5 billion barrels of stated oil reserves, vast gas reserves, a variety of unexploited minerals, and a wealth of human capital by virtue of its estimated population of 150 million. It is the world’s eighth largest exporter of oil, and Africa’s second largest economy, after South Africa. Nigeria accounts for 15 per cent of Africa’s population, contributes 11 per cent of Africa’s total output and 16 per cent of its foreign reserves while it accounts for half of the population and more than two-thirds of the output of the West Africa sub-region. It has been at the forefront of the resolution of many political challenges in Africa. Over the last decade, Nigeria has implemented far reaching economic reforms aimed at improving macroeconomic...
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...A study of factors related to successful and failure of entrepreneurs of small industrial business with emphasis on their level of education and training Yadollah Mehralizadeh (PhD)1 & Hossain Sajady (PhD)2 (With Ahmad Zandavanian and Yaser Timoury) Abstract This paper examines the determinants of business start-up, long and short-term success, and failure of small businesses. Entrepreneurs and small firm success and failure have been the subject of extensive research. It is important to understand the external, internal, and motivational factors responsible for business start-up, the barriers faced during the initial and continuous stages of trading and the advice and assistance available to entrepreneurs. This paper is aiming in explaining the main factors are related to successful, and failure of entrepreneurs in small industrial business in Ahvaz city3. Based on a random sampling 51 enterprisers marked as successful and failures are selected. The data collected based on a triangulation method (interview, questionnaire, and observation). The results show that: a- from the failure entrepreneurs point of view the following issues were important effects on their weak performance and failure their business: weak managing technical skills, financial issues, planning and organizing of their business, economic issues, informal issues, weak managing conceptual skills, personnel skills, education and low training, and weak human relation. b- from the successful entrepreneurs point...
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...Entrepreneurship Development Foundation Public Finance Monitoring Center Baku Political Research and Advocacy Center With support of Center for International Private Enterprise (Washington D.C., USA) National Endowment for Democracy NATIONAL bUSINESS AGENDA for the improvement of the business climate in Azerbaijan in 2009 (1st edition, September 2008) CONTENTS |Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………. |3 | |1. Institutional reform …………………………………………………………….. |4 | |2. The introduction of European definitions of small businesses ……………………………………………………………………………... | | | |5 | |3. Regulatory reform ………………………………………………………………... |6 | |4. The improvement of the tax regime …………………………………….. |7 | |5. Reform of the licensing system ……………………………………………. |10 | |6. Improvement of property registration system ……………………...
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...LITERATURE REVIEW ON SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES’ ACCESS TO CREDIT AND SUPPORT IN SOUTH AFRICA December, 2011 Literature Review on Small and Medium Enterprises’ Access to Credit and Support in South Africa Prepared for National Credit Regulator (NCR) Compiled by Underhill Corporate Solutions (UCS) Project Manager and Lead Researcher: Edmore Mahembe Contact Details: Edmore Mahembe 357 Flowers Street Capital Park, 0084 Cell: +27 (0)83 757 3733 Phone: +27 (0)12 751 3237 Fax: 086 540 7052/ 086 639 8976 E-mail: eddiem@underhillsolutions.co.za info@underhillsolutions.co.za Website: www.underhillsolutions.co.za Pretoria, South Africa December, 2011 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research team wishes to acknowledge the co-operation of the following organisations and individuals that helped attain the goals of the evaluation. 1. National Credit Regulator (NCR) for the opportunity afforded to Underhill Corporate Solutions (the research consultants) to conduct this study “Literature Review on Small and Medium Enterprises’ Access to Credit And Support in South Africa”. 2. Client project managers: Thandile Gubevu and Darrell Beghin, for facilitating the overall project exercise and the useful comments on the draft report that helped shape the format of the final report. 3. NCR board members; for useful and valuable comments on the draft report that helped in the development of detailed and well informed recommendations. 4. Finally, special appreciation to key research team members, namely;...
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...A small state can be defined as a country which has a domestic population of below 1.5 million as stated by the World Bank and the Caribbean is a classic example of a cluster of these said small states. Although the Caribbean small states are diverse in nature and characteristics of culture and society, they all embody similar structural characteristics which impede on their ability to reach the level of economic development of large territories. These characteristics include but are not limited to: Small size and Openness. Small states are not only small in land mass and geographical structure but small in terms of population. This is a constraint that hinders development in numerous ways. Firstly, the small land mass limits the availability of natural resources. As known, natural resources are heavily depended on in Caribbean territories to generate foreign currency. This foreign currency is then used to finance external debt and domestic government expenses. Without the abundance of enough natural resources like land, minerals and agriculture the country’s capacity to generate foreign currency dwindles and hampers economic development. The geography of the small islands emphasizes its vulnerability to natural disasters. The small Caribbean states are made up of volcanoes, located above the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates and located between 0-23o Latitude North where hurricanes are most dominant. All of these factors contribute to the Caribbean’s susceptibility...
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...in Nigeria Okezie A. Ihugba Alex Odii Asoluka C. Njoku Department of Economics, Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri-Imo State, Nigeria Doi:10.5901/ajis.2012.v2n5p25 Abtsract The success of generating income for majority of rural and urban dwellers with no formal paid employment highly depends on Entrepreneurship. They are the backbone of economic development all over the world and play important role for employment, income and societal changes, particularly in transition economies like Nigeria. This paper is concerned with the nature and the extent to which entrepreneurship in Nigeria has been developed so far, and outlines the initiative by government and also the main current and future challenges and perspectives for the development of entrepreneurship. The study revealed that such initiatives by government failed abysmally due to over bearing bureaucracies, corruption, inadequate and inefficient infrastructural facilities and maladministration. The paper concludes that entrepreneurship miracle in other country is an engine for job creation; innovation and diversity and Nigeria’s entrepreneurs have a long way to go before they can effectively drive changes in the economy and recommends that Government (policy makers) should genuine recognize the essence of entrepreneurship to economic development by providing the enabling environment for private sector led investment for economic development and also provide adequate infra-structural facilities (water, electricity...
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...Executive Summary Entrepreneurs play a vital role in economic development as key contributors to technological innovation and new job growth. Further, entrepreneurs help build communities in ways such as providing jobs, conducting business locally, creating and participating in entrepreneurial networks, investing in community projects, and giving to local charities. Realizing both the economic and social impact of entrepreneurship, many states and local communities have implemented aggressive strategies aimed at cultivating and nurturing entrepreneurs. In order for governments to effectively develop policies that will foster entrepreneurship, they must first understand the difference between entrepreneurs and small business owners, common misconceptions about entrepreneurs, and where entrepreneurs are located. Using this information, combined with entrepreneurial strategies outlined by the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices, state governments can develop specific and effective measures to support entrepreneurs. While cursory inspection shows entrepreneurial growth companies (EGCs) and small business owners have a lot in common, there are certain distinct differences between the two. Controlled growth and continued profitability are the goal for many small businesses while EGCs are generally geared toward rapid growth and productivity gains. In addition, EGCs often have significant economic effects on a community, accounting for a large portion...
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...INTRODUCTION Many economic development advocates have stated that for a country like Ghana to come to reach the development heights of the developed nation, they must empower their citizens to break the bond of poverty, which is engulfing them. As the world is gradually becoming a global village most countries in the world are making unending quest to attain a higher level of development that is a type of development where most of its people are employed and are earning enough to subsist and perpetuate its generation. SME’s have an important role on many aspects, such as employment, taxes and innovation that most of times is regarded as something on the responsibility of large firms. In “The Theory of Economic Development” Schumpeter (1934) emphasizes the role of entrepreneur, as a prime cause of economic development, which is development achieved through innovation. Taking this into consideration if the entrepreneur has an important role for development, then this role is achieved through the “institution” that he/she represents. SME activities that would help to propel development and promote the wellbeing of the citizenry most governments are now playing various facilitation roles in collaboration with NGOs and other stakeholders to enable the private sector provide diverse goods and services, including job creation for the people. Many developing countries have shifted their strategic economic focus to embrace the development of an entrepreneural middle-class with the...
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...Miranda Levy May 2013 BUS-110-OM1 Economic Development Today, economic development is about establishing profitability and a rising standard of living. The core drivers of prosperity is productivity growth, with innovation being the key driver of productivity. The fundamental focus of economic development should be in supporting innovation, increasing the success of American businesses, and guaranteeing American workers have the skills needed in continuing to be the most productive workforce in the world. By encouraging new ideas, technologies, and methods that lead to better jobs with higher wages, innovation will drive the growth of American industry, and, consequently, a much higher standard of living. Currently the prominent reality of economic development is that we now operate in a worldwide economy, meaning that American businesses must collaborate with countries besides our own (mrsc.org) The National Small Business Association (NSBA) is recognized for its bleak reporting, and recently revealed its outlook for 2013's economic climate. The presence of economic unpredictability was referred to as being the most notable challenge facing small business owners, including issues such as the eurozone crisis (one of the largest economic regions in the world) and decreasing growth in nations such as Spain. Although it may seem as though the economic forecast for 2013 is unpromising, there are some considerable reason for optimism. The United States economy, which...
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...Term Paper on Leadership and Management Leadership and management in Small business Outline In the 21st century era, small and large, private and public businesses are all aiming towards economic growth. However, this growth has slowed following emergence of unprincipled leaders whose main aim has been satisfaction of individual needs as opposed to their employees and customers. With such unethical practices, it is obvious that a strong impact has been witnessed in economic growth, which boils down to declining capital investments and unemployment for small businesses. Emergence of economic uncertainty can be traced back to WorldCom and e-business sector failure (Luthans, Luthans, Hodgetts, & Luthans 2001). Before the famous 9/11 attack, United States economy was already declining following increased unemployment and reduced consumer spending. This condition was further worsened by the 9/11 attack that resulted in increased uncertainty in economic change (Shaw & Shapiro 2002). These changes have challenged the need for leadership and management at all levels of business focusing on ensuring nothing but absolute success. For leadership and management to achieve these roles, there is need for redefinition from the commonly held perspective. Management and leadership are two terms that are commonly and differently used in small businesses and importantly in rejuvenating a dwindling economy. To some people, these terms are seen as synonyms and hence used frequently...
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