Small business development, entrepreneurship and expanding the business sector in a developing economy: The case of South Africa

Policy Paper (Interest) 14

A dynamic small business sector can make an important contribution, not only in employment creation, but also in lessening concentration in South Africa’s generally oligopolistic industrial structure. However, for the small business sector to make a meaningful contribution to the economy it needs to be integrated into the mainstream. This is going to require a concerted effort both from government and the formal private sector. The paper investigates how the South African private sector views small business and whether it is making a concerted effort at integrating this sector into the framework of the economy as a whole.