Entrepreneurship Development, Innovation and Township Economy in South Africa

Ziyane, Barbara and Arogundade, Sodiq and Osei-Assibey, Kwame (2023): Entrepreneurship Development, Innovation and Township Economy in South Africa.

Abstract

South Africa still grapples with high unemployment, poverty, economic exclusion, and inequality nearly three decades after apartheid ended. Available statistics suggest the presence of hydra-headed issues of poverty, inequality, and unemployment in townships and informal settlements in the country. One primary tool acknowledged by many stakeholders towards addressing these issues is the development of small, medium, and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) through entrepreneurship development. Thus, this study assesses the socio-economic impact of the eKasiLab programme in the Gauteng province, South Africa. In achieving this objective, a combination of qualitative (semi-structured key informant interviews) and quantitive (Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and textual analysis) approaches were adopted. Results from the analysis show that the ekasiLab programme has significantly improved the entrepreneurship development of beneficiaries – treated/control group, despite notable challenges. The impact could be observed in business growth, productivity improvement, job creation and welfare improvement of the control group.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: small, medium, and micro-sized enterprises, eKasiLab programme, township economy, innovation, propensity score matching, textual analysis, South Africa.
• Subjects: M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M2 - Business Economics > M20 - General; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O40 - General

References

Agupusi, P. (2007, July). Small business development and poverty alleviation in Alexandra, South Africa. In Second meeting of the Society for the Study of Economic Inequality. Berlin (pp. 4-9).

Al-Afeef, M.A.M .(2020). The Impact of Small and Medium Enterprises on Gross Domestic Product and Unemployment: Evidence from Jordan 2009-2018. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 10(2), 181-186.

Al-Haddad, L., Sial, M.S., Ali, I., Alam, R., Khuong, N.V & Khanh, T.H.T. (2019). The Role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Employment Generation and Economic Growth: A Study of Marble Industry in Emerging Economy. International Journal of Financial Research, 10(6), 174-187.

Ali, S. The small and medium enterprises and poverty in Pakistan: an empirical analysis. European Journal of Business and Economics, 8(2), 25-30.

Ali, S., Rashid, H and Khan, M.A. (2014). The role of small and medium enterprises and poverty in Pakistan: An empirical analysis. Theoretical and Applied Economics, Volume XXI, No. 4(593), pp. 67-80.

Al-Tamimi, K.A.M and Jaradat, M.S. (2019). The role of small and medium enterprises in reducing the problem of unemployment in Jordan. International Journal of Development and Economic Sustainability, Vol.7, No.2, pp. 28-36.

Fiseha, G. G., Kachere, W., & Oyelana, A. A. (2019). The role of rural entrepreneurship in alleviating poverty in the Eastern Cape. Journal of Human Ecology, 68(1-3), 203-212.

Francke, E., & Alexander, B. (2019). Entrepreneurial development in South Africa through innovation: A model for poverty alleviation. Acta Commercii, 19(1), 1-11.

Gukurume, S and Benson, V. (2018). Strengthening Small and Medium Enterprises to Address Youth Unemployment Crisis in Zimbabwe. Institute of Development Studies, policy briefing, issue 154.

Kowo, S.A., Adenuga, O.A O., Sabitu, O.O. (2019). The role of SMEs development on poverty alleviation in Nigeria, Insights into Regional Development 1(3): 214-226.

Manaa, A and Haq, M.A. (2020). The Effects of SMEs, Population and Education level on Unemployment in the Kingdom of Bahrain. iKSP Journal of Business and Economics, 1(2): 23-33.

Manzoor, F., Wei and Sahito, N. The role of SMEs in rural development: Access of SMEs to finance as a mediator. r. PLoS ONE 16(3), 1-18.

Manzoor, F., Wei, L., Nurunnabi, M and Subhan, Q.A. (2019). Role of SME in Poverty Alleviation in SAARC Region via Panel Data Analysis. Sustainability, , 11, 6480, 1-14.

Mascarenhas, S. (2021). The Role of Small and Medium Scale Enterprise in Solving Issues Of Unemployment and Entrepreneurship Capabilities in Oman. Himalayan Economics and Business Management, 2(2) 1-7.

Mensah, S. A., & Benedict, E. (2010). Entrepreneurship training and poverty alleviation: Empowering the poor in the Eastern Free State of South Africa. African Journal of Economic and Management Studies.

Muritala, T.A., Awolaja, A.M and Bako, Y.A. (2012). Impact of Small and Medium Enterprises on Economic Growth and Development. American Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 1, No. 1, 18–22.

Myslimi, G and Kaçani, K. (2016). Impact of SMEs on economic growth in Albania. European Journal of Sustainable Development, 5, 3, 151-158.

Nursini, N. (2020). Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and poverty reduction: empirical evidence from Indonesia. Development Studies Research, 7:1, 153-166, DOI: 10.1080/21665095.2020.1823238

Ogunjimi, J.A. (2021). The role of small medium scale enterprises in tackling unemployment in Nigeria. Development Bank of Nigeria Journal of Economic & Sustainable Growth, 4(1), 74-92.

Sall, M. A. (2022). Entrepreneurship and Poverty Alleviation in Africa. Industrial Policy, 2(1), 33-37.

Yasser, H and Abdelmadjid, B. (2021). The impact of SMEs on the unemployed in Algeria from 2003 to 2017. Review MECAS, 17 (2), 39-53.

Zafar, M., Waqas, M and Butt, M.N. (2018). The role of small and medium enterprises on poverty reduction in developing country: a case of Pakistan. Pakistan business review, 20 (3), 703-713.