An investigation of problems affecting small business in Botswana : a case study

Abstract

Small business contributes about 80% of employment in most developing economies including Botswana. Small business also helps countries to diversify their economies and this factor applies very much to the Botswana situation. It is the researcher's observation of the role that small business plays which was the main objective of this study; to investigate problems and challenges faced by small businesses in Botswana. The study was conducted on a sample of 100 small business owners in Gaborone city, Botswana. Literature was used to identify problems faced by small business in Botswana using information from local researchers and those from other developing countries, Central America and India. Literature was used to highlight similarities and differences between the findings of this study and those from other researchers. The findings revealed that small business in Botswana still suffer from lack of entrepreneurial skills, lack of access to finance and lack of knowledge on how to develop market plans and conducting SWOT analysis. This is despite the fact that government agencies like CEDA and LEA have been established to deal with management training of small business owners. The findings show that less business owners benefit from such ventures.