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.