An analysis of factors that affect the growth of SMMES in the Mafikeng Area in the North West Province of South Africa

Abstract

The study was undertaken to investigate why there is a low success rate of SMMEs or collapse within three years of their establishment in and around Mafikeng. Thus the main question is "Why is there a low success rate or SMMEs collapse within three years of their establishment in and around Mafikeng". A survey research design was used for this study and stratified random sampling was employed to ensure proportional representation of the population. A sample of 150 respondents were selected from 1000 SMMEs operating within the Mafikeng area. A questionnaire was used to collect data. The data was presented in frequency tables. The main findings of the study revealed that there is a low success rate of SMMEs in Mafikeng and the study also revealed that SMMEs are not able to access support needed in order to grow their businesses. The study recommended that steps should be taken to bring about greater synergy between policy-making processes at the national, provincial and local levels. As a general strategy, it is important to promote the establishment of dedicated retail institutions providing a variety of products - loans, equity and management training and support. It also seems necessary to encourage many different players and a broad spectrum of service providers. This is necessary particularly to meet the needs of micro and survivalist enterprises.