By: Noxolo Majavu
As the country’s elections draw closer, smaller businesses continue to maintain a positive attitude that major issues hindering business growth will soon be resolved by the elected political party that will lead the country. Megan Dedekind, area manager at loan provider, Business Partners Limited, said that for all the uncertainties and potential disruptions that go hand in hand with a general election in a young democracy, South African SMEs are hopeful. “One would expect that entrepreneurs would batten down the hatches even more as the election and its uncertainties approach, sit tight, and wait for the storm to pass. Yet, there have been clear signs over the last three months that business owners have started thinking about expanding their operations and starting new ventures. There has been an uptick in the number of applications, and also a shift away from emergency type borrowing to growth finance,” Dedekind said.
Ubuntunomics owner and sustainability practitioner Sibusiso Nyathi said that even though the South African small business landscape was not homogeneous, all businesses would prefer a predictable and secure environment with little risk of abrupt policy changes or political turmoil. “The most welcome change would be a much-improved investment climate that will foster way above average economic growth and drive aggregate demand for local goods and services. To achieve growth, the political players must resolve the water, logistical, and energy crises as a first port of call towards the re-industrialisation of the economy,” Nyathi added.
He said SMEs were hoping for rapid economic growth, which should exceed 4% in order to address unemployment and inequality, which are stumbling blocks. “There are other important wishes such as integration into global supply chains, leveraging on BRICS membership in search of new markets in Asia and the Middle East, practical implementation of practical implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA), and better service delivery at a local level to improve the ease of doing business.”
On businesses staying open, Dedekind commented that, from the look of things, the polls did not loom large as a potential disruptor for many business owners. Probably the biggest immediate impact of the election on businesses was the day itself. “As a public holiday, many businesses will have to close their doors or, if they decide to remain open, pay double wages and ensure that their staff all have an opportunity to get to a polling station,” she said.
