A study to gain an understanding of the challenges faced by SME's in obtaining finance.
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Date
2015
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Abstract
South Africa is seen as the economic powerhouse of Southern Africa and it is
critical that strong economic growth is achieved on a sustainable basis to alleviate
poverty and unemployment. Small and medium sized enterprises (SME‘s) have
played a key role in achieving sustained economic growth in South Africa and
their success going forward will assist with driving growth. This will ensure that
employment is created and prosperity will increase in South Africa and the region.
However SME‘s face hurdles to growth of which access to finance is a major
constraint. This study aimed to unpack the different aspects of the financial
obstacles that SME‘s face. The study was qualitative in nature and was
approached from a supplier‘s perspective. This was achieved by targeting
specialists at financial institutions who dealt with SME‘s financing needs. Data was
collected by conducting one on one interview‘s with the specialists after which the
data was analysed using NVivo, a computer data analysis programme. The study
highlighted a number of challenges that SME‘s faced when applying for finance.
The main challenges were poor financial management which lead to cash flow
constraints and business failure, weak business management skills which
undermined the quality of and understanding of business plans when applying for
finance and a lack of collateral. The lack of quality education was also found to
compound the challenges to gain financing for SME‘s. The opportunities leading
from the study suggest that entrepreneurs have the potential to improve their
chances of accessing finance by enrolling in entrepreneurial and business
management studies, thereby learning to overcome poor financial management,
and improve their business management skills. Additionally mentoring programs
will be useful for training entrepreneurs in practical business management skills
and collateral shortfalls may be overcome by accessing government led schemes
offering assistance for collateral.
Description
Master of Business Administration. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville 2015.
Keywords
Small business--South Africa--Finance., Commercial loans--South Africa., Financial crises--Economic aspects--South Africa., New business enterprises--South Africa--Finance., Theses--Business administration., SMEs., Financial challenges., Small and medium enterprises.