The vital role that small businesses play in the sustainability, vibrancy and scale of most economies has been widely acknowledged.

In terms of our economy, the importance of this observation was brought home to me starkly in a recent article by ex-miner, and current head of the Small Business Institute (SBI), Bernard Swanepoel.

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In it, he highlights that 98,5% of our formal job-providing economy is made up of small businesses, going on to conclude, rightly in my view, that the small business sector is not a part of our national economy, it IS the  economy!

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He further argues, based on this, that the days of ‘siloing’ the small business sector must end, and the full and focused attention of the economic cluster of government ministries must be brought to bear in providing all the support needed.

A similar view is echoed by Marnus Broodryk, a researcher and specialist in the field, who argues that SMMEs had ‘the power to carry the economy’, providing appropriate and consistent support was given.

Few of the obvious constraints and initiatives that could be addressed or implemented by government have been tackled.

These include:

• Government departments at all levels continuing to NOT? ??pay service providers within the 30 day window, or at a The impact on SMMEs is disproportionately severe, given their relative ‘youth’ compared to more established businesses. The Business Times this week on its front page covers the impact this practise has had on the construction sector, but highlights particularly the knock-on effect on emerging contractors who act as sub-contractors to larger firms.

• Using the purchasing power of government, particularly at a local level to favour smaller suppliers and service provider The much touted ‘30%’ set aside for local government purchases is a mere figment of the imagination, a victim of deliberate ignorance by officials, or corrupt practises. The City of Johannesburg has increased its procurement spend on SMMEs from 5% to 22%, so it appears that improvements are possible if the will is there.

Just these two measures, considered ‘low hanging fruit’ by most observers, if consistently applied would see immediate benefits. The fact that both of these factors are underpinned by either Government guidelines or stated policy by the ruling party and remain unenforced is amazing.

Swanepoel has further suggested that each and every cabinet Minister be conferred with the title of ‘small business development manager’, with a view that they factor in the impact on small business  –  positive and negative, on every activity of their ministry. Another key recommendation is that any new policies, regulations and laws be transparently assessed to determine, and if necessary mitigate, any adverse impacts on small businesses.

Finally, the private sector also need to admit their shortcomings: the widespread practise of ‘supply chain bullying’ where big businesses essentially treat small businesses as a line of credit by delaying payments to them must end. More vigorous development and execution of supplier development strategies can also be a catalyst for growing and sustaining SMMEs.

After matriculating, Vijay Naidoo studied Economics in the UK. Upon his return, he joined the family construction business as MD for 10 years.

He subsequently joined his sister in their furniture manufacturing business as director for quality assurance and operations. He was responsible for all quality aspects of their products, and led the project to the business achieving an ISO 9000 quality accreditation. As an export focused business, this was important for our international competitiveness.

Mr Naidoo has an abiding interest in quality management and productivity improvement, particularly in manufacturing.

More recently, he has focused a lot of his time on giving back to the community by way of mentorship of small businesses and sitting on the executive of the South Coast Chamber of Commerce. He also sits on the Board of the Ugu South Coast Development Agency.

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