The Daily Maverick Small Business, Big Problems webinar was hosted by Neesa Moodley, Business Editor, with Joshua Kadish Sourcefin and Dr. Shahiem Patel Regent Business School yesterday.
The webinar discussed the systemic challenges facing South Africa’s small businesses, placing emphasis on access to finance, compliance and business support.
During the webinar, according to the live poll, 30% was unsure where to access government support or funding for the business and 24% didn’t know support existed.
Some nuggets from the webinar
Joshua Kadish highlighted that SA is unique in that local financial institutions are robust and assess entrepreneurs based on their past track-record (trading history and credit score). He contends they need a forward-looking approach in respect of funding applications.
He lamented the red tape from setting up a bank account to applying for funding. He proposed centralising online, for example FICA requirements so that you don’t have to repeatedly do it from one institution to the next.
He drew attention to the barriers faced by entrepreneurs in maintaining their compliance, for example, beneficial ownership (CIPC)
Dr. Shahiem Patel says there is a mindset shift with the younger generation. Unlike the older generation, they don’t seek capital to launch the business, rather to scale it. He attributes the shift due to changes in technology, and perceived lack of support from SMMEs from government agencies and traditional financial institutions. He recommends that funders focus not on
credit worthiness but investment worthiness of the entrepreneur.
He drew attention to the barriers faced by entrepreneurs, when it comes to legislation and compliance, including their interrelationships – understanding taxation, data privacy and legal matters as examples.
He stressed the role of mentorship, having more than one mentor to support the business in different areas.
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