Spain’s victory yesterday in the World Cup in Johannesburg marks the conclusion to an exciting competition. However, with the media pointing to some of the dashed economic expectations among South Africans these past few weeks, I decided to inquire a little more into the entrepreneurial part of South Africa’s economic development equation which led me to uncover some important trends and opportunities suggesting that the country might be well on its way to achieving the goal set forth by the country’s new president, Jacob Zuma, to create 4 million new jobs by 2014.
According the Gallup World Poll, 29% of South Africans are planning to start a business in the next 12 months. This is below the median of 41% for Africa, but on the positive side, we know from local witnesses that many of those plans are increasingly materializing. Nontokozo Hlangweni from Endeavor South Africa explained to us that the scarcity of jobs has helped push a sort of entrepreneurial energy that drives young people to become their own employers. Not surprisingly, Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) are recognized as vital in the development of the South African economy. According to South African reserve bank findings, the total economic output of SMEs is more or less 50% of the country’s GDP. The SME sector also employs more than60% of the total labor force. The task at hand is to continue building an environment that supports new business creation and to foster, through policies and programs, businesses with high-growth potential. The key to a true entrepreneurial-growth strategy is to enable young firms to grow.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship | Beyond the World Cup: A Diamond for Growth
Author: Jonathan Ortmans is president of the Public Forum Institute, a non-partisanorganization dedicated to fostering dialogue on important policy issues. Inthis capacity, he leads the Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship, focused onpublic policies to promote entrepreneurship in the U.S. and around the world.In addition, he serves as a senior fellow at the Kauffman Foundation.
The author would like to thank Nontokozo Hlangweni from Endeavor South Africa for the insights provided.
