A stronger, more dynamic small business sector is essential for achieving inclusive growth in South Africa. Unfortunately, in spite of a number of promising-sounding interventions, and the creation of the Department of Small Business Development in 2014, South Africa’s small business sector has experienced little growth. Nor does it contribute sufficiently to generating the employment opportunities our country desperately needs. What can we learn from global experiences about the most effective way to reverse these trends and grow the small business sector? Is there something that various levels of the state (national, provincial and local) and other national government agencies such as SEDA should be doing differently?
