SME support Archives - Virgil Bethanie

06/02/202325/11/2023

Data insights leverage the survival & growth of SME’s

Visualization of data insights enhances understanding.

Insights derived from data and information drives business and organisational success, enables effective and efficient problem-solving and decision-making. Data-led decisions produce better outcomes for all stakeholders including small-and-medium-sized businesses (SME’s).

To thrive in this new digital economy, data and the proliferation of information must be strategically harnessed and utilised to drive more informed decisions that create sustainable value for customers, employees, shareholders, investors, and other stakeholders. It also increases chances of raising finance from lenders and obtain credit from providers of credit.

Business challenges and activities

Organisations and businesses including SME’s continually experience a range of challenges, problems and/or obstacles. These challenges and obstacles make it difficult for these entities to achieve its organisational, operational, strategic and/or financial goals. Examples of such challenges include:

17/12/202131/03/2022

Managing risk in small-and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) has many benefits

Managing risk in SME’s creates long-term value

Managing risk in SME’s enables them to improve performance, accelerate growth and create sustainable long-term value. In addition, SME’s can also minimise losses and avoid catastrophic disruptions if they manage risk effectively and efficiently.

All businesses and organisations implement strategies to achieve its goals and objectives. The achievement of such goals and objectives produces many benefits such as inter alia:

31/07/202129/03/2022

Don’t be a headless chicken. Plan your business’ future and direction

Team working at a office brainstorming and sketching a business plan on the wall

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) are seen as a panacea to South Africa’s growing unemployment. The National Development Plan forecasts that 90% of the 11m new jobs will come from the SME sector by 2030. However, research data shows that this may not be the case. According to a World Bank study on employment growth in SA during the period of 2010 – 2019, the average job growth from the private sector during this period was only 2.3%. However, the SME sector’s share of this new jobs growth in the private sector was disappointingly low. Therefore, it appears that SME’s may not be able to create the required new jobs by 2030.

SME’s are also expected to contribute significantly to the country’s GDP as approximately 95% of businesses consist of SME’s, like in other countries. The National Development Plan forecast that by 2030, SMEs will contribute 60% to 80% of the GDP. In contrast, SME’s actual contribution to GDP in SA is disproportionately low, according to research data. This situation is as a result of the exceptionally high failure rate of SME’s. Between 70% – 80% of SME’s do not survive passed the first 5 years. Amongst the key reasons cited for this high failure rate is the lack of appropriate business skills and knowledge, according to a survey report of The SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

13/03/202030/12/2020

It’s no longer business as usual for SME’s and corporates

The macroeconomic environment is under severe pressure and consequently it is becoming increasingly difficult for SME’s to trade under these conditions. It is no longer business as usual for SME’s. There are ominous signals that the macroeconomic environment is bleeding and SME’s must, therefore, take appropriate and urgent action in order to survive: