Vol. 10 No. 4(J) (2018)

Flourishing and thriving small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) sectors have become one of the leading recognised cornerstones of economic development. The ability of these businesses to act as key drivers of economic growth, innovation and job creation make them valuable assets towards any nation’s strive for a more inclusive economic and social outlook. For South Africa in particular, burdened by an epidemic of unemployment, poverty and income inequality, SMMEs role in improving the socio-economic environment proves pivotal. Yet, despite their potential, these businesses face a myriad of challenges, emanating from both internal and external environments, that restricts their growth and development. The primary aim of this study is to identify and compare the main socio-economic challenges faced by SMMEs in two local areas within the Vaal Triangle region. The study made use of a quantitative research approach and a cross-sectional research design through means of the survey method. The sample consisted of a total of 198 SMME owners that resided in both the Emfuleni (ELM) (n = 100) and Midvaal (MLM) (n = 98) local municipal areas. Data analysis involved the use of descriptive statistics, cross tabulations and chi-square tests. Overall the results of the study revealed that amongst the biggest challenges faced by SMMEs included managerial as well as economic aspects such as a lack of skilled labour, insufficient business training and lacklustre local economic conditions. The comparative analysis further revealed more significant infrastructural challenges in the Emfuleni local municipal area while market challenges such as a lack of demand as well as higher transportation costs were experienced by SMMEs located in the Midvaal area. The findings of the study provide valuable insight towards fostering an enabling environment for SMME development, specifically on local levels. In this regard policy stakeholders should adopt a multi-sectoral SMME focus. Possible recommendations include enhanced macroeconomic stability, strong public-private partnership formation and the provision of strong business support structures that facilitate management skills development together with the provision of strategic finance facilities.

The continued failure of small to medium enterprises and lack of growth of those that survive, continue to pose some challenges to the Zimbabwean economy. Lack of experience and education by ownermanagers of SMEs, is one of the major challenges impeding their survival and growth. The study sought to establish the influence of experience and owner-managers education on SME performance specifically focusing on motor spares SMEs at Kelvin Light Industries in Bulawayo. The objective of this study, therefore, was to analyse the relationship between experience and owner-managers education and the performance of SMEs. The descriptive research design was employed in this study. The researcher adopted stratified sampling technique supported by simple random technique to select participants from the population. Closed-ended questionnaires were used to collect data from owner-managers operating at Kelvin Light Industries. SPSS version 20 was used to analyse and present the data. The results of the study showed that there was a strong relationship between both education and experience of owner-managers on SME performance. The researcher recommends that owner-managers should continuously receive training on how to run and manage their SMEs. Owner-managers should employ human capital on merit which would give them a competitive advantage in business.

This study aimed at investigating the factors that determine gross fixed capital formation in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa using time series autoregressive distributive lags (ARDL) on a data covering 1996-2015. We are constraint with the time length of the data because the range of time falls within the period when South Africa got her independence and actually the reliability of most data for most economic activities began after independence. The analyses carried out in this study are basically from two study dimensions. Firstly, we investigated which factors determine the growth of Eastern Cape Gross fixed capital formation and the classification of all economic activity into primary, secondary and tertiary sectors enabled us to identify the significant role of tertiary sector among others in analyzing which factors determine Easter Cape gross fixed capital formation. Again, growth is enhanced through the following determinants: Catering and Accommodation (TF17) and not necessarily when Wholesale and retail trade is inclusive; Again, there is a better performance of the GFCF in the tertiary sector with Communication (TG19) than when Transport and storage are merged together, and finally, Business services (TH21) behaves better with tertiary sector than when it combines with Finance, Insurance and real estate. Hence, for policy implication, the growth of primary and secondary should be considered urgent and should be given ultimate policy consideration as it appears that these sections contribute very negligibly to the growth of Eastern Cape gross fixed capital formation.

The decision-making process after online consumers have been stimulated through traditional advertising is a new and crucial part of the traditional three-phase marketing model. This paper was undertaken to understand the relevance of the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) to women in Living Standard Measure (LSM) B in Durban, South Africa. The three questions that were the main focal point of this study aimed to assess the relevance of the ZMOT theory to women in Durban, South Africa within LSM B, the most frequented product categories as well as the platforms that were accessed to gain brand-related information in order to make the purchase decision. Data for this study was collected through mixed methods with a sample group of 100 women. The findings from the research suggest that there is a link between the relevance of core products like groceries and basic household items and the need to make smart purchases, as money needs to be spent wisely. The most frequently accessed category amongst women in LSM B was basic household items and groceries, this category was closely followed by skin care and cosmetics. The most widely accessed platform to search for brand information was the Google search engine.

This study identifies the factors that affect the business performance of Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) in the Sekhukhune District of the Limpopo Province in South Africa. The study collected data from a randomly selected sample of 200 SMMEs and used WARP PLS software to analyse data. The results indicated that five factors, namely “finance”, “characteristics of entrepreneurs”, “location of business”, “government support”, as well as “products and services” were positively related to business performance. In contrast to other studies, this study found that owners’ personal funds and their proper management played a key role in the performance of businesses. This has a major implication for government support agencies that provide funding opportunities.

Enhancing agricultural production through sustainable soil/land and water conservation practices are vital to the sustenance of the human race as entrenched in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals 2, 12 and 15 respectively. Smallholder farmers are faced with myriads of soil and water-related issues in production which make them vulnerable to land degradation and low productivity. This calls for policies to enhance sustainable food production; hence, the need for this study which highlighted the influencing dynamics governing the preference and use of SWC practices alternatives in Nigeria with particular reference to Osun State. Multi-stage sampling technique was adopted in this study to select the representative sample of 240 respondents. Data collected through primary source include information on selected farmers’ socioeconomic attributes, institutional and farm level characteristics as well as the SWC practices prevalent in the study area. The SWC practices highlighted in this study include: Soil Management/Amendment Practices (SAP), Agronomic Practices (AP) and Cultivation Practices (CP). The data collected were analyzed with crosstabulation analysis, AHP technique and the logit regression model. The results from AHP revealed that Agronomic Practices (AP) is the most preferred and used SWC practice option in the study area while marginal effects of the logit regression revealed that age, gender, years of formal education, membership of local level institutions, access to extension services and frequency of extension visit as well as farmers’ perception on the impact of extension visit are significant influencing dynamics governing the rural farmers’ preference and use of SWC practices alternatives in the study area. Hence, concerted efforts should be geared towards developing pro-farmers policies in line with these influencing dynamics.

Ever since China’s rise as a global superpower, there have been numerous debates about its role in Africa both from an Afrocentric and Eurocentric perspective. This is while some view its presence in Africa as that of a donor because of its growing investments, others are not entirely convinced and see China’s rising footprints in Africa as another colonialist state in need of looting Africa its resources. By utilizing a qualitative methodology, this paper ponders Chinese investments in Africa with the view of assessing the drivers underpinning China-Africa relations and how this has been beneficial to both parties concerned. In this vein, the study shows that China-Africa engagements are not something new, their relations dates back for decades though became more prominent from the 1950s after the Bandung Conference. Since then, China has risen to be a prominent player with regards to investments in Africa. It has further established various institutes aimed at strengthening its grip as a noticeable state in Africa’s development and political landscapes. The paper concludes by outlining that China has in some way benefited Africa through its investments over the past few decades and these relations have been beneficial to both parties. However, it argues that for more prosperous relations moving forward, African leaders should utilize institutes such as the Forum on ChinaAfrica Cooperation (FOCAC) to articulate clear policies for their engagement(s) with China and to protect their small and fragile economies from cheap Chinese imports.

We analyze the impact of inflation, growth and exchange rate on unemployment in South Africa using annual data spanning 1980- 2017. Using the ARDL methodology we find that there is a negative longrun relationship between inflation and unemployment in South Africa and inflation is significant in explaining unemployment. Other variables of interest, economic growth and exchange rate are also significant in explaining unemployment. We use the findings of our study to propose that the South African Reserve Bank(SARB) should consider revising its objectives so that they can consider getting involved in targeting unemployment so that they help nurse the economy from the wounds of high inequality and poverty.

This study was done on the relationship between social media collaborations and ecosystem management in Enugu state. The study was premised on the case of herdsmen-farmers/villagers clash over grazing fields and farmlands in Enugu State being the ecology-related issue. Survey research design was adopted for the study. A sample of 100 social media group participants was selected using snowball sampling technique. The questionnaire was used for data collection. Content validity was used as a method for testing the validity of the questionnaire while Cronbach's alpha method was used for testing the internal consistency of the items on the questionnaire. Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation was used to test the hypothesis formulated for the study. Findings revealed that social media collaborations via Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter have a significant relationship with ecosystem management. It was recommended that government and ecologically concerned agencies should employ social media collaborations as the policy for ecosystem management.

Migrant remittances increasingly constitute a significant source of financial inflows into emerging markets. Hitherto, extant studies have focused nearly exclusively on the macroeconomic benefits of remittances. Such studies have documented that the top benefits that accrue to the receiving country of remittances include: savings mobilisation, fostering intermediation, investment, sustenance of families and the enabling of access to health care and education by households who ordinarily would not afford to pay for these services. This study departs from the norm and investigated the migrant remittance patterns from a micro-level perspective by focusing on South Africa which is one of the top twenty remittance receiving countries in the world. The South Africa-National Income Dynamics Study dataset was employed in this study. Firstly, this study established that remittances constitute a significant source of income for households in South Africa. Secondly, it was established that the remittance variable is positively related to the household income variable and the result was highly statistically significant. Thirdly, the results of this study confirmed that the level of remittances is dependent on the level of education of the household member, with the inclination of the highly educated migrant worker to send more money to support their household. The South African government should consider as a policy instrument encouraging migrant workers in the diaspora to remit more money back into the country through the facilitation of ease of access of financial services.