Thesis (MTech (Business Administration (Entrepreneurship)))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / Entrepreneurial activities are very evident within the Cape Metropole as the proliferation of small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) will attest. The most recent literature confirms the preponderance of immigrants in these economic activities. This phenomenon is unfolding against the backdrop of the contingent of challenges which they face which are not limited to discrimination, limited access to finance from formal financial institutions, inadequate skills, and language barriers. The limited access which they have to obtaining finance from formal financial institutions constitutes one of the most significant obstacles for many immigrant entrepreneurs. There is evidence to suggest that in response to this state of affairs, immigrants resort to unconventional means to obtain finance for their entrepreneurial activities. It has been found that, immigrants form self-help financial associations which are known as stokvels in South Africa as a means of obtaining the finances which are needed for the start-ups and even for the growth of their businesses. In fact, it could be asserted that the inability of immigrant entrepreneurs to obtain loans from commercial banks and other related financial institutions has resulted directly in the creation of immigrant-run informal financial institutions such as stokvels. Consequently, the main objective of this study was to assess the role which stokvels which are known in Cameroon as “njangis” or “tontines”, play in the start-ups and growth of businesses which are owned by Cameroonian immigrants in the Cape Metropole. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches and research methods were used to conduct this study. The quantitative and qualitative data was collected through the administration of a questionnaire and the conducting of face-to face interviews respectively, owing to the nature of the target population. The data which was collected from the respondents who completed the questionnaires was captured, categorised and analysed in relation to the research questions through the use of SPSS statistical software and the findings were presented in the form of frequency tables and pie charts. The study ascertained that “njangis” play a very important role in the businesses of Cameroonian immigrants and in their daily lives as they are not only a source of capital for the start-ups and expansion of the businesses of their members, but they also provide a means of saving money, as most of them do not have access to bank accounts. According to some of the respondents, some of the “njangis” even serve as forums for discussing business ideas. Like most other organisations, stokvels have their own unique challenges, which will be discussed comprehensively in Chapter Four, particularly with respect to the methods which are employed to overcome them. It is the considered opinion of the researcher that it is in the domain of entrepreneurship in particular that South African citizens could learn a great deal from immigrants from other African countries about the successful starting and running of small, medium and micro sized businesses as recent literature has demonstrated quite conclusively the significant contribution which their entrepreneurial enterprises make to the development of the South African economy, in terms of both earning revenue for the South African government and providing employment to South African citizens.

Submitted in fulfillment of part of the requirements for the Masters of Business Administration, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / In South Africa, emphasis is being placed on the importance of establishing small and medium sized business enterprises. There is acknowledgement in the extant literature of the value of these enterprises as job creators and useful drivers for economic growth and innovation. Given the growth in small businesses, attention in this study is given on comparing the critical success factors between those businesses that are owned by foreigners and those owned by locals. Relationships between the two groups have not always been fruitful across the country, yet synergies can be generated to shed light into how both groups cannot only co-exist but operate optimally in managing their businesses. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore (comparatively) the critical success factors between foreign and locally owned small businesses. A qualitative, exploratory study was conducted using interviews with five (5) foreign owned and five (5) locally owned small business conducted within the Ndwedwe area of Kwazulu-Natal. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. Upon analysis of the data, three themes emerged as critical success factors affecting local and foreign owned businesses: (1) the underlying motives of starting a business enterprise, (2) the nature of business environment and (3) the necessity of formal or/and informal education in running a business. Interestingly, these themes appeared common in both groups. Furthermore, each of these factors affecting the success of small business was accompanied by poor community infrastructure and the unavailability of support and funding from government, including reimbursement during occurrence of natural disasters. Existence of sufficiently a strong business enterprise motive based on research findings is vital in any research undertaking. Substantially, an empirical angle to map more than one overriding motive for a business enterprise provides an opportunity to evaluate business success or failure based on the grounded motives. These motives may progressively incorporate the analyses of business environments, use of indigenous business knowledge and consideration of business education (formal and informal). Findings from this study encourage knowledge-sharing and interaction of SMEs in order to improve business enterprise development in Ndwedwe. The findings of this study also magnify the factors that are deemed critical to the success of small businesses and may be useful in mapping out recommendations on strategies and frameworks that affect either foreign or locally owned business. Based on the findings of this study, a network hub that places emphasis more on interdependence rather than isolated working between foreign and local owned businesses is encouraged. Through collaboration and sharing of experiences, small businesses in South Africa may potentially thrive. Furthermore, the findings of this study stipulate that SMEs need to have long-term plans and grounded motives on starting businesses. This will not only encourage SMEs to plan but will also develop educational strategies where SMEs can work together and share aptitudes to engage in strategic planning related to entrepreneurial success. / M

Institute for Rural Development / PhDRDV / Studies conducted in some parts of the world have highlighted the fact that Asian-owned small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) always thrive better than those that other racial groups own. For example, a Global Entrepreneurship Monitor study revealed that in South Africa, Blacks owned few businesses and rarely took advantage of the entrepreneurial opportunities available to them even though there are policies that underpin the promotion of SMME. The aim of this study was to compare the determinants of performance of Asian and Black-owned small supermarkets in Thulamela Local Municipality. Specific objectives of the study were to: (1) assess the indicators of performance of small supermarkets; (2) compare the performance factors of Asian- and Black-owned small supermarkets; and (3) suggest intervention strategies to improve the performance of the small supermarkets. A cross-sectional study underpinned by a mixed methods approach and techniques was applied in two sequentially integrated phases. The first phase was qualitative in nature and participants were officials from the Local Economic Development units in Thulamela Local and Vhembe District Municipalities, representatives of Associations of Business Owners, Blacks (Venda and Shangaan speaking) small supermarket owners and Asian (Indians/Pakistanis and Chinese) small supermarket owners. Snowball sampling was used to select interviewees. Data was analysed using the Atlas- ti.7.0.81 software. The second phase was quantitative in nature. Small supermarket owners who were involved during qualitative phase also participated in phase two. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) ver 24.0 for windows. Mann-Whitney tests were conducted to establish if there were differences in the perceptions of participants due to race, gender and geographic location. The indicators of success commonly mentioned were number of employees, profit, survival of the business over a long period, and stock or inventory and growths. Asian-owned small supermarkets were performing better because they used more effective and efficient purchasing plus supply systems. Their collectivist culture and networking abilities made them realise higher levels of efficiency when purchasing goods compared to the Black entrepreneurs. Black-owned small supermarkets were performing poorly because of their weak entrepreneurship culture, human capital and business ties. Unfair competition from spaza shops negatively affected their performance. Other factors hindering the performance of the latter were crime and rigid labour laws. In small supermarkets owned by Asians, shoplifting and burglaries were monitored using surveillance cameras during the day. Security companies were deployed during night hours. iii Regarding perception of motivation to start a business, there were significant differences due to race of small supermarket owners and location or area of operation (P < 0.05). Significant differences in perception (P < 0.05) among the races and due to gender and location were attributed to the culture of business owners. Effects of social capital on performance of small supermarkets were reported (P < 0.01). Based on the findings of this study, small supermarket owners should strengthen their human capital through participating in training programmes, especially on supply chain management, marketing and financing. The need for creating networks that help to access information needed to take advantage of the support from the state institutions and the non-governmental sector was evident. Thus, it was concluded that improved performance of small supermarkets could be realised through strengthening human capital, joint purchasing, establishing effective networks and diversifying business activities.