ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In Namibia the small business sector is seen to play a very important role in the creation of jobs and the growth of the economy. At the same time small enterprises face a wide range of problems, which keep the failure rates of new ventures high and often prevent dynamic business growth. To address these challenges it is insufficient to have a national strategy for small businesses or to just rely on national government and other national bodies. This is particularly important in a country like Namibia which has a small population, stretched over a vast territory, with huge differences in the resources and development patterns of the various regions. Against that background this study focuses on a particular area of Namibia, viz the Erongo Region along the coastal belt. It is Namibia’s best developed region after the central Windhoek/Khomes area, with the two towns, Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, the harbor of Walvis Bay, the Uranium mines and tourism being the foundation for business growth. After reviewing the spectrum of small business support bodies available in Namibia the study looked at a sample of 100 small enterprises in the Erongo area. They were asked about their business engagement, business prospects, main problems experienced and their awareness and utilization of support programmes. These needs profiles were then compared to the set of actual service suppliers found in the Erongo region. This showed that in practice very few of the problems are addressed, largely due to a lack of awareness, pro-activity and cooperation on both sides: local small enterprises and local support suppliers. The study ends with a range of proposals which should, if tackled on a partnership basis and in closer cooperation between the head offices in Windhoek and local bodies, lead to a steady improvement of the SME support process.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Namibia’s economic success is largely determined by the success of its small and medium enterprise sector. The contribution of this sector to the Namibian gross domestic product is a function of its entrepreneurial vigour. It is well documented that an organisation’s entrepreneurial leadership competency makes for higher profitability. What is less commonly known, however, is that this complex entrepreneurial leadership construct includes a vital ethical component. This study has aimed to shed light on the relationship between entrepreneurial and ethical orientation, both sub-constructs within the larger entrepreneurial leadership construct. An in depth theoretical discussion on both entrepreneurial and ethical orientation is offered. Prior research on both orientations is consulted to provide the necessary theoretical background. The study concludes by commenting on the existence of a relationship between the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / This study was based on a key question: “Are the developing countries putting adequate effort into entrepreneurship education to develop and grow their economies to become developed countries?” Since it is believed that entrepreneurship education is not fully harnessed in Africa, it is imperative to promote entrepreneurship education (EE) in order to enhance economic growth. This could be achieved by educating young people about the principle of entrepreneurship at an early stage and this will promote enterprise creation, job creation and poverty alleviation. Many developed countries acknowledge that enterprises contribute significantly toward the economy of a country. Entrepreneurial development is therefore seen as a potential resource that contributes toward development. According to various entrepreneurship education models discussed in this study, the challenge of entrepreneurship is to create awareness of self-employment and encourage people to develop interest to engage in entrepreneurial activities. Institutions should therefore be created to develop people in the field of entrepreneurship to foster entrepreneurial activities. EE should be presented at primary, secondary and tertiary institutions to encourage more participation at a much earlier stage. This study assessed the impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial attitude within secondary schools in Windhoek, Namibia and sought to identify the impact of the Junior Achiever Namibia programme (JA NAM) on young learners, who attended the programme 2005 -2010. The study also assessed whether entrepreneurial attitudes were developed and opportunities identified, and whether innovation, enterprise and employment opportunities were created by learners who attended the programme. The study employed both a qualitative and quantitative methodology in the form of a questionnaire to evaluate students’ opinions about the JA NAM programme after attending the programme.