Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2006 / The purpose of this study was to explore the challenges facing Mpumalanga Economic Empowerment Corporation (MEEC) in its quest to funding the emerging small enterprises in Mpumalanga. The study was conducted in 2004-2005, in the Nkangala District Municipality in Mpumalanga. Interviews were conducted amongst the existing clients of MEEC and its predecessors. Senior Managers and Operational staff were also interviewed in order to solicit the effectiveness of the tools used to granting loans and guarantees. The findings have since shown that there are operational challenges facing MEEC, which are in nature similar to those faced by a number of Development Finance Corporations in this country and around the globe as the benchmarks showed in the study. It was therefore important to undertake this study considering the need to improve the role played by MEEC and the approaches to be adopted in improving the course in which parastatals do business.

Small and recently started-up organizations find it hard to acquire external capital from financial institutions, such as banks, venture capitalists and private investors. Information asymmetry is the main reason behind this financial gap, from both a demand-side and supply-side standpoint. However, small organizations and start-ups do not need financiers to launch themselves, and the solution to the financial shortages is not necessarily by financial means. By being creative, resources can be acquired through different means, known in research as financial bootstrapping. Previous studies have been focusing on bootstrapping application in companies, and have not included any kind of associations in their investigations. This thesis aims to enlighten the area of bootstrapping usage in associations while comparing similarities and differences with companies. The thesis will also provide a base of knowledge for the collaboration company Coompanion, who requested to increase their understanding within the area of financial bootstrapping. A survey was conducted and 44 responses were received with a mixture of companies and associations. The survey included questions regarding the organizational profile, personal profile and handling of finance. The interactive questionnaire was distributed to the managers by email and the data gathered from the respondents was inserted and analyzed using Excel, SPSS and Gretl. The results demonstrate that organizations prefer internally generated money as a first resort before using external finance, consequently following the theories of pecking order. Organizations that need more capital are inclined to use more bootstrapping techniques compared to organizations with no need for further capital. The survey indicates that some bootstrapping methods are more commonly used, such as: Same terms of payment to all customers, Best terms of payment from suppliers, Buy used equipment instead of new, Sell on credit to customers, Make customers pay through installments on ongoing work and Obtain some kind of subsidy.

Craft brewing has seen a remarkable growth, from the first steps in the late 1960s in the USA until today. Breweries in the USA and Western Europe saw a long period of brewery fusions, concentration and closings from after the 2nd world war until roughly late 1990s/early 2000s. This trend also affected Sweden, where a market with smaller breweries in almost every town or municipality ended up in a situation with a dominating giant. The emerging craft breweries have totally changed this picture. Previous research has shown that craft brewing often starts as a hobby and evolves over time to a commercial business. The process for how these breweries fund themselves at the time of establishment has been researched in several papers, but how breweries that get past the initial step, start to grow and need additional capital to remove some of the bottlenecks that occur is considerably less examined. Since craft brewing is a unique business and the research in Sweden is scarce, theories and practises from small and medium enterprise (SME) financing have been applied. By using semi‐structured interviews and a thematical analysis, six craft beer brewery representatives were interviewed about their own perceptions of the methods they chose to overcome their financial obstacles, both initially but also when experiencing growth and needs for expansion. The breweries were chosen from a combination of size and geographical position in Sweden. Some of the breweries are situated in rural and some in urban areas. All the breweries fulfil certain financial criteria, and experienced production bottlenecks that needed to be solved financially. The thesis arrives at the conclusion that each microbrewery had its unique set of circumstances. The chosen financial solutions were affected by the owner’s perceptions and previous experiences. This supports previous research where new business establishment is highly depending upon the owner or the owner’s own money, which can partly also be explained by how the owners initially looked at their business (hobby/part hobby versus the intention to immediately start a commercial business). Raising capital for further expansion gives a diversified picture meaning that classical financing theory is only partially applicable on the craft brewing industry.

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In Nigeria, many small businesses fail before their 5th anniversary. Small businesses make up a major percentage of the businesses in Nigeria and provide jobs for 50% of the populace. The purpose of this qualitative multi-unit case study was to explore the factors required by small businesses in Nigeria to sustain operations beyond the first 5 years. The conceptual framework grounding this study was general systems theory. A review of the literature focused on small business failure and factors required to sustain a business longer than 5 years. Data collection occurred through semistructured interviews of a purposeful sample of 3 successful business owners in Port Harcourt, who described their experiences. Data analysis strategies consisted of using qualitative software, key words, phrases, and codes, which contributed to identifying the following themes: (a) effective strategizing, (b) flexible financial capital management, (c) human capital development, (d) market positioning and sales, and (e) stable power supply. The findings indicated that these 3 small business owners were passionate about starting up their businesses and had the necessary skills to strategize effectively and manage capital, thus sustaining their business beyond 5 years. Information derived from this study may assist small business owners in starting successful companies, that support employees, other companies, communities, and families, contributing to the development of the Nigerian economy.

Fifty percent of small businesses fail before attaining their 5-year anniversary. The lack of sufficient working capital is one of the major reasons for small business failure. Pecking order theory was employed as the conceptual framework for this multiple case study to explore the working capital sourcing strategies of 6 purposely selected successful small business owners in the Southeast region of the United States used to sustain their businesses beyond 5 years. Data sources included semistructured interviews and company documents. Data analysis included thematic coding of the material using statistical software. The modified Van Kaam method was used to analyze the interview data. Secondary company documents such as financial reports were analyzed to triangulate findings from the interviews. Based on composite analysis, 6 themes emerged: (a) each of the participating small business owners encountered barriers in sourcing working capital for their businesses, (b) small business leaders used their personal internal sources of funds to start and initially operate their businesses, (c) customers provided a revenue stream to support the working capital needs of small businesses, (d) small business leaders used various bootstrapping measures to support their working capital needs, (e) using strategic and operational planning aids such as completing a business plan assisted business leaders in their working capital sourcing decision-making, and (f) personal credit provided a foundation for obtaining external business credit. The implications for social change include the sustainability of small businesses beyond 5 years, which could lead to the maintaining jobs and assisting small businesses to succeed in stabilizing and potentially increasing incomes for benefiting families and communities.

Despite the high failure rate of African American small businesses in the United States, only 2% of the U.S. Small Business Administration loans in 2016 were awarded to African American business owners. Most small business owners cite lack of access to financial resources as an influential factor that leads to business failure. Grounded in resource-based view theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to identify strategies African American small business owners in Los Angeles County, California use to obtain financial resources to achieve sustainability for at least 5 years. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with 4 purposively selected African American small business owners and supplemented with a review of internal reports and original business plans that outlined their financing strategy. The data analysis process entailed Yin's 5-step analysis to guide the coding of participants' responses to identify keywords, phrases, and concepts to develop theme clusters. Through thematic analysis, 4 themes emerged to include: financial resources improved business success and stability, internal financing, business mentors and networking to secure financial stability, and overcoming nonfinancial challenges. All participants noted access to financial resources as the most important resource needed for their business to succeed, particularly in the initial phase of launching their businesses. The implications for social change include the potential to enhance African American small business profitability and growth leading to new employment opportunities, improved community amenities, and business mentor programs with youth, which can encourage wealth for the surrounding community of Los Angeles County and local government.

Dissertação (mestrado) - Columbia University - School of International and Public Affairs, New York, 2017 / Bibliografia: p. [64]-72 / All rights reserved. The total or partial reproduction of the work is prohibited without authorization from the University, the author and the advisor. / Texto em inglês e resumos em inglês e português / A dificuldade de acesso ao crédito é um dos maiores obstáculos para a sobrevivência das pequenas e médias empresas (PMEs). Uma das principais razões para isso é a falta de garantias. Essa situação se reflete na baixa competitividade e alta desigualdade do Brasil. Os sistemas de garantia fornecem esta garantia. Esta tese analisa o papel potencial dos esquemas de garantia para promover a inclusão financeira no Brasil. Para alcançar esse objetivo, a pesquisa analisa a competitividade e a desigualdade do Brasil e sua relação com o acesso ao crédito. A metodologia utilizada foi um estudo de caso sobre o Fundo Garantidor para Investimentos (FGI), utilizando abordagem qualitativa e estatísticas descritivas. A coleta de dados baseou-se em entrevistas semiestruturadas, fontes secundárias, análise de documentos e dados operacionais. A análise utilizou os modelos de construção e reparação de confiança entre organizações, o papel dos bancos nacionais de desenvolvimento nos sistemas de garantia e o benchmark internacional para governança e eficácia dos esquemas de garantia. Os resultados demonstram que o FGI conseguiu criar uma governança adequada e estabelecer confiança com os bancos. Até 2017, 26 bancos contrataram mais de 32 mil operações no valor de 1,9 bilhões de dólares, com adicionalidades comparáveis ao benchmark internacional. No entanto, estudos adicionais são necessários para estabelecer uma ligação entre a adicionalidade dos esquemas de garantia e o desenvolvimento social e econômico. / Difficult access to credit is one of the greatest obstacles to the survival of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). One of the major reasons for this is the lack of guarantees. This situation is reflected in Brazil’s low competitiveness and high inequality. Guarantee Schemes provide this guarantee. This thesis analyzes the potential role of guarantee schemes to promote financial inclusion in Brazil. To achieve this objective the research analyzes Brazil competitiveness and inequality and their relation to credit access. The methodology used was a case study over the Fundo Garantidor para Investimentos (Investment Guarantee Fund - FGI), using a qualitative approach and descriptive statistics. Data collection relied on semi-structured interviews, secondary sources, document analysis and operational data. The analysis used inter-organization trust building and repair models, the role of national development banks in the guarantee systems and the international benchmark for governance and effectiveness of guarantee schemes. The results demonstrate that FGI achieve adequate governance and established trust with the banks. By 2017, 26 banks contracted more than 32,000 operations worth 1.9 billion dollars, with additionalities comparable to the international benchmark. However, additional studies are necessary to establish a link between the guarantee schemes additionality and social and economic development.