SMALL business development requires a collective effort by government, development agencies and businesses.

This is the view of former Miss SA Amy Kleinhans-Curd, who is executive director of an outsourcing company called Private Labour Promotions.

Her company offers outsourcing of services to large and small businesses with more than 140000 service providers.

She said small businesses needed more than just finance.

"Even if you have that funding of a small business, the sustaining of that enterprise is low," she said.

"The most important thing for me is that the government, agencies and large corporates get together to help those businesses to maintain growth."

Kleinhans-Curd said all the stakeholders would benefit if small businesses grew and became sustainable.

"The situation has to be one of fair exchange. You want to do something so that you can get something back," she said.

"Banks need to grow their market. They need to have more people employed in South Africa so that they come and bank with them."

She said the missing link in the SMME development was monitoring the growth of businesses and taking them by the hand to sustainable growth.

Kleinhans-Curd said current economic conditions were also an opportunity for growth.

"In times of struggle, hardships, the most incredible things are birthed. Through need you get great invention. True wisdom is actually the ability to immediately see the benefits in crisis."

She said the present economic climate was optimal for people "to wake up and look at what are the true needs of the economy".

"Know your stuff, because everybody listens to somebody who knows their stuff," she advised upcoming women entrepreneurs.