'SA needs a one-stop shop for small businesses'
SOUTH Africa needs a one-stop shop for small businesses that will meet all the needs of entrepreneurs at a lower cost, says Tracey Webster, CEO of the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship.
BUILDING AN EMPIRE: Daphne Duiker is among many South Africans who own and run small businesses for their survival. PHOTO: VATHISWA RUSELOYesterday Webster spoke to Sowetan as the country takes part in the Global Entrepreneurship Week that seeks to encourage entrepreneurship among various nations in the world.
Both the Presidency and national Treasury have prioritised creating jobs as the government's main duty over the next two decades.
The government has also agreed that small businesses stand a better chance in creating more jobs than big corporates do.
This has led the country's economic hub, Gauteng, to launch a programme called Y-Age, which seeks to help 100000 young entrepreneurs in the province to fight unemployment among the youth.
In addition, the National Planning Commission proposed that the country needed to create 11million jobs by 2030.
According to the plan the economy needs both growth and jobs if it is tp successfully increase total employment from 13million people to 24million in two decades.
Webster said the current assistance given to small business was not adequately designed to meet the needs of entrepreneurs.
She said in the centre's interactions with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission it found that the cost of registering a business in South Africa was higher than the country's competitors.
"The current system seems to be a one size fits all. There needs to be a one stop shop or a single website that has all the details of the regulations that small businesses have to adhere to."
She was referring to regulations such as VAT, SABS, labour laws, health and safety standards and other laws that regulate business conduct in the country.
"Our recent research revealed that small businesses need mentorship," Webster said. "Entrepreneurs tend to focus on running the business and ignore detail.
"A mentor would calm them down and ensure they also look at cashflow management and the implications of the contracts they sign."
The Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship trains small businesses for free in various disciplines and helps them in finding finance.