Hon Deputy Speaker, it was Sir Richard Branson, the owner of the Virgin Group companies, who appropriately stated that:
"All great ventures start from small and humble beginnings".
It all begins with an idea and innovation, away of doing something better, doing it faster and more efficiently, in providing the customer with the much needed product or service. In so doing, employment opportunities are created, economic growth is generated and citizens are lifted above poverty lines.
Small business is indeed an incubator to social economic growth and yet in South Africa, it seems we are continuing to do our outmost, to stifle such entrepreneurship and business development, through lack of access to funding and to markets in general especially, in our rural areas and townships.
Big established businesses, also appear intend ... [Inaudible.] ... such entrepreneurship, perhaps seemingly afraid that they will lose market share. This mindset requires realignment in favour of small local business as dust the current thinking around financial setups that are deemed to be too risky for our banks to finance.
Small Enterprise Development Agency, SEDA, appears hopefully inadequate despite government's assurance that funds will be provided more readily. So, what should the government be doing?