No, the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) has not set targets for the country to achieve a particular rate using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s (GEMS) index known as the Total Entrepreneurial Activity rate, which measures start-up activity in a country’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
a) The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor is not the only source of data which can be used to determine early stage entrepreneurial activity. The DSBD is therefore, not only limited to this source of data as a tool to measure nor determine the entrepreneurial activity rate. The DSBD will continue to consider other relevant research available to enhance its work.
b) The DSBD is in the process commissioning a “2016 Annual Review on the status of Small Business and Cooperatives in South Africa”. The findings from this research will determine a decision whether there is a need for target setting of early stage entrepreneurial activity.