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SME's - The need for more thought by African governments on the informal sector
| Guest post by: Dr. Rob Smorfitt |
Article Overview: The importance of a proper informal sector policy.
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Free Download - SMEs – SMEs struggling in South Africa. Why? By Dr. Rob Smorfitt |
SME's - The need for more thought by African governments on the informal sector
The informal sector is always seen in a positive light by Africna governments, as these people are reducing the burden on government that they would otherwise become.But the point is being missed.
Firstly, these people are either refugees, rural people who have moved into urban areas in hope of achieving their dreams, or purely uneducated and unskilled people who have no choice. Consequently government does not plan for their existence. On the one hand these governments want and need the informal sector, but on the other they do not want the chaos that generally surrounds these informal traders.
But what do they do to prevent this? Have they developed new town planning standard to accommodate these trader? If they have created trading areas for these traders, are they in close proximity to their customer? Is there the necessary infrastructure available such as water, sewage, electricity, that would allow them to improve their business and perhaps grow out of the informal sector?
We need a creative approach to policy creation in the informal sector. We need better government that is thinking further than tomorrow.
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About the Author: Dr. Rob Smorfitt RSS for Dr. Rob's articles - Visit Dr. Rob's website Have an MBA and a PhD in entrepreneurship. Three key areas of ongoing research are entrepreneurship and innovation in large business strategy, the impact of legislation on SME development and SME finance. Run my own SME blog at http://sme-smb-smme.blogspot.com as well as an entrepreneurship and innovation for large businesses blog at http://innoveur.blogspot.com I have been self-employed since 1982. I have started or purchased in excess of 50 businesses since then. Most were sold again and a few were shut down because of a lack of profitability. Many were run by staff or family while I worked full time in my bigger businesses. Author of 6 books. Written articles for various magazines, newspapers and websites. Experienced in research within developing countries.
Click here to visit Dr. Rob's website  
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