Conclusion: Constraints of growth-oriented enterprises in the southern and eastern African region

Enterprises that are about to grow and employ 5-15 people and enterprises that are in the process of growing and employ 10-30 people, both claim that their most important constraint is short- and long-term capital. A closely related constraint was the managing of financial resources adequately-however, this was not widely acknowledged in the management of the companies. Furthermore, these enterprises encounter a number of other challenges that they must overcome if they are to be successful in their aspirations to grow. The most important among those that are within their power to directly address are in the areas of marketing and human resources. In addition there are aspects of the enabling environment that must be developed so that further cooperation between enterprises is accomplished and their entering into the formal economy is encouraged.

This study builds on qualitative research with an aim to learn about the needs of growth-oriented enterprises. The findings reported upon have been used as background material to develop a new strategy in the ILO/SIYB family of business development services, specifically targeted toward assisting small and medium scale enterprises (up to 30 employees) to grow further. Generalization of results is dependent upon comparative studies, which have not yet been undertaken. Thus, this study does not purport to say that the constraints experienced and needs identified are specific to this group of enterprises. Rather, they exist in this group of enterprises and may very well exist also in other enterprises at different stages of growth.

Constraints of growth-oriented enterprises in the southern and eastern African region Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, Oct 2002 by Trulsson, Per To learn more about this author, visit Journal of Development Entrepreneurship's Website.

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