Collection Thesis TR99-96 Author Toomey, David Colbert Title South African small business growth through interfirm linkages. Rhodes University, 1999. Abstract Economic stagnation in sub-Saharan Africa since 1970 is well documented. While the causes are varied, the paradigm of nationalistic state-led economic development has changed.
Economic development occurs in a global marketplace.
Manufacturing has shifted from developed to less developed countries, an opportunity that was seized in Asia and Latin America. South Africa s labour, unskilled and costly by world standards, is at a disadvantage as an agile and competitive world market seeks skilled labour at the lowest cost. Small, medium and microenterprise growth is central to meeting this target. Numerous government structures to assist small enterprises have been created. Few, however, assist small business with the demands of the marketplace.