Listening to the needs of small business owners and entrepreneurs is critical to designing innovative solutions that support small businesses to become greater engines of economic growth and job creation. This report follows “The Unseen Sector,” which was launched in 2019 and provided an in-depth assessment of the micro, small and medium enterprise landscape in South Africa including the size of the sector, key barriers to access finance and markets.
With “The MSME Voice,” IFC brings the voice of the small business owner and entrepreneur into the discussion. The report compiles insight from in-depth interviews with small businesses across South Africa highlighting trends from access to finance and business infrastructure to use of cash and banking services, with the goal to inform the design of regulation, creation of tools and provision of financial services that will meet the needs of South Africa’s small businesses.
