Business Partners Limited SME Confidence Index

Transcription

1 Business Partners Limited SME Confidence Index Fourth Quarter of 2017: October December Issued February

2 RATIONALE FOR THE BUSINESS PARTNERS LIMITED SME CONFIDENCE INDEX SMEs are often punted as economic growth generators that will help solve the country s unemployment, poverty and inequality problems. Whilst we all view SMEs as the engines of economic development and job creation, we have in the past not had credible information on the sector and confidence levels within the sector. In July 2012, Business Partners launched its quarterly Business Partners Limited SME Confidence Index to obtain the views of SME sector entrepreneurs with the view to: o Gauge the current buoyancy of the SME sector; o Understand the key social and economic issues affecting SMEs in South Africa. The index and survey results are made available to stakeholders so that they may create and shape an environment which is conducive to SME growth. 2

3 01 BPL SME CONFIDENCE INDEX SURVEY SAMPLE 3

4 SURVEY SAMPLE How large, in terms of full-time employees, is your business? 4,68% 1,48% 8,87% 3,94% 81,03% Over 200 4

5 SURVEY SAMPLE Have you appointed new employees in the last year? 51,61% 48,39% Yes No 5

6 SURVEY SAMPLE Have you appointed new employees in the last quarter? 30,98% Yes No 69,02% 6

7 SURVEY SAMPLE How long has your business been in operation? 11,82% 22,17% 11,82% 23,89% 30,30% Less than a year 1-3 years 3-5 years 5-10 years Over 10 years 7

8 SURVEY SAMPLE In which province do you operate? Eastern Cape 10,10% 7,64% 3,94% Free State 8,87% Gauteng 24,63% 44,58% KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga North West Northern Cape 4,93% Western Cape 2,46% 6,16% 9,36% Country wide Outside of South Africa 4,43% 8

9 SURVEY SAMPLE In which industry do you operate (Based on the Standard Industrial Classification)? Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry and Fishing Community, Social and Personal Services Construction 18,23% 4,93% 2,96% 7,88% Consulting and Training Creative, Media, PR, and Event Management Electricity, Gas and Water Supply Exporting (providing products/services for export purposes) 7,88% 10,10% Financial Intermediation Insurance, Real Estate & Business Services Health and Medical 3,94% 6,65% Hotels and Restaurants IT and Technology Manufacturing 2,46% 1,48% 7,88% 5,67% 5,42% 8,87% 1,72% 0,74% Mining and Quarrying Repair of Motor Vehicles / Cycles and Personal & Household Goods Tourism 1,23% Transport, Storage and Communication 1,97% Wholesale and Retail Trade Other (please specify) 9

10 SURVEY SAMPLE What is the average age group of the business owners? 5,67% 5,67% 20,69% 38,67% Older than 60 29,31% 10

11 SURVEY SAMPLE Is your business female, male or jointly owned? 17,05% 33,81% Female owned Male owned Jointly owned (more female than male) Jointly owned (more male than female) 49,15% 11

12 02 BPL SME CONFIDENCE INDEX SURVEY RESULTS 12

13 CONFIDENCE LEVELS On a scale of 1 to 5, SME owners were asked to rate their level of confidence on a range of topics from economic growth, business outlook and ease of doing business. 13

14 CONFIDENCE LEVELS How confident are you that your business will grow in the next 12 months? 2,98% 4,88% 18,16% 1 - Not confident 48,24% 2 - Somewhat confident 3 - neither confident nor diffident 4 - confident 25,75% 5 - very confident SMEs expressed average confidence levels of 78% (up by 6% from Q3 of 2017). 14

15 CONFIDENCE LEVELS How confident are you that the SA economy will be conducive for business growth in the next 12 months? 4,94% 24,59% 11,75% 1 - Not confident 2 - Somewhat confident 3 - neither confident nor diffident 30,87% 4 - confident 24,87% 5 - very confident SMEs expressed average confidence levels of 64% (up by 11% from Q3 of 2017). 15

16 CONFIDENCE LEVELS How confident are you that ease of access to business finance will improve in the next 12 months? 18,21% 14,40% 14,40% 24,46% 1 - Not confident 2 - Somewhat confident 3 - neither confident nor diffident 4 - confident 5 - very confident 28,53% SMEs expressed average confidence levels of 49% (up by 1% from Q3 of 2017). 16

17 CONFIDENCE LEVELS How confident are you that current labour laws are conducive to the growth of SA businesses? 10,90% 14,44% 17,44% 1 - Not confident 2 - Somewhat confident 22,34% 3 - neither confident nor diffident 4 - confident 5 - very confident 34,88% SMEs expressed average confidence levels of 47% (up by 3% from Q3 of 2017). 17

18 CONFIDENCE LEVELS How confident are you of finding staff with the right skills set and experience to facilitate the growth of your business? 5,21% 25,21% 25,48% 14,25% 29,86% 1 - Not confident 2 - Somewhat confident 3 - neither confident nor diffident 4 - confident 5 - very confident SMEs expressed average confidence levels of 63% (up by 1% from Q3 of 2017). 18

19 CONFIDENCE LEVELS How confident are you that the government is doing enough to foster SME development in SA? 7,14% 10,99% 28,57% 1 - Not confident 2 - Somewhat confident 3 - Neither confident nor diffident 26,65% 4 - Confident 26,65% 5 - Very confident SMEs expressed average confidence levels of 33% (down by 1% from Q3 of 2017). 19

20 CONFIDENCE LEVELS How confident are you that your clients will pay you within the stipulated time? 5,48% 20,55% 32,60% 12,33% 29,04% 1 - Not confident 2 - Somewhat confident 3 - neither confident nor diffident 4 - confident 5 - very confident SMEs expressed average confidence levels of 63% (up by 2% from Q3 of 2017). 20

21 CONFIDENCE LEVELS How confident are you that the private sector is doing enough to support SMEs in SA? 8,72% 14,71% 15,80% 1 - Not confident 2 - Somewhat confident 27,25% 3 - neither confident nor diffident 4 - confident 33,51% 5 - very confident SMEs expressed average confidence levels of 44% (down by 2% from Q3 of 2017). 21

22 IMPORTANCE LEVELS On a scale of 1 to 5, SME owners were asked to rate the level of importance placed on issues such as mentorship, access to finance and SME specific information, resources and support. 22

23 IMPORTANCE LEVELS How important is access to finance to the growth and sustainability of your business? 2,89% 6,07% 10,12% 1 - Not important 58,09% 22,83% 2 - Somewhat important 3 - neither important nor insignificant 4 - important 5 - very important SMEs expressed average importance levels of 82% (up by 1% from Q3 of 2017). 23

24 IMPORTANCE LEVELS Please rate how important you believe having access to SME specific information, resources and support is the development and growth of your business. 2,92% 5,56% 11,11% 1 - Not important 54,68% 25,73% 2 - Somewhat important 3 - neither important nor insignificant 4 - important 5 - very important SMEs expressed average importance levels of 81% (no change from Q3 of 2017). 24

25 IMPORTANCE LEVELS Please rate how important you believe having a mentor is when it comes to the development and growth of your business. 4,35% 6,09% 13,33% 1 - Not important 2 - Somewhat important 51,30% 3 - neither important nor insignificant 4 - important 24,93% 5 - very important SMEs expressed average importance levels of 78% (up by 8% from Q3 of 2017). 25

26 IMPORTANCE LEVELS Please rate how important you believe social media is to market your business effectively? 3,47% 5,20% 15,90% 1 - Not important 51,45% 2 - Somewhat important 3 - neither important nor insignificant 4 - important 23,99% 5 - very important SMEs expressed average importance levels of 79% (up by 1% from Q3 of 2017). 26

27 ASSISTANCE REQUIRED TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES SME owners were asked to rate assistance required to overcome challenges. The list of challenges was provided. 27

28 ASSISTANCE REQUIRED TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES What form of assistance from government would benefit you most as an entrepreneur/aid the growth of your business? Funding Less red tape Tax breaks Implementation of existing policy for economic growth from Government Prompt payment processing Direct business flow from government Mentorship

29 ASSISTANCE REQUIRED TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES What is the main challenge that SMEs will face in the next six months? Cash flow Economic conditions Funding Skills Regulatory Marketing Crime

30 IMPORTANCE LEVELS Following the ANC elective conference 2017, do you believe the outcome will have a positive impact on SMEs in 2018? 28,25% Yes, I have confidence that this will be conducive to the economic environment for small businesses. 71,75% No, I don t believe this will make a difference for my small business going forward. 30

31 IMPORTANCE LEVELS Have you expanded your small business to operate in other parts of Africa? 10,62% 11,04% 14,94% Yes, doing business in other parts of Africa has resulted in growth for my business. 30,84% No, I don t have the capacity to expand my business beyond South African borders. 43,18% No, however, I m planning to explore this opportunity. This doesn t apply to my business. 31

32 THANK YOU 32