Red tape and onerous legal requirements are among the biggest headaches faced by South African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) today.
This is according to Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, who says both "have very little to do with the day-to-day running of their businesses" and yet consume valuable resources at companies that often run extremely lean.
Goldstuck recently launched the SME Survey 2005, which will gather input from 6 000 local concerns. This year`s survey - the third of its kind - will focus on whether SA is a welcoming environment for SMEs.
"We`ll drill down into how easy it is to start up a business in this country and grow it. This information is critical to the issue of bringing new entrants into the marketplace," he says.
Goldstuck will share the results of his three years of SME research with delegates at Futurex 2005: The Conference, a two-day event taking place in Johannesburg next month. He will present on the first day of the conference, which is themed "Small business - striving for success in a changing SA".
His presentation, in keeping with others on the same day, will look at the ICT-related challenges faced by SMEs and suggest solutions for this fast-growing sector.
Bryan Hattingh, CEO of Cycan, will look at how to leverage leadership and human capital, and encourage and develop entrepreneurship within smaller enterprises. Nkosinathi Khumalo, CEO of Mthombo IT, will demonstrate how his management team built the company from a start-up to the venture it is today.
Other speakers include Martin Feinstein, CEO of Enablis; Masedi Molosiwa, executive director at the Cape IT Initiative; and Dr Neville Comins, CEO of The Innovation Hub.
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