Review of the indigenous small scale enterprises sector in Swaziland

This research is intended, in part, to guide an upcoming project paper. The survey findings suggest that there are approximately 1,951 indigenous small enterprises in Swaziland. Although results are impressionistic, the findings also indicate that the characteristics of Swazi entrepreneurs do not follow the usual assumptions. The following conclusions address these differences: (1) The widely held notion that Swazi entrepreneurs demonstrate strong tendencies toward multiple ownership of enterprises should be reconsidered, at least for the specific population targeted by the survey. (2) A surprising number of enterprises can be started with a very small amount of capital. This capital is likely to be raised by entrepreneurs possessing generic capabilities for success in entrepreneurship. (3) The vast majority of entrepreneurs established their businesses with savings, not loans or credit. This would support the above notion that credit is not likely to be a barrier to starting a business in Swaziland. (4) The notion that enterprises owned by Swazi entrepreneurs do not have a tendency to grow should be reexamined. Based on forecasts of sales and reports of hiring full-time employees during a two-year period, growth among 33% of such firms appears very strong, and a majority of enterprises show adequate growth. (5) The absence of specific and measurable business goals among entrepreneurs is of concern. The use of such goals has been shown to be highly correlated with successful entrepreneurs in developing countries. (6) Entrepreneurs" understanding of how customers are attracted to the enterprise and why sales increase is very superficial. It seems that entrepreneurs do not know what attracts customers or how their enterprises are distinguished from those of their competition. (7) There are many potential untapped markets and subsectors for future penetration by Swazis. In addition, there is a tendency for subsectors to be dominated by monopolist and duopolist expatriates. This type of concentration leaves wide-open niches for the Swazis. Swazi entrepreneurs have the potential, given the proper training, to identify markets even better than the expatriates. (Author abstract)