Date: 26/02/2004
Source: Department of Trade and Industry
Title: L Hendricks: Conference of International Council for Small Business
KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THE LAUNCH OF THE 49TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SMALL BUSINESS BY DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY, LINDIWE HENDRICKS, 26 February 2004
Ambassador Lake
Dr Danisa Baloyi
David Moshapalo
Lefa Mallane
Programme Director
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am pleased today to officially launch the 49th annual conference of the International Council of Small Business. This conference, which will be held in June 2004, will be the first time that the conference is being held in Africa. This is an indication of how far we have moved since the attainment of democracy in 1994, which saw the ushering in of a new era for the South African economy. An era that has been characterised by the opening up of the South African economy to global forces, restructuring of the economy away from our previous dependence on the primary sector to a strong an robust manufacturing and tertiary sector, increased black ownership and participation in the economy, and very importantly for our discussions today an economy that has greater participation by small business. One of the fundamental principles of democracy is the recognition of rights of the individual and the empowerment of individual as a member of society; two factors which are critical for a successful entrepreneurial environment.
It is important to recognise the economic history of our country, where prior to 1994 small business development was not given much priority. The Apartheid government did not have the right incentives, regulatory environment, competition regulations, business support programmes, and finance mechanisms to support small businesses. Nor did they seek to empower the individual or give adequate education to majority of people of South Africa. In addition we saw that private sector followed this pattern and did not have appropriate products and services that were suited to the smaller business. This combination of factors resulted in low levels of entrepreneurial behaviour in South Africa and was a huge challenge faced by the democratic government that was elected in 1994.
Since 1994, a lot of work has gone into changing and improving the regulatory environment, providing greater support measures for small businesses, increasing the number of business opportunities in both domestic and international markets, and improving access to finance and cost of finance for small businesses. The private sector recognised the potential that existed in small business market and have developed a comprehensive range of products and services. Although in global terms, South Africa was a late starter in the area of small business support we were able to take advantage of this by looking at the support mechanisms, access to finance measures and business products that were used by other countries and implement what in 1994, when we formulated the National Small Business Strategy, was seen as best practice.
Substantial progress has been made in providing support to small businesses and I am certain that we have an excellent suite of products. Yet it is clear that this is not enough and we are not achieving the required or desired impact. It is therefore timely that we are hosting this international small business conference, which is scheduled to take place in June 2004. I also hope that by the time of the conference we will be able to make some important announcements on the revised small business strategy and changes to the institutions that are delivering small business support services in South Africa.
This conference will therefore give South Africans an opportunity to interrogate the small business support systems that we have and through engaging with these issues with our international counterparts that are going to be represented at the event, learn from their experiences and approaches that they have taken. These international delegates will also have the opportunity to learn from our experiences and approaches.
I am excited by this conference as it combines academics, practitioners and entrepreneurs and it will give us the scope to explore complex and sometimes esoteric issues around entrepreneurship in practical and relevant ways. I believe it is necessary for conferences such as this one to discuss issues that go beyond practical delivery of products to small business sector so as to make the conference a valuable contributor to the ideas, issues and body of knowledge on small business development, something that has worldwide relevance.
One such issue, which I raised in my introduction, is the relationship between entrepreneurship and democracy; for example we do not see private enterprise thriving in conditions of war. The majority of African countries have embraced democracy and with initiatives such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) the issue of private sector development and entrepreneurship are being addressed, and participation of small businesses from other countries in Africa in the conference is a tribute to the changes that are taking place on our continent.
A second issue that is extremely important to me is that of women entrepreneurship. The low participation of women in formal economy as small business owners or entrepreneurs is a global phenomenon that cuts across developing and developed countries. Special efforts need to be made by policy makers to ensure that there are targeted programmes that support women entrepreneurship. This is an area that must be addressed at the conference and I hope that the panel, which is looking at papers for the conference, ensures that this issue is covered.
A third issue that should be explored is one that has been thrown open by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations, which is the access that businesses in the developing world have to the markets of the industrialised and first world. Some might argue that no matter how much we support entrepreneurial behaviour or have the most favourable regulatory and support environment, we in the developing countries have a 'glass ceiling' placed on our success and we will not achieve significant economic growth because of the artificial subsidies and controls placed on imports into industrialised countries. This is a relevant and controversial topic that I hope will be thoroughly debated at the conference; it is also a subject that is closely related to the theme of the conference, which is 'Globalisation and the Impact on Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development in the Developing World'.
As we have heard today the conference will also provide an opportunity for businesses to do business. By combining the workshops and seminars with matchmaking sessions for the businesses that attend the conference, value will added to their experiences and should make the conference attractive to both international and domestic small businesses. Such matchmaking sessions that lead to deals being negotiated and concluded by businesses from across the world are one of the positive features of globalisation that I am sure will be further interrogated at conference. I would like to thank the EU for the resources that they are putting into this aspect of the conference.
To conclude, I would like to confirm that the dti is committed to this event and that we are proud to be a partner in hosting an international small business event of this calibre. This event will be a chance for us to explore pertinent issues that are facing the small business sector in South Africa, Africa and globally as well as giving us the opportunity to showcase the successes that we have made in the area of small business development since democracy. I hope that as a result of this launch we will see more people involved in this conference, particularly from other countries in Africa.
Issued by: Department of Trade and Industry
26 February 2004
Source: Department of Trade and Industry
Title: L Hendricks: Conference of International Council for Small Business
KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THE LAUNCH OF THE 49TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SMALL BUSINESS BY DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY, LINDIWE HENDRICKS, 26 February 2004
Ambassador Lake
Dr Danisa Baloyi
David Moshapalo
Lefa Mallane
Programme Director
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am pleased today to officially launch the 49th annual conference of the International Council of Small Business. This conference, which will be held in June 2004, will be the first time that the conference is being held in Africa. This is an indication of how far we have moved since the attainment of democracy in 1994, which saw the ushering in of a new era for the South African economy. An era that has been characterised by the opening up of the South African economy to global forces, restructuring of the economy away from our previous dependence on the primary sector to a strong an robust manufacturing and tertiary sector, increased black ownership and participation in the economy, and very importantly for our discussions today an economy that has greater participation by small business. One of the fundamental principles of democracy is the recognition of rights of the individual and the empowerment of individual as a member of society; two factors which are critical for a successful entrepreneurial environment.
It is important to recognise the economic history of our country, where prior to 1994 small business development was not given much priority. The Apartheid government did not have the right incentives, regulatory environment, competition regulations, business support programmes, and finance mechanisms to support small businesses. Nor did they seek to empower the individual or give adequate education to majority of people of South Africa. In addition we saw that private sector followed this pattern and did not have appropriate products and services that were suited to the smaller business. This combination of factors resulted in low levels of entrepreneurial behaviour in South Africa and was a huge challenge faced by the democratic government that was elected in 1994.
Since 1994, a lot of work has gone into changing and improving the regulatory environment, providing greater support measures for small businesses, increasing the number of business opportunities in both domestic and international markets, and improving access to finance and cost of finance for small businesses. The private sector recognised the potential that existed in small business market and have developed a comprehensive range of products and services. Although in global terms, South Africa was a late starter in the area of small business support we were able to take advantage of this by looking at the support mechanisms, access to finance measures and business products that were used by other countries and implement what in 1994, when we formulated the National Small Business Strategy, was seen as best practice.
Substantial progress has been made in providing support to small businesses and I am certain that we have an excellent suite of products. Yet it is clear that this is not enough and we are not achieving the required or desired impact. It is therefore timely that we are hosting this international small business conference, which is scheduled to take place in June 2004. I also hope that by the time of the conference we will be able to make some important announcements on the revised small business strategy and changes to the institutions that are delivering small business support services in South Africa.
This conference will therefore give South Africans an opportunity to interrogate the small business support systems that we have and through engaging with these issues with our international counterparts that are going to be represented at the event, learn from their experiences and approaches that they have taken. These international delegates will also have the opportunity to learn from our experiences and approaches.
I am excited by this conference as it combines academics, practitioners and entrepreneurs and it will give us the scope to explore complex and sometimes esoteric issues around entrepreneurship in practical and relevant ways. I believe it is necessary for conferences such as this one to discuss issues that go beyond practical delivery of products to small business sector so as to make the conference a valuable contributor to the ideas, issues and body of knowledge on small business development, something that has worldwide relevance.
One such issue, which I raised in my introduction, is the relationship between entrepreneurship and democracy; for example we do not see private enterprise thriving in conditions of war. The majority of African countries have embraced democracy and with initiatives such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) the issue of private sector development and entrepreneurship are being addressed, and participation of small businesses from other countries in Africa in the conference is a tribute to the changes that are taking place on our continent.
A second issue that is extremely important to me is that of women entrepreneurship. The low participation of women in formal economy as small business owners or entrepreneurs is a global phenomenon that cuts across developing and developed countries. Special efforts need to be made by policy makers to ensure that there are targeted programmes that support women entrepreneurship. This is an area that must be addressed at the conference and I hope that the panel, which is looking at papers for the conference, ensures that this issue is covered.
A third issue that should be explored is one that has been thrown open by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations, which is the access that businesses in the developing world have to the markets of the industrialised and first world. Some might argue that no matter how much we support entrepreneurial behaviour or have the most favourable regulatory and support environment, we in the developing countries have a 'glass ceiling' placed on our success and we will not achieve significant economic growth because of the artificial subsidies and controls placed on imports into industrialised countries. This is a relevant and controversial topic that I hope will be thoroughly debated at the conference; it is also a subject that is closely related to the theme of the conference, which is 'Globalisation and the Impact on Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development in the Developing World'.
As we have heard today the conference will also provide an opportunity for businesses to do business. By combining the workshops and seminars with matchmaking sessions for the businesses that attend the conference, value will added to their experiences and should make the conference attractive to both international and domestic small businesses. Such matchmaking sessions that lead to deals being negotiated and concluded by businesses from across the world are one of the positive features of globalisation that I am sure will be further interrogated at conference. I would like to thank the EU for the resources that they are putting into this aspect of the conference.
To conclude, I would like to confirm that the dti is committed to this event and that we are proud to be a partner in hosting an international small business event of this calibre. This event will be a chance for us to explore pertinent issues that are facing the small business sector in South Africa, Africa and globally as well as giving us the opportunity to showcase the successes that we have made in the area of small business development since democracy. I hope that as a result of this launch we will see more people involved in this conference, particularly from other countries in Africa.
Issued by: Department of Trade and Industry
26 February 2004
Advertisement
EMAIL THIS ARTICLE SAVE THIS ARTICLE FEEDBACK
To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
