FOREWORD
IS SA REAPING FRUITS OF
ENTREPRENEURSHIP? Septi Bukula, Director: Osiba Management and Chairman: Entrepreneurial Planning Institute
"Is South Africa getting back its investment’s worth in entrepreneurial returns?" The president of Innovation Business Development, US-based research and development firm
T
wo years ago, Dr Hamsa Thota, the president of Innovation Business Development, US-based research and development firm posed a thought-provoking question: with such a welldeveloped entrepreneurship and small business support ecosystem, how is it that the level of entrepreneurial performance in South Africa remains at levels that are below expectation? He was speaking at an international SME conference in Cape Town. This question continues to seize the imagination of the best brains in the field locally. Dr Thota’s enquiry echoes an important question that many have asked for some time: is South Africa getting back its investment’s worth in entrepreneurial returns? With unemployment at stubbornly high levels and the economy scraping the bottom of the barrel, it is now acknowledged by many that entrepreneurship must come to the rescue. Quite frankly, there aren’t many avenues open to the country to escape its economic malaise. For unemployment to fall, entrepreneurship must rise.
6 www.incub8mag.co.za · Volume 3 · 2019
And entrepreneurs must do things differently to grow. SMEs in tourism are doing exactly that, thinking and acting differently to confront a challenge that pins them down. Market access is recognised as one of the key challenges facing all SMEs. This is more pronounced in the country’s tourism industry, with its strong dependence on foreign markets, and weak and declining domestic tourism. Competing for inbound tourists is a major challenge for SMEs with virtually no name recognition and weak links abroad. SMEs are now seizing the initiative, collaborating under the banner of a new voluntary network, SEEZA Destination Network, to offer a full suite of destination management services. It is gratifying that, in its efforts, the local SME ecosystem can count on publications like Incub8 to document the country’s entrepreneurial journey. Enjoy the read.
