Enabling Environment for Sustainable Enterprises in South Africa

What has been done:

The enabling environment for sustainable enterprises in South Africa was assessed through a careful review of secondary data, findings from a large national enterprise survey undertaken in South Africa, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with relevant stakeholders in South Africa, and supplementary information from published and unpublished materials. The enterprise survey was conducted by a local research company (SBP) with the aim of identifying policy and advocacy strategies, and to inform the development of the EESE report. The assessment produced a detailed identification of barriers that discourage investment, entrepreneurship, job creation and firm competitiveness.

In line with its mandate to contribute to the development of a conducive environment for enterprises in South Africa, Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) had called upon the ILO to assist the organisation to assess the business environment in the country and to identify areas for improvement. The assessment was conducted in close collaboration with Government and Organised Labour.

The Survey and its sample:

The EESE Enterprise Survey of South Africa was conducted nationwide in 2015, with the aim of identifying and assessing business environment factors that affect business development and job creation in the country. The survey was conducted jointly with Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) to investigate 17 key factors that affect the business environment. To undertake this work, the 2015 survey established sampling frames for formal businesses and informal units.The survey which comprised a total 640 in-depth interviews including 430 interviews with SME business owners operating in three sectors (manufacturing, business services and tourism), 110 informal business owners and 100 employees (formal and informal) in the metropolitan areas of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.