16/09/2021
SMEs are the lifeblood of South Africa’s economy—and also the most at risk
SMEs across South Africa represent more than 98 percent of businesses, employ between 50 and 60 percent of the country’s workforce across all sectors, and are responsible for a quarter of job growth in the private sector. And while the GDP contributions from South Africa’s SMEs lag other regions—39 percent compared to 57 percent in the EU—there is no doubt that this sector is a critical engine of the economy
SMEs in South Africa face distinct challenges in navigating the crisis
McKinsey & Company has worked with a number of SMEs across 12 industries within South Africa over the past two years. In this time we have observed several common challenges across these businesses which include the following:
Limited access to low- and medium-cost funding is constraining business growth
A recent report highlighted that only 6 percent of SMEs surveyed received government funding and only 9 percent had sourced funding from private sources. Additionally, the majority of private equity funding has largely been focused on mature businesses with around 90 percent of funding going to businesses that are more than five years old. We have seen firsthand how this lack of access to funds is hindering business growth. For example, a local high-end furniture manufacturer, which had successfully grown the business to generate more than R10 million in revenue p.a., was unable to secure an additional R4 million in capital funding to sustain this growth. This was largely due to a lack of knowledge of available funding options as well as challenges in managing cashflows and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to deliver sufficient results to secure funding.