In 2016, 27% of the adult population in South Africa was unemployed. According to The National Development Plan, 90% of the approximately 11 million jobs that need to be created by 2020 will be through small businesses.
However, according to The Gordon Institute of Business Science, 80-90% of new businesses fail in the first two years, with some of the reasons for failure being lack of access to markets, capital and business skills.
A panel discussion held at Trialogue’s 2017 Business in Society Conference unpacked some of the key elements needed to support enterprise development in South Africa.